Hollywood Studios, Year-by-Year – MGM, 1931: Possessed and Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise

In our first MGM 1931 episode, we look at two very different fallen woman movies, POSSESSED (dir. Clarence Brown), starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, and SUSAN LENOX (HER FALL AND RISE) (dir. Robert Z. Leonard), with Gable supporting (in the technical sense only) Greta Garbo. POSSESSED, taking cognizance of the Depression, leans as far left as MGM will ever get, while SUSAN LENOX shows us how patriarchy can be worse for men than it is for women—and sister, is it ever bad for women. Then we talk Scorsese, historical accuracy, and why Jordan Belfort did nothing wrong, covering BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, GANGS OF NEW YORK, THE AVIATOR, and THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. Time Codes: 0h 01m 00s:          Possessed (dir. Clarence Brown) 0h 52m 59s:          Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (dir. Robert Z. Leonard) 1h 26m 55s:          Holiday Cinemagoing – Scorsese and History                      +++ * Check out our Complete Upcoming Episode Schedule * Find Elise's latest published film piece – "Elaine May's Male Gaze" – in the Elaine May issue of Bright Wall/Dark Room* *And Read Elise's Writing at Bright Wall/Dark Room, Cléo, and Bright Lights.* Follow us on Twitter at @therebuggy Write to us at [email protected] Theme Music: "What's Yr Take on Cassavetes?" – Le Tigre