I Confess (1953)

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