Rent I Confess (1953)
3.5 of 5 from 89 ratings
1h 32min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- In Alfred Hitchcock's 'I Confess', Father Michael Logan (Montgomery Clift), apparently a model of clerical piety, hears a killer's confession. Eyewitnesses point to a priest as the murderer, and the sacrament of penance forbids Logan to speak out - even in his own defense - when circumstantial evidence targets Logan as the prime suspect! Academy Award winners Anne Baxter and Karl Malden costar as a former flame and a police inspector whose attempts to clear Logan only entrap him further. Filmed in Quebec on locations highlighting that city's Old World traditions, 'I Confess' races toward a climax that's unforgettable. And in true Hitchcock fashion, you'll confess to being hooked all the way.
- Actors:
- Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden, Brian Aherne, O.E. Hasse, Roger Dann, Dolly Haas, Charles Andre, Nan Boardman, Henry Corden, Carmen Gingras, Albert Godderis, Alfred Hitchcock, Renée Hudon, Ovila Légaré, Gilles Pelletier, Judson Pratt
- Directors:
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Producers:
- Sidney Bernstein, Alfred Hitchcock
- Writers:
- George Tabori, William Archibald, Paul Anthelme
- Aka:
- Alfred Hitchcock's 'I Confess!'
- Studio:
- Warner
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- 100 Years of German Expressionism, Cinema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 1, Film History, A Brief History of Film...
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 11/06/2018
- Run Time:
- 94 minutes
- Languages:
- Castilian Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, French Dolby Digital 2.0, Latin American Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, Polish Dolby Digital 2.0
- Subtitles:
- Castillian, Czech, English Hard of Hearing, French, Latin American Spanish, Polish
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Making-Of Documentary: 'Hitchcock's Confession: A Look at 'I Confess'
- Premiere Newsreel
- Theatrical Trailer
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Reviews (2) of I Confess
Staying silent - I Confess review by LC
A reasonably solid Hitchcock thriller, though the ending veers towards rather extreme melodrama. Ultimately this film will succeed or not depending on how much sympathy you have for the central character's dilemma. Presumably at the time this film was made, there was considered to be something vaguely noble in a priest keeping a criminal's confidence - following numerous real-life scandals regarding church cover-ups, I'm not sure how much of this will hold much water for a modern audience. A more in depth exploration of the moral aspect might have been nice, but as it is, this film is more concerned with the nuts and bolts of the plot.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Catholic Noir. - I Confess review by Steve
Alfred Hitchcock may have been reflecting on his experiences at UFA in Berlin in '24 when he made this taut and exciting film noir, as it is reminiscent of the expressionist films of the period, particularly the long flashback, and an impressive near silent performance from German actor Dolly Haas.
Montgomery Clift plays a priest suspected of murder who hears the confession of the real killer but is unable to break the sanctity of the sacrament in order to clear his own name. It's a thriller that's quite close to home for the Jesuit educated Hitchcock and the themes of catholicism and guilt are- of course- integral to his work.
Hitch didn't get on with his star and felt him unpredictable and uncooperative (and often drunk). But it's Clift's palpable anguish which makes this more emotionally compelling than the director's films often are. And Haas and OE Hasse are haunting in crucial support roles.
There is a strong evocation of the City of Quebec and the b&w photography is beautiful. Not absolute Grade A Hitchcock, but it's unique in his filmography and full of atmosphere. It's tempting to wonder if Clift's difficult time on location was a symptom of Hitch's indifference to his actors' motivations.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.