The Man in Possession is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic comedy film starring Robert Montgomery, Charlotte Greenwood, Irene Purcell, and C. Aubrey Smith, based on the play of the same name by H. M. Harwood.

Raymond Dabney returns to a mixed reaction from his upper middle-class family in London after serving a sentence at HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs for stealing a motorcar.

The two men offer him £500 to leave the country and never return; it seems Claude is engaged to a rich widow, and they are anxious to avoid any scandal that might endanger the marriage.

He obtains work as a sheriff's officer, helping a bailiff serve a writ on Crystal Wetherby, a woman in serious debt, taking possession of her property.

Panic-stricken, Claude tells Raymond to reveal to her that they are brothers (in order to break off the engagement without being sued for breach of promise) and hastily departs.

When the bailiff shows up, Raymond pays off the outstanding debt, collects his wages, and informs Crystal that they can be married on the ship taking them to a fresh start in a new country.