“I Confess” is a film noir about a Catholic priest accused of murder. His faith is put to the test as the real murderer already confessed the crime to him. Director Alfred Hitchcock (“Spellbound” 1945) put together a film that lacks the high drama and suspense of most of his work, with passable production values filmed in Quebec. The screenplay by George Tabori and William Archibald was based on a “Our Two Consciences,” a 1902 French play by Paul Anthelme.
The cast includes Montgomery Clift as the priest, Anne Baxter as his childhood friend, Karl Malden as the police inspector, Brian Aherne as the prosecutor, Dolly Haas as a neighbor, Ovila Legare as the murder victim, and O. E. Hasse as the murderer. The fair-to-middling and still watchable “I Confess” was a modest success in theatrical release for producer Alfred Hitchcock, Transatlantic Pictures, and Warner Bros. Pictures. Dimitri Tiomkin was in charge of the musical score.
I Confess (1953)
cinema
My Review
“I Confess” is a film noir about a Catholic priest accused of murder. His faith is put to the test as the real murderer already confessed the crime to him. Director Alfred Hitchcock (“Spellbound” 1945) put together a film that lacks the high drama and suspense of most of his work, with passable production values filmed in Quebec. The screenplay by George Tabori and William Archibald was based on a “Our Two Consciences,” a 1902 French play by Paul Anthelme.
The cast includes Montgomery Clift as the priest, Anne Baxter as his childhood friend, Karl Malden as the police inspector, Brian Aherne as the prosecutor, Dolly Haas as a neighbor, Ovila Legare as the murder victim, and O. E. Hasse as the murderer. The fair-to-middling and still watchable “I Confess” was a modest success in theatrical release for producer Alfred Hitchcock, Transatlantic Pictures, and Warner Bros. Pictures. Dimitri Tiomkin was in charge of the musical score.