Show all services

Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

I Confess Photos

View All Photos (24)

Movie Info

Father Logan (Montgomery Clift) is a Catholic priest, but he finds his faith put to the test when he is accused of the murder of a wealthy member of his parish. The real murderer was Otto (O.E. Hasse), a poor German immigrant desperate for money, and Father Logan knows this because Otto confessed it to him. However, Father Logan is bound by the secrecy of the confessional and cannot share this evidence with the police, even if it means his own life.

Genre:

drama
Original Language:

English
Director:

Alfred Hitchcock
Producer:

Alfred Hitchcock
Writer:

George Tabori, William Archibald
Release Date (Streaming):

Sep 11, 2015
Runtime:

1h 35m
Production Co:

Warner Brothers
Sound Mix:

Mono
Aspect Ratio:

35mm

Cast & Crew

Montgomery Clift
Fr. Michael William Logan

Anne Baxter
Ruth Grandfort

Karl Malden
Inspector Larrue

Brian Aherne
Willy Robertson

O.E. Hasse
Otto Keller

Roger Dann
Pierre Grandfort

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for I Confess

All Critics (30) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (24) | Rotten (6)

For a believing Christian, thoughts can be as sinful as deeds...This powerful 1953 melodrama makes the point in an explicitly religious context.

November 9, 2018 | Full Review…

Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
It's entertaining, and the visuals speak volumes more than the over-cooked dialogue. Worth a look.

March 20, 2012 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
The movie is more interesting than achieved: it's the most forthright statement of the transference theme in Hitchcock's work, but it's also the least nuanced.

March 20, 2012 | Full Review…

Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
While Hitchcock short-changes on the expected round of suspense for which he is noted, he does bring out a number of topflight performances and gives the picture an interesting polish that is documentary at times.

August 24, 2008 | Full Review…

Variety Staff
Variety
A good, workmanlike thriller, I Confess is only fair-to-middling Hitchcock.

August 24, 2008 | Full Review…

TIME Magazine
Alfred Hitchcock's famous talent for brewing a mood of fine suspense with clever direction and cutting is spent on a nigh suspenseless script.

March 25, 2006 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Hitchcock's new melodrama, I Confess, has negated the realism to settle for the "effects."

November 24, 2020 | Full Review…

Manny Farber
The Nation
In the end, the climax provides some excitement - but only due to a bit of chaos and a colossal contrivance rather than a clever form of sleuthing or justice.

August 23, 2020 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…

Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Although I Confess... lacks some of the cumulative suspense which has marked most pictures by Alfred Hitchcock, it becomes engrossing entertainment because he is dealing with a clever Idea in a more than ordinarily perceptive way.

June 25, 2020 | Full Review…

Frank Morriss
Winnipeg Free Press
But of [Hitchcock's] non-suspense films, I Confess may be his greatest triumph.

December 28, 2018 | Rating: 8/10 | Full Review…

Nathanael Hood
The Retro Set
A passable yet underwhelming thriller...

July 31, 2016 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…

David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
A rare misfire from Alfred Hitchcock.

February 20, 2016 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

View All Critic Reviews (30)

Audience Reviews for I Confess

Jan 22, 2015

***Spoiler Alert*** I Confess that this is the 1st ever Hitchcock movie I truly enjoyed.I've never liked any of Hitchcock's other movies so I was NOT expecting to like this 1 at all.I was expecting to either fall asleep while watching it or turn it off after 20-30 minutes.I was into the movie right from the start & couldn't wait to see how it ended.My only complaint about I Confess was the ending.I never heard the 2 people, The 1 responsible for the murder & his wife confess to anything.The only thing they did was ask for forgiveness.I was expecting for the wife's conscience to get to her & she'd confess that her husband was the killer or the husband would confess to everything but neither 1 seemed to & that ruined the movie for me a bit.But still, Even if you're not a fan of Hitchcock I'd tell you go see this movie.It's worth watching

Brody M Super Reviewer
May 14, 2013

Hitchcock's fans are bound to find something or another interesting in this simple crime drama, but I failed to hail any part of it. Not just the predictability, but the too-good-to-be-real love story also distracted me. Despite watching a work of fiction, I simply couldn't ignore that sort of execution.

familiar s Super Reviewer
Feb 29, 2012

A murderer confesses his dirt to a Catholic priest, but will the priest keep his vow of silence ... even after the priest is accused of the crime? Like The Wrong Man, this (beautifully filmed in noirish black and white) is chock full of Catholic imagery and bravura performances by the principals, but the melodramatic script renders this only Hitchcock lite, which is still better than a lot.

Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
Sep 29, 2011

An excellent performance by Montgomery Clift. Anne Baxter is not so good but competend. The dramatic core of the story is powerful (the dillema of the priest) and the film certainly builds some truly emotional moments from it (the scene right after the end of the trial in which Clift walks away into the crowd is great). But the finale is anticlimatic. The hero gets away too easily in the end. It is unfair to criticize the film in terms of lacking suspence. Hitchcock has other qualities as a filmmaker too and not evry film must be suspenceful. Also, there must be a mention of the soundtrack which includes some really nice variations of Dies Irae by Tiomkin. Sometimes there is too much music though and that makes the rhythm of the film look forceful at times. Overall a really good film.

George M Super Reviewer