I Confess had one of the longest pre-productions of any Hitchcock film, with almost 12 writers working on the script for Hitchcock over a period of eight years.
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Theatrical release poster
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Hitchcock had taken time off for the wedding of his daughter Patricia Hitchcock in 1951, and he was in the midst of dissolving his partnership in Transatlantic Pictures with Sidney Bernstein.
In the original script, following the source play, the priest and his lover had illegitimate baby, and the priest was executed at the end of the film. These elements were removed at the insistence of execs at Warner who feared a negative reaction.
Characters
The narrative is based on four sets of characters.
The first is between Father Logan and Inspector Larrue (Clift and Karl Malden).
The second is between Father Logan and Ruth, the married woman who’s in love with him (Anne Baxter)
The third is between husband Pierre (Roger Dann) and his wife Ruth (Anne Baxter)
The third is between the villain, Otto Keller, and his loyal wife Alma (played by husband and wife actors, O. E. Hasse and Dolly Haas)
Casting
Hitchcock first hired Anita Björk as the female lead after seeing her in Miss Julie (1951). However, when she arrived in Hollywood with her lover and their baby, Warner insisted that Hitchcock find another actress for the role.
As a result, he cast Anne Baxter, who was popular then after scoring an Oscar nod in All About Eve.
Location: Quebec
Shooting took place in Hollywood and Quebec from August 21 to October 22, 1952.
Hitchcock had planned on using Quebec churches at no cost. When the local diocese read the original script by George Tabori, it objected to the priest’s execution and rescinded its permission. Tabori refused to change the script, and Hitchcock brought in William Archibald to rewrite it.
Hitchcock Vs. Monty Clift
Hitchcock created detailed storyboards for each scene. He could not understand Clift’s Method acting technique and quickly became frustrated with Clift when he blew take after take for failing to follow Hitchcock’s instructions.
Aware of the difficulty non-Catholics would have in understanding the priest’s reluctance to expose Keller, Hitchcock said: “We Catholics know that a priest cannot disclose the secret of the confessional, but the Protestants, the atheists, and the agnostics all say, ‘Ridiculous! No man would remain silent and sacrifice his life for such a thing.’
Ruth’s meeting with Logan occurred between 9 and 11 pm on the night of the murder, but Larrue shows Robinson Villette’s autopsy report that indicates that Villette couldn’t have died before 11:30 pm. The fact that Ruth and Logan concluded their meeting at 11 pm leaves Logan without an alibi.
Symmetry: Spoiler Alert
The film begins and ends with a confession.
The tale begins one evening as a man wearing cassock walks away from Villette’s home with the lawyer dead on the floor inside. Shortly afterward, in the church Otto confesses to Logan that he accidentally killed Villette while trying to rob him. Otto tells his wife about his deed and assures her that the priest will not say anything because he is required to keep anything revealed during confession inviolate.
In the end, Larrue, realizing that Otto is the murderer, corners him in the grand ballroom of the Château Frontenac, and tricks him into confessing the murder. Otto, suspecting that Logan had betrayed him to the police, threatens to shoot him. However, Logan prefers peace and advances into the ballroom to talk with Otto.
Logan’s main intention is to prevent a ballroom gunfight, but Otto shoots at him; a police sharpshooter then shoots Otto, saving Logan’s life. Mortally wounded, Otto calls to Logan in extremis and dies after asking him for forgiveness.
Context and Relevancy
The tale assumed greater relevancy due to its theme of refusal to testify, which is a veiled allegory to McCarthyism and the Black List.
The issue would be treated more explicitly the following year in Kazan’s On the Waterfront, starring Brando, which swept the 1954 Oscars.
Visual Style
Shot in b/w, the photography is stark and austere, underlining the tale’s bleak, solemn, and subdued tone.
There’s use of odd angles, sharp cutting from exteriors to interiors.
Theme
Contrast between idealism and romantic fantasy and the reality of unhappy marriages, as he one between Ruth and Pierre Grandfort (played by Anne Baxter and Pierre).
Hitchcock’s cameo appearance
Hitchcock’s cameo occurs during the second minute—right after the opening credits—as he walks across the top of stairway.
The film was banned in Ireland because it showed a priest having relationship with a woman (even though, in the film, the relationship takes place before the character becomes a priest).
The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.
I Confess was a favorite among French New Wave filmmakers, according to filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich.
On Rotten Tomatoes, I Confess holds rating of 81% from 31 reviews.
Cast
Montgomery Clift as Father Michael William Logan
Anne Baxter as Ruth Grandfort
Karl Malden as Inspector Larrue
Brian Aherne as Chief Prosecutor Willy Robertson
O. E. Hasse as Otto Keller
Dolly Haas as Alma Keller
Roger Dann as Pierre Grandfort
Charles Andre as Father Millars
Recycling
I Confess was adapted to the radio program Lux Radio Theatre on September 21, 1953, with Cary Grant in Montgomery Clift’s role.
