Obsessed Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Obsessed Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 25, 2023

It's always interesting, at least in a parlor game sort of way, to see what pieces are selected to matriculate from the stage to film. In the case of blockbuster hits, whether "straight plays" or musicals, there's probably little question as to why bean counters would think there might be considerable moolah to be made with a movie version. But what about a play that barely eked out a week or so on the Great White Way, and one which evidently had already had a very early "made for television" version that had aired even prior to the originally British play making it across the Atlantic to New York? Obsessed actually has a title card on the film's opening credits proclaiming it The Late Edwina Black, which was evidently the original British stage property's name, though by the time it made it to Broadway in November of 1950 that had been shortened to merely Edwina Black. Why some marketing genius decided to rebrand the production is anyone's guess, though it's kind of comical that who's obsessed with whom may be a debatable point in this story, which provides a bit of interest in that it's an ostensible whodunit with only three suspects, something that both limits the audience "guessing game", but which allows the screenplay to cast suspicion on all three at various points. The film probably unsurprisingly begins with the death of one Edwina Black, who is never seen, but whose presence hangs over the film rather like that of Rebecca in the Hitchcock classic. And there are in fact definite tethers to the Daphne du Maurier piece both in terms of a certain Gothic tone but also with regard to the death of a female spouse and a relationship between the surviving husband and a "new, improved" (?) female.

Within short order after Edwina's demise, it's revealed that her widower Gregory (David Farrar) and "companion" Elizabeth Graham (Geraldine Fitzgerald) have been an "item", something that has not escaped the notice of staunch and disapproving housekeeper Ellen (Jean Cadell, who pretty much walks away with this picture). That said, the funeral for Edwina is weirdly celebratory, as if the entire town, let alone Gregory and Elizabeth, is kind of happy that this evident harridan has shuffled off the mortal coil. When the "party goers" leave, one of whom has offered Elizabeth a new position as her companion, things seem to be moving toward quasi-happily ever after for the newly minted couple, but of course that wouldn't make much of a story, and within just a few minutes a Scotland Yard inspector named Martin (Roland Culver) shows up to inform Gregory that "questions" about the death of Edwina have been brought to his attention, and that an exhumation would be the best solution, in order to clear up any lingering suspicions.

When the testing on Edwina's corpse reveals lethal amounts of arsenic, the real plot mechanics kick into gear, though that metaphor might imply more momentum than Obsessed is ever really able to consistently maintain. Suffice it to say that Gregory, Elizabeth and Ellen start kind of manically pointing the finger at each other, all under the watchful eye of Martin, who of course in the best Scotland Yard tradition seems to know more than he's letting on. There are some fitful attempts at creating a supposedly "spooky" atmosphere, including with little conceits like a windchime of Edwina's that keeps clattering for no apparent reason, but the film never attains either the surface scares that someone like Hitchcock might have arguably been able to cull from a property like this, but probably more importantly, any real psychological nuances that could have provided more of a subtext, something that of course Hitchcock was a master in providing.

Instead, with the apparently lumbering (in a Columbo sort of way) Martin planting seeds of doubt in the ears of the focal trio, and the machinations between those three playing out as a kind of cat and mouse game in triplicate, Obsessed kind of ambles along to its expected "Moishe the Explainer" (a term frequently used by Peter Falk himself to describe the denouements of so many mysteries) sequence arrives and the culprit is outed. The "solution" here has a bit of interest, but the relative brevity of the film may leave a few too many questions unanswered, and a brief clsoing image alluding to a "happily ever after" coda seems almost preposterous given what's gone on before.

The film at least offers a decent role to Geraldine Fitzgerald, who for some reason never saw her American film career ignite, even after an Academy Award nomination for the 1939 William Wyler version of Wuthering Heights. That said, as mentioned above, and even granting the fact that Culver is amusing as Inspector Martin, this is in a very real sense a "Jean Cadell film". Cadell is most likely largely unknown to younger audiences in particular, but she had a long and relatively distinguished career that lasted from the silent era until the early sixties. The film is arguably hampered by a way too prevalent score from Allan Gray which is just insistent to the point of annoyance. It's actually kind of a relief when it finally stops for a moment or two at a key climax.

Obsessed Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Obsessed is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of ClassicFlix with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. It may be salient to note that there's also a StudioCanal masthead on this release, which I suspect had a hand in what is advertised on the back cover of this release as a "4K restoration". This is a very pleasing and organic looking presentation, one that preserves a healthy grain field while also offering some nice fine detail levels on period sets and costumes. Contrast is generally consistent, supporting both good black levels and nicely modulated gray scale. There are some intermittent downgrades in clarity for no apparent reason (i.e., they can kind of appear out of nowhere in selected scenes for a moment, only to disappear), and there are some very minor signs of age related wear and tear that have made it through the restoration gauntlet. My score is 4.25.

Obsessed Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Obsessed features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono soundtrack. The track has some of the "baked in" limitations of recording technologies of the day, and some of the music in particular can sound a bit strident, but dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly, and the film is in essence a "talk fest". I'm actually kind of surprised a composer of Allan Gray's reputation scored this film, because this is the very rare production I've reviewed where I really wanted the music to just stop for a minute. It's as if director Maurice Elvey "spotted" the film with Gray and told him "forget about 'spotting'" (i.e., selecting key moments for music), and to just score the entire feature willy-nilly, which frankly may have been a bit of overkill (especially with some of the overheated, hyperbolic cues Gray wrote). What's kind of ironic about all of this is at least part of Gray's reputation stems from his celebrated work with Powell and Pressburger, who of course were famous for their so-called "composed films". Optional English subtitles are available.

Obsessed Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Bonus Features menu on this disc brings up the regular assortment of trailers for ClassicFlix releases, as well as a snippet from an O. Henry Playhouse episode, none of which I personally consider a "scorable" supplement. As with many ClassicFlix releases, the disc boots to a quasi- trailer for another release, in this case Black Magic, which is among the trailers found under the Bonus Features menu.

Obsessed Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Obsessed simply can't compete with any number of other "drawing room mysteries", though fans of great British character actors may get a kick out of both Culver and Cadell, especially the latter. Technical merits are generally solid for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.