I Confess is one of those movies that almost reaches the brink of greatness, but just doesn't quite make it. Hitchcock's direction is certainly fine, if not a bit pedestrian. There are no signature scenes that seems to be present in many of his other films (such as the shower scene in Psycho, or the Mount Rushmore chase in North By Northwest). There is a flashback sequence, showing Clift before his character was a priest, that starts off beautifully....the camera is slightly cock-eyed, and Anne Baxter descends the staircase in slow motion, almost flowing down the stairs. However, the rest of the flashback just doesn't live up to the potential established in that first shot. Karl Malden is good as usual. Clift does an okay job in the role of the priest who hears the confession of the murderer. Anne Baxter is very good, and the supporting cast is certainly fine. I have also had a problem with the musical score of this film. Seems that Jack Warner had a standing rule at WB studios, of filling nearly every second of a film's soundtrack with background music. I'm sure Hitchcock and Tiomkin both cringed at this insane policy. Tiomkin DOES provide the film with a beautiful love theme of sorts. I recommend this film, but I don't guarantee that you'll be watching a classic. *** out of ****.
