I confess is a 1953 film noir directed by alfred hitchcock, and starring montgomery clift as fr. Its not only one of hitchcock s best, its one of the best movies ever made. Hasse, his guilt known only to logan, who then meets mysterious ruth anne baxter, her first scene outside, in hitchcock s i confess. Released between strangers on a train and dial m for murder, i confess has been somewhat lost to time the film stars montgomery clift in the leading role as a priest whos wrongly suspected of murder. I confess is frequently dismissed as a lesser hitchcock, due mainly to the quirky performance of montgomery clift who, it is said, steadfastly refused to take direction. The main stars were montgomery clift, anne baxter and karl malden. Michael william logan, a catholic priest, anne baxter as.
I confess 1953 official trailer montgomery clift, anne baxter. The film doesnt offer the usual amount of excitement or thrilling entertainment than his better known ones north by northwest, for instance. Alfred hitchcock directs montgomery clift in the thriller i confess, which can be seen in a standard fullframe transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1. I confess 1953 official trailer montgomery clift, anne baxter movie hd duration.
They work on the upkeep of a catholic church, keeping up the building and tending to the garden. I confess is a 1953 american film noir directed by alfred hitchcock, and starring montgomery clift as fr. Hibbs quoted hitchcock s thesis of films as the stronger the evil, the stronger the film, and said this comes across in i confess. A passable yet underwhelming thriller, alfred hitchcocks i confess follows montgomery clifts father michael logan as he receives a confession of murder from a local parishioner o.
Great classics, indies, noir, westerns, etcyou might also particularly enjoy our collection of free noir films blackmail free englands first talkie feature film, starring anny ondra, john longden, and cyril ritchard. Hitchcock was a roman catholic and was deeply impressed by the stage play on which this film is based and despite being faced with a range of censorship requirements produced one of his finest achievements in i confess. The guilty person is otto keller, the church sexton, who wore a priests cassock to commit a robbery that led to the murder. Ive never liked any of hitchcock s other movies so i was not expecting to like this 1 at all. Spoiler alert i confess that this is the 1st ever hitchcock movie i truly enjoyed. I confess 1953 official trailer montgomery clift, anne. I confess alfred hitchcock, montgomery clift, anne baxter. Where as a film of his that is merely good falls so far down on his list of achievements that it looks insignificant.
A priest, who comes under suspicion for murder, cannot clear his name without breaking the seal of the confessional. Based on the turnofthecentury play our two consciences by paul anthelme, this alfred hitchcock film is set in quebec. The movie s critical reception hasnt fared much better in the years since. Hasses otto keller and is subsequently accused of the same crime by karl maldens dogged police officer.
Bound by the laws of the confessional, clift is unable to turn hasse over to the police. A lesser known hitchcock film, shot in and around quebec city. It never gets mentioned in any hitchcock documentaries or when discussing about his movies. Can hardly believe it has been twenty years since i sat in a rectoryalong with several fssp clericsenjoying alfred hitchcock s i confess. Going to confession on movie screens feature story. But speaking of boats and mary mary you really missed the boat on the lady vanishes. Montgomery clift plays a priest who hears the murder confession of church sexton o. I confess is definitely one of the most dramatic and consequential of hitchcock s pictures. Today, four decades removed from its onset intrigues, the film has taken its place as one of the best of hitchcock s between the classics efforts. This may not be one of hitchcocks greatest movies, but its still a great film, since it was made by the master, who somehow managed to survive beautifully in. Hitchcock and his frequent collaborator robert burks, who served as director of photography on both films, make excellent use of location shooting quebec in i confess. Directed by alfred hitchcock and shot on location in quebec city, quebec 1953s i confess introduces us to otto kellar o. The priest knows the murderer, but he cant reveal his identity, because the man confessed the crime to him in the confessional. With montgomery clift, anne baxter, karl malden, brian aherne.
I confess is about a priest that is accused of the murder of a lawyer. All hitchcock films appear in our big meta collection, 1,150 free movies online. Its a technical marvel and i find it to be gripping from beginning to end. Alfred hitchcock knew a thing or two about complicated thrillers. I confess, screen play by george tabori and william archibald from a play by paul anthelme.
