The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972) on Netflix
R19721h 45mDramaHorrorThriller
Norah Benson, a Manhattan divorcee, invites her brother Joel to dinner after his return from Tangier. He never arrives, and police take him from his apartment to a psychiatric ward.
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- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb5.8/101,557 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Norah Benson, a divorcee, shares a Manhattan apartment on the Upper East Side with her son Peter and her daughter Carrie. Her younger brother Joel Delaney has come back to New York after a long visit to Tangier. She asks him to a dinner at her home, but the evening passes without him, so she goes looking for him at his apartment in the East Village. There she sees police officers take him away to the psychiatric ward of Bellevue Hospital, where he is held on a charge of attacking his building superintendent. Joel remembers nothing of the attack. Norah urges him to tell the doctors a story about hallucinogens, and he is released with the condition that he keep appointments with a psychiatrist. She sets those up with her friend Erika, and Joel comes to live in her home.
Cast
- David Elliottas Peter Benson
- Lisa Kohaneas Carrie Benson
- Lovelady Powellas Erika
- Robert Burras Ted Benson
- Ernesto Gonzalezas Young Man at Seance
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- David Elliott, the twelve-year-old actor, said in a 2020 interview that the scene where his character has to strip and dance naked on a table was added by director Waris Hussein in a script rewrite during the final two weeks of production, and left him needing years of therapy.
- To make child actor David Elliott cry for a scene in which his character Joel describes the killing of his dog, the filmmakers told him his actual dog had been killed, and he was not certain whether he would leave the island alive.
- Producer Martin Poll left the film during production because of creative disputes with star Shirley MacLaine; British media mogul Lew Grade and his company ITC Entertainment took over, and Poll had his name removed from the credits.
- The film was cut in the United Kingdom so it could receive an adults-only X certificate, but the cuts were waived when it was re-submitted for its DVD release in 2007.
