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| Peter Baldwin |
A novelist named Bernard (Peter Baldwin) tells his unseen girlfriend that he is obsessed with a young woman he met some months ago and has to go see her. Arriving at the village where this lady, Tilde (Virna Lisi), worked at the Lakeside Hotel, he takes a room there and tries to find out what happened to her. Speaking to the hotel's proprietor, Enrico (Salvo Randone), he learns that Tilde supposedly committed suicide. However, a photographer named Francesco (Pier Giovanni Anchisi) tells him that Tilde was actually murdered, but that this was covered up. There are rumors that she was pregnant and either Enrico or his son, Mario (Philippe Leroy), may be responsible. Bernard determines to find out the truth, whatever it may be ...
The Possessed is a moody, strikingly photographed (Leonida Barboni) picture but I'm at a loss as to what genre it belongs to. It's not a horror film, and as a suspense film or murder mystery it falls short. Deliberately-paced, to put it mildly, the film offers some wonderful images as well as close-ups of the poetically handsome Peter Baldwin, but the story is only mildly intriguing and the denouement -- if you can even call it that -- is completely unsatisfying. Pia Lindstrom, the daughter of Ingrid Bergman -- who later became a television journalist -- appears in a small role as Mario's wife. Valentina Cortese is cast as Enrico's daughter, Irma. Both ladies make a positive impression in this. Virna Lisi has too little to do and although Baldwin is credible -- it's hard to judge his dubbed performance -- his chief asset seems to be his looks. He later became a director. 
striking photography
Verdict: Very good to look at, but it's too "arty" for its own good and never catches fire. **.
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