I Confess Details

Dismissed by the critics and shunned by the public, this is perhaps Alfred Hitchcock's most under-rated film. In many ways, it shares the transference of guilt theme he had explored in his previous movie, Strangers on a Train. But what alienated many audiences was an unfamiliarity with the codes of Catholicism that prevent a priest from betraying the secrets of the confessional. Seen today, this is a classic Hitchcock “wrong man” story, which makes marvellous use of its Quebec settings. Montgomery Clift's natural haunted look is ideal, but some of his Method mannerisms jar. Talky, serious and difficult, but long overdue for reappraisal, the film was incorporated into the plot of 1995's The Confessional, directed by Robert Lepage.

Hitchcock is always worth watching, and although this old chestnut gives him very restricted scope he imbues the story with a strong feeling for its setting (Quebec) and an overpowering sense of doom.