I Confess (1953)

A man is murdered late at night and the murder confesses to a young priest (Montgomery Clift) in, well, confession. Because of the sanctity of the confessional, Father Logan can’t tell the inspector (Karl Malden) anything about it. Nor can he explain why can’t answer questions. Or keep from acting very suspicious. He becomes the prime suspect as details connecting him to the victim are revealed. He can’t explain any of that either, of course.

No mystery here. We know the murder and the circumstances very early on. The details of his relationship with a married woman (Anne Baxter) are slowly revealed. An obvious flaw here is how easy it would have been for Father Logan to better explain his situation without lying or violating his oath. Also, did it slip his mind to tell the murderer that you are not automatically forgiven just because you confess? That little point should at least have been mentioned.

Oh, and here’s a dumb little trope. The Inspector is discussing the case with the prosecutor, when he tells an off-screen character to bring the girls in. The old prosecutor's face lights up with an “oooh girls!” look on his face. He is disappointed when two young school girls (witnesses) enter the room. What did he expect to happen there? A surprise mid-day orgy?

Montgomery Clift is a weird leading man, his performance feeling awkward and unnatural. The Method seems to be comprised of equal parts emotional problems and substance abuse. Clift lived a tortured life, dealing with physical, mental, and addiction problems, and racked by gay shame, before falling from Hollywood favor. When Marilyn Monroe calls you "the only person I know who is in worse shape than I am", you know you have problems.

But I promised to discuss Karl Malden. Well, pretty boring dude. Professional, serious, hard working. You know, boring. Well liked, though. He was always going to be a certain kind of actor. Never a romantic lead, but his strong voice landed him roles of authority. He seemed to always play a detective of some sort. He was a staunch defender of Elia Kazan. I guess I over promised.

Still, I Confess is a pretty good lesser Hitchcock. He soon will be onto better work but his craft is evident here. The story is compelling enough to overlook the flaws. And besides, Anne Baxter is adorable. AMRU 3. 24 down, 32 to go.