I Confess (film)
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| I Confess | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster |
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| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Produced by | Uncredited: Alfred Hitchcock |
| Written by | Play: Paul Anthelme Screenplay: George Tabori William Archibald |
| Starring | Montgomery Clift Anne Baxter Karl Malden Brian Aherne Roger Dann Dolly Haas |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Cinematography | Robert Burks |
| Editing by | Rudi Fehr |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) |  March 22, 1953 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
I Confess is a 1953 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Montgomery Clift as Fr. 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 called Nos Deux Consciences, a play Hitchcock saw in the 1930s. The screenplay was written by George Tabori. The movie is filmed on location in Québec, Canada, with numerous outdoor shots of the city and interior scenes of its churches.
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[edit] Plot
Otto Kellar (O. E. Hasse) and his wife Alma (Dolly Haas) work as caretaker and housekeeper at a Catholic church in Québec. While robbing a house where he gardens, Otto is surprised and inadvertently murders the owner. Feeling guilty, he confesses to Father Michael William Logan (Montgomery Clift) back at the church.
Father Logan has secrets of his own. An old girlfriend (from before he was a priest) was being blackmailed by the murdered man. Police investigators, finding out about the priest's past, begin to suspect Father Logan when he refuses to reveal anything of his earlier relationship with the woman that might harm her current marriage, or what he has been told in the confessional.
[edit] Reaction
The film is considered a favorite among French New Wave film makers, according to filmmaker/historian Peter Bogdanovich.
The film was banned in Ireland because it showed a priest having a relationship with a woman (even though, in the movie, the relationship takes place before the character becomes a priest).
[edit] Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Montgomery Clift | Fr. Michael William Logan |
| Anne Baxter | Ruth Grandfort |
| Karl Malden | Inspector Larrue |
| Brian Aherne | Willy Robertson |
| Roger Dann | Pierre Grandfort |
| Dolly Haas | Alma Keller |
| Charles Andre | Fr. Millars |
| O.E. Hasse | Otto Keller |
[edit] See also
Le Confessional, a 1994 film which dramatizes the filming of I Confess as the backdrop for a thematically-related story.
[edit] Trivia
- Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is a signature occurrence in most of his films. In I Confess he can be seen (after the credits) crossing the top of a staircase.
[edit] Reference
I Confess DVD documentary
[edit] External links
- I Confess at the Internet Movie Database
- I Confess (1953) at Alfred Hitchcock Fans Online
