I Confess

Montgomery Clift stars—in the only film he made with Alfred Hitchcock—as Father Logan, a priest who hears a murder confession and then becomes the prime suspect. Based on a 1902 French play, Hitchcock moves the story to present day Canada (the film was released in 1953), which is still healing from the wounds of World War II. Clift's character turned to the priesthood after returning from the war, while the killer (O.E. Hasse) is a European immigrant who came to Canada to begin a new life with his frail wife. Anne Baxter costars as a married woman who was being blackmailed by the murder victim and Karl Malden is the inspector leading the investigation. Clift delivers an intense performance as a haunted man, suggesting depths of regret, anxiety, and torment in his controlled sad-eyed performance, and Hitchcock plays with the viewer's sympathies for the real killer, a man who survived terrible hardships but slowly reveals the corrupted soul that plants evidence to frame the priest. The film is set in Quebec, where Hitchcock makes memorable use of the distinctive architecture that looks more like a European capital than a modern North American city. I Confess is neither as thrilling nor as entertaining as Hitchcock's most famous films, and much of it consists of an extended flashback and a courtroom scene (never one of Hitch's strengths), but the story is a natural fit for Hitchcock's interest in themes related to guilt, secrets, and innocents accused of crimes. Making its Blu-ray debut with extras including a “making-of” featurette and newsreel footage from the film's premiere, this is recommended. (S. Axmaker)