Word: confession
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Despite its suspense, off-angle shots, and flashbacks, I Confess hardly rates as first-class Hitchcock. But disregarding Alfred Hitchcock's former efforts, it is a fine product. In an era of stereotyped movie directing, a film with the director's brand stamped squarely on it provides a refreshing and entertaining change. However, in I Confess. Hitchcock has slightly overplayed his specialty--screen psychoanalysis...
Based on a play by Paul Anthelme, I Confess depicts a young Catholic priest, who, after hearing a real murderer's confession, is accused of the same murder. As the young priest, callow Montgomery Clift turns in a fine, sensitive performance. But by far the best actor is O. E. Hasse. Playing the warped, half-mad killer, he excites pity and hate with equal verve. Adding new zest to a standard role, Karl Malden plays the relentless, somewhat sadistic police inspector. Brian Aherne, a jovial but brilliant Crown Prosecutor, and Anne Baxter as the frustrated lover of the young priest...
With occasionally superb directing and accomplished actors, I Confess shows that Hitchcock, while not perfect, is still the best in the suspense business...
...Confess (Warner) is an Alfred Hitchcock whodunit with an intriguing premise: a Canadian priest (Montgomery Clift) is accused of murder, but cannot reveal the identity of the real killer because his lips are sealed by the confessional. The picture develops its theme in straightforward fashion with few surprises and plot twists. Since the audience knows from the beginning who the killer is, his undoing comes about in a rather lame climax...
...good, workmanlike thriller, I Confess, is only fair-to-middling Hitchcock. Unlike his best movies, it is often verbal instead of visual. There is a talky courtroom trial and, unusual for Hitchcock, a soggily sentimental flashback depicting a romance between the priest before he entered the church and a girl (Anne Baxter) who later marries a member of the Quebec Parliament. In the leading role, Montgomery Clift frequently appears more deadpan than stoical. Most authentic touches: Karl Malden's portrait of a hard-working detective and some real Quebec backgrounds...