A priest hears the confession of a murderer in Quebec City. Before long, the chief inspector investigating the murder begins to suspect the priest himself of the crime. The priest knows he’s innocent (and so do we) but his vows prevent him from being able to disclose the murderer’s true identity, only casting further suspicion on him. That’s the set-up of the tense, masterful 1953 Alfred Hitchcock movie I Confess. It’s not one of Hitchcock’s better known films, which is a shame, because it’s completely riveting. Shot in beautiful black and white, and featuring stunning vistas of Quebec City (not a very common movie location), I Confess stars a haunted Montgomery Clift as the priest, Anne Baxter as his old flame, and Karl Malden as the inspector on his trail. A superb supporting cast rounds out this fantastic film noir, which deserves to be much better known than it is.
