Synopsis
Unable, due to the seal of the confessional, to be forthcoming with information that would serve to clear himself during a murder investigation, a priest becomes the prime suspect.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Montgomery CliftFr. Michael William Logan
- Anne BaxterRuth Grandfort
- Karl MaldenInspector Larrue
- Brian AherneWilly Robertson
- O.E. HasseOtto Keller
- Roger DannPierre Grandfort
- Dolly HaasAlma Keller
- Charles AndreFather Millars
- Nan BoardmanMaid (uncredited)
- Henry CordenDet. Sgt. Farouche (uncredited)
Recommendations
- 100
Slant Magazine
I Confess ultimately reveals itself to be one of Hitchcock’s most successful examinations of the tension between public image and private turmoil. - 100
The Guardian
In the work of someone so exhaustively appreciated as Hitchcock, you wouldn't expect to find forgotten masterpieces but I Confess is one. It might never catch fire, but it smoulders gloriously. - 70
Chicago Reader
The movie is more interesting than achieved: it's the most forthright statement of the transference theme in Hitchcock's work, but it's also the least nuanced. - 67
Austin Chronicle
Clift's performance is moody, the kind of slow, psychological approach rarely witnessed in Hitchcock's films. - 60
Variety
An interesting plot premise holds out considerable promise for this Alfred Hitchcock production, but I Confess is short of the suspense one would expect. - 60
Empire
It'll never be remembered as a Hitchcock classic by any stretch, but that is far from saying it's the mess that some regard it as. It's entertaining, and the visuals speak volumes more than the over-cooked dialogue. Worth a look. - 50
The New York Times
Even though moments in the picture do have some tension and power, and the whole thing is scrupulously acted by a tightly professional cast, the consequence is an entertainment that tends to drag, sag and generally grow dull. It is not the sort of entertaiment that one hopefully expects of "Hitch." - 50
Time Out
Clift (as the priest) and Malden (as the cop) make this worth watching, but it's heavy going at times and the more literary aspects of the script, adapted from Paul Anthelme's play (written in 1902), are uncinematic to say the least.
