Before They Were Stars: Harrison Ford Spontaneously Combusts in “The Possessed”

As a countdown to Halloween, “Before They Were Stars” will be showcasing big-name stars who had early roles in horror films and here’s an example of someone who was JUST on the cusp of stardom appearing in something they would rather forget. The Possessed was a 1977 made-for-TV Exorcist clone featuring Harrison Ford in a supporting role, and it just happened to air on television a few weeks before a little film named Star Wars opened in theaters. In retrospect, I’m sure the network would have preferred to air it a month later as the ratings probably would have been much higher once word spread that Han Solo was in the film. Anyway, Ford plays a horny professor at an all-girls school who likes to hit on his young students and winds up catching up on fire and spontaneously combusting for his troubles. Because of the film’s low budget, that actually sounds a lot cooler than it really is.