I Confess (1953) - Hitch's great drama of a Father caught by the confessional vow

♥♥♥♥♥

 

A very dramatic rendering on a firetruck red background of a man seemingly assaulting a woman makes up most of this extremely text-heavy poster for Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess

In Quebec, Canada, the German Keller confesses to murder to a the young father Logan, who since himself becomes the main suspect in the case. And while Logan's life is ruined by this, he cannot break his confessional vow of silence.

 

I Confess is written by William Archibald (The Innocents (1961)) and George Tabori (No Exit (1962)), adapting the 1902 play Nos Deux Consciences by Paul Anthelme Bourde (La Fin de Veux Temps (1892)), and directed by English master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock (The Pleasure Garden (1925)), whose 39th feature it was.

It is a very typical Hitchcock film about a wrongly accused man, who gets trapped in the judicial system. Thematically and religiously it is similar to Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956), of which nevertheless my preference probably goes to the latter film (due to its atmospheric New York setting and the score.)

The acting is formidable: Montgomery Clift (Wild River (1960)) across from the human scum in the guise of the German Keller, played by O.E. Hasse (Geliebter Lügner (1963, TV movie)). Anne Baxter (Columbo (1973, TV-series)) and Karl Malden (Nuts (1987)) also lend fine performances to the film. Technically also I Confess is a joy, as, among other finesses, it has some fine dreamy flashbacks.

 

Related posts:

Alfred Hitchcock: Frenzy (1972) - Hitchcock's great, morbid tie killer thriller 

The Birds (1963) - Hitchcock spearheads horror sub-genre and innovative special effects in great, odd film
Dial M for Murder (1954) - Hitchcock's 3D thriller is hindered by theatrics
The 39 Steps (1935) or, Murder and High Jinx!  

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 2 mil. $ (North America only)

= Uncertain

[I Confess premiered 12 February (Quebec) and runs 95 minutes. Controversial elements from the play had to be eliminated before production. Shooting took place from August - October 1952 in California and Quebec. Hitch had great difficulty catering to Clift's method acting technique, which he saw as inability to take direction. The film suffered many bad reviews domestically, but Variety reported it among 1953's biggest hits in a 1954 article, listing a 2 mil. $ domestic gross. Hitchcock returned with Dial M for Murder (1954). Clift returned in Terminal Station (1953); Baxter in The Blue Gardenia (1953). I Confess is fresh at 81 % with a 7.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of I Confess?