Rather than showing i confess, frankly, my preference for a film from this period would have been strangers on a train or rear. Logans famous ordination scene, which features this gregorian melody alfred hitchcock was a roman catholic, and this film is peppered. Its a fairly promising setup that is, at the outset, utilized to. Having a murderer confess to a priest who couldnt betray this trust already was a familiar plot twist by 1953, when. The plot centers around a priest named father logan played beautifully by montgomery clift, who is unable to tell the police about a murder since he is bound by the vow of confessional secrecy. Having a murderer confess to a priest who couldnt betray this trust was already a. Often used the wrong man or mistaken identity theme in his movies saboteur 1942, i confess 1953, the wrong man 1956, north by northwest 1959, frenzy 1972. I confess is a strong candidate for hitchcocks most forgotten film.
Even without taboris final touches, i confess is hitchcock s most european film. I confess is a 1953 drama film, directed by alfred hitchcock. Father logan montgomery clift using a ruse to enter the crime scene, meets inspector larreu karl malden, who then interviews murderer keller o. So begins the 1953 alfred hitchcock movie, i confess, which takes place in the 1950s in quebec city. Most sources i read referred to the film as flawed or a failure of the hitchcock style. These notes accompany the screenings of alfred hitchcocks i confess on may 30 and 31 and june 1 in theater 3 alfred hitchcock 18991980 has thus far been represented in our series by blackmail 1929 and notorious 1946. The other day, when i posted the v eni c reator s piritus, it brought to mind fr. The main events of the film take place in quebec city. Warners new bluray of alfred hitchcock s i confess is a must own for fans of the director and film collectors as well.
Alfred hitchcock 18991980 was an english director and filmmaker. The trouble, of course, is that the audience is told near the start of the film that the. A film of his that is good would be considered great by most directors standards. Hitchcocks i confess as catholic noir the observer. The parish caretaker is kneeling in a pew and is highly distraught. Police inspector larrue narrows his investigation to logan. His directorial debut was the 1925 release the pleasure garden. For the films in which he appeared, he would be seen for a brief moment in a nonspeaking part as an extra, such as boarding a bus, crossing in front of a building, standing in an apartment across the courtyard, or even appearing in a newspaper. Whilst robbing a house where he sometimes works as a gardener, otto is caught and kills the owner. I confess puts the ethics of privacy of the church on the stand, which ultimately. Otto kellar and his wife alma work as caretaker and housekeeper at a catholic church in quebec.
Even without taboris final touches, i confess is hitchcocks most european film. List of alfred hitchcock cameo appearances wikipedia. With i, confess, alfred hitchcock set out to make one film that would reflect all of his feelings about his catholic upbringing. Warners new bluray of alfred hitchcocks i confess is a must own for fans of the director and film collectors as well. English film director alfred hitchcock made cameo appearances in 39 of his 52. Having a murderer confess to a priest who couldnt betray this trust already was a. This is a good movie, and it should not be considered minor hitchcock. Even so, i confess was highly praised by the auteurs of the french new wave and, from what i can tell, the online commentariat now seems to embrace the movie. Lifeboat is an extraordinary film no less when you consider the time period it was made in. Until then, i confess comes very highly recommended.
The film is wonderfully dark, and is a unique variation on hitchcock s favourite theme. English film director alfred hitchcock made cameo appearances in 40 of his 52 surviving major films his second film, the mountain eagle, is lost. Hopefully well see more hitchcock films from the warner library on bluray soon including mr. Video of i confess 1953 full movie for fans of alfred hitchcock. Popularly known as the master of suspense for his use of innovative film techniques in thrillers, hitchcock started his career in the british film industry as a title designer and art director for a number of silent films during the early 1920s. This film builds in a way so the evil becomes stronger in particular individuals, and evil becomes stronger in the sense that it spreads, he said. Alfred hitchcock i confess 1953 shares a theme that many of his most famous films had.
In quebec city, quebec, father michael logan is accused of killing a wellknown lawyer. This is one of the lesser known films of hitchcock, but it deserves much more acclaim. The english soundtrack is rendered in dolby digital mono. Michael william logan, a catholic priest, anne baxter as ruth grandfort, and karl malden as inspector larrue the film is based on a 1902 french play by paul anthelme titled nos deux consciences our two consciences, which hitchcock saw in the 1930s the screenplay was written by george. But of hitchcocks nonsuspense films, i confess may be his greatest triumph.