Much like "The Wrong Man", another Alfred Hitchcock gem, "I Confess" is a classic "what if?" scenario, this time involving a Catholic priest and a confession that completely changes his life.For a basic plot summary, "I Confess" sees Father Michael Logan (Montgomery Clift) hear the confession of murderer Otto Keller (O.E. Hasse). Sworn to secrecy by the tradition of the confessional, however, Father Logan must grapple with his devotion to the cloth when outing Otto would mean saving himself and the woman he loves.This is a simple little film (nothing grandeur or over-the-top about it), but at the same time it works very well on a number of different levels. The acting is superb (also including Anne Baxter in a key role), the plot is classic Hitchcock character-driven suspense, and the narrative keeps progressing forward in such a way that it continues to build upon itself. In other words, the pressure only continues to mount on Logan as each new development in the murder case comes to light.Overall, "I Confess" is a solid Hitch effort that, while maybe not in "Top Ten" status for the famous director, is most certainly worth a viewing for the emotional characters and progressive drama.

While I heard this wasn't great Hitchcock, it begins quite nicely with a look that at times is reminiscent of German Expressionism and at other times of Neo-realism. The set up is nice and the murderer is squirmingly unlikable. Outside of Dimitri Tiomkin's horribly bombastic score, it seemed promising.I'd say for maybe a half hour it's a decent movie, as you see Montgomery Clift if conflict and see Karl Malden getting suspicious. Unfortunately the movie starts lagging, and then, when you think it won't be great but might be okay, it gets really, really bad. First off there's Anne Baxter's *endless* deposition, a dull mix of voice-over and bland snippets that should have taken about 2 minutes but instead goes on for what seemed to be 15. That was bad, as was the unrealistic gusto with which the police chased very slim evidence. But the movie achieved ultimate levels of absurdity in the last couple of scenes, in which a character's actions come out of nowhere, a plot thread just kind of peters out without resolution, and no one does anything that makes much sense at all, although it does wrap things up in a neat, though very ugly, bow.I find it incredible that people here are reviewing this favorably. I feel they all need to have seen the movie without knowing it was by Hitchcock, because I can't help but think that they are giving it a pass because of the director.

I confess that "I Confess" is the ONLY film to which i have given a rating of "1" in all the years i have been coming to IMDb and rating films. It is a ghastly, embarrassingly bad, over-acted, under-plotted, intensely smarmy and "reverential" social drama. I had high hopes for it because it was on an IMDb list of "100 best film noir movies." What a joke! It is not a film noir movie. It is not a police procedural. It is not a psychological thriller. It is not an action thriller. It was a downright waste of film stock when it was released -- and now it is a downright waste of electrons.The only, and i mean the only, only, only reason to watch this movie is to get a nice look at the architecture and clothing of the era. Hitchcock never disappoints as a film director when it comes to the long shot, the composition of black and white, the interplay of light and shadow. Okay. That's out of the way. Turn the damnable thing into still frames and have done with it.There is no way to write a "spoiler" for this mess because it doesn't have an actual plot. Well, actually, it has what i call a "buzz-buzz plot" -- that is, the whole thing hinges on the type of scene that marks a failed script, where one character turns to another and says, "Here's what i want you to do ... i want you to (sound drops) buzz buzz buzz (scene cut)." That is it. THAT, friends, is the plot.Mongomery Clift is completely unconvincing as anyone's former love-interest or as a World War Two veteran or as a priest. His idea of emoting is to clench his jaw a little.And as for the classic goof with Anne Baxter's costume (detailed here in the "goofs" section) it is more than a little "goof" -- it is a jaw-droppingly obvlivious loss of filmic continuity that will make your head spin.The jumbled use of about 16 different forms of post-War French and British and American and Mittel-European accents is just the kind of thing that makes me wish that i was watching "The Third Man" with Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten instead of this waste of Brian Aherne's time.Oh, and "reverential." I did mention that above. Please, if you want "reverential," do yourself a favour and watch "Going My Way" with Bing Crosby." Great film.Okay, i am done. My one consolation is that i will never have to watch this movie again.

Alfred Hitchcock directed this drama that stars Montgomery Clift as Father Michael Logan, a catholic Priest in Quebec who finds himself caught up in a murder investigation when the church caretaker(named Otto), after murdering a man whose home he was robbing, flees to the church for sanctuary after confessing the crime to Logan, who tries to convince him to turn himself in to the police, though he refuses. His wife Alma works in the church as a housekeeper, and keeps watch over him. The inspector in charge of the investigation(played by Karl Malden) comes to suspect Father Logan, which puts him in a bind if Otto won't confess, since he can't break confidentiality, even to save his life... Good cast can't save misfired drama, that never comes to life with a compelling story, despite some potential. A shame.