This Harrison Ford Flop Nearly Ended His Career. It's Now Streaming on Prime
Before Harrison Ford became Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and the guy who somehow made pointing dramatically an art form, he was just another struggling actor trying to stay employed in the '70s.
And if things had gone a little differently in May 1977, we might never have heard of him again.
Less than a month before Star Wars hit theaters and rewrote his life, Ford showed up in a made-for-TV horror movie called The Possessed. It aired on NBC on May 1, 1977, and no, you're not imagining it — it's exactly as bad as it sounds.
Ford played Paul Winjam, a high school biology teacher with a deeply questionable personal life. The film's lead was James Farentino, who starred as a dead Catholic priest sent back to Earth as an exorcist (seriously). Ford's character gets burned alive by demonic forces halfway through the movie, and honestly, his early exit might've saved him from being permanently associated with this mess.
The film was meant to launch a horror series that never happened — probably because The Possessed was critically panned, forgotten almost instantly, and then totally buried by the pop culture nuclear bomb that was Star Wars, which released just 25 days later.
In hindsight, The Possessed is a fascinating little time capsule of how close Ford came to vanishing into the Hollywood B-movie graveyard. Had Star Wars flopped, this film might've been the unfortunate high point of his résumé.
And now? The Possessed is streaming on Prime Video, which means anyone curious enough can finally watch the movie Harrison Ford probably wishes never existed — or at least hopes you never find.
Key facts:
- Title: The Possessed
- Original air date: May 1, 1977 (NBC)
- Ford's role: Paul Winjam, biology teacher
- Reception: Critically panned, never developed into a series
- Streaming now: Prime Video
Not every star gets a clean start. Some get a demonic school horror movie right before Star Wars saves their career.