Michael Logan is a priest in Quebec when the handyman in the church where he works confesses to a murder. To complicate things, Father Logan had a grievance with the dead man. When the police come calling, will he break his confessional vows to save himself ?
This is a minor Hitchcock picture I guess, a little too static and talky for me, but it's still a good story with many interesting themes going on. If ever there was a film about guilt it's this one. Father Logan feels guilty for loving Ruth and for not reporting Otto, Ruth feels guilty for ruining her marriage