Daily Archives: October 17, 2015

I Confess
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Written by George Tabori and William Archibald from a play by Paul Anthelme
1953/USA
Warner Bros.
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Fr. Michael William Logan: I never thought of the priesthood as offering a hiding place.[/box]

This lesser known Hitchcock film really grew on me.

I’ll try not to spoil it.  The setting is Quebec.  Michael Logan (Montgomery Clift) is a parish priest.  Late one night, the church’s German refugee handyman Otto Keller returns in a very agitated state.  He insists that Logan hear his confession.  In it he tells the priest that he murdered lawyer Villette in the course of a bungled burglary attempt.  He was wearing a stolen cassock at the time.

The next morning Keller reports as usual to tend Villette’s garden and “discovers” the corpse.  Father Logan  goes to the scene and is seen to speak with a woman there.  She is Ruth Granfort (Anne Baxter) and appears almost happy about Villette’s death.  Father Logan was spotted the previous night near Villlette’s hoiuse.  Inspector Larrue (Karl Malden) is assigned to the case and follows the clues with dogged persistence.  I will end here.  With Brian Aherne as Ruth’s husband.

The murder takes place right after the credits and we know the culprit within the first 5 or 10 minutes.  The core of the movie is Father Logan’s dilemma between preserving the sanctity of the confessional or his personal reputation and freedom.  Montgomery Clift is expert at playing this kind of torn character and is excellent in this movie.  Anne Baxter overacts a bit but is bearable.  Hitchcock keeps the suspense tightly wound and the whole thing looks great.  I liked this more on my second viewing than my first.

Trailer

Peter Pan
Directed by Clyde Geronomi, Wilfred Jackson, et al
Written by Ted Sears, Erdman Penner et al from a play by J.M. Barrie
1953/USA
Walt Disney Studio
Repeat viewing/Netflix Rental

[box] Peter Pan: Second star to the right and straight on till morning. [/box]

This classic Disney cartoon falls flat in comparison to my beloved Mary Martin TV musical.

Everyone probably knows the story.  Peter Pan is a boy with magical powers largely fueled by pixie dust contributed by his friend Tinkerbell, a fairy.  He regularly visits the children of the Darling family, Wendy, John and Michael.  Wendy regales her brothers about his adventures in the interim.  Wendy managed to steal Peter’s shadow and he arrives to retrieve it.  Wendy’s father has threatened to take her out of the nursery and make her grow up.  So Peter teaches the children to fly and they go off to his home in Neverland.

There the children get involved in all Peter’s battles with the evil pirate Captain Hook.  They also visit an Indian village and a mermaid lagoon.  Peter lives with a number of Lost Boys who want Wendy as their Mother, though this aspect is not stressed much in the cartoon.  Al of Peter’s advenures are complicated by Tinkerbell’s jealousy of Wendy.  With Hans Conreid as the voice of Mr. Darling and Captain Hook.

One of the things that keeps this in the second tier of classic Disney cartoons, in my opinion, is the lack of memorable songs.  I am spoiled by having watched the Mary Martin musical on TV every year during my youth.  That version has great songs.

If you have never read J.M. Barrie’s book I would highly recommend it.  I listened to the audiobook narrated by Tim Curry and it was wonderful. Only an adult could really get all the wry hiumor properly.

Trailer