once darkness, now light: 'I Confess!'

I Confess, Alfred Hitchcock 1953

Hitchcock's cameo

In the very Hitchcockian opening sequence, all road signs lead to the murder scene which sets the narrative rolling.

In Quebec city, Catholic priest Father Michael Logan (Montgomery Clift) hears a confession of the robbery and murder committed by his parishioner Otto Keller (O. E. Hasse) of local lawyer M. Villette. Logan is bound by confessional law to keep Keller's secret, even when investigations turn to Logan himself as the lead suspect. Further evidence mounts against him when it is revealed that the victim was blackmailing Logan's ex-lover Ruth Grandfort (Anne Baxter), and Father Logan goes to trial, still unable to reveal the truth.

The murderer disguised in priests robes

The murderer's confession

I Confess certainly isn't Alfred Hitchcock's best film, but I think it often gets overlooked in many critics appraisals of his work. It includes beautiful (and very deliberate) cinematography, with a lot of interplay between light and shadows, a soaring musical score by Dimitri Tiomkin and many common Hitchcock themes, the main being a favourite use of the 'wrong man' narrative.

Interestingly, I Confess gained the most success in France where it was highly regarded by the Cahiers du Cinema critics who eventually revived French cinema with the New Wave movement.

Upon release some viewed Clift's portrayal of the priest as rather rigid, but I think he brings a very considered stillness to the role and plays it really well. It was said that he researched the appropriate walk and stance that priests require to wear the long cassocks, which he apparently mimics perfectly!