SHORT TAKES

THE OTHER and THE POSSESSION OF JOEL DELANEY are a couple of Rosemary's illegitimate babies; films about demonology and soul-possession that seem to have been made in the hopes of repeating the success of the Polanski film. The Other has a hopelessly tangled, incredible story line and a kind of soft-focus directing job (by Robert Mulligan, who should know better) that is utterly inappropriate. Joel Delaney, on the other hand, is a nice, nasty nerve twister, possibly thev summer's best thriller. The film's assets include some nifty Manhattan location work, a steady sense of building horror, and very perceptive performance by Shirley MacLaine as a bored, rich New York divorcee. This one's worth going out of your way to catch.