I Confess

One of Hitchcock's most overtly 'serious' and portentous murder plots, about a Catholic priest who faces the death penalty because of his refusal to break the secrecy of the confessional. Its theological theme and exploration of personal guilt once made it a cardinal point in the pro-Hitchcock arguments of the French critics, notably Chabrol and Rohmer. But now that most critics accept Hitchcock as more than just entertainment, the more strained and serious movies look a lot less formidable than the so-called roller-coaster rides like Psycho. Clift (as the priest) and Malden (as the cop) make this worth watching, but it's heavy going at times and the more literary aspects of the script, adapted from Paul Anthelme's play (written in 1902), are uncinematic to say the least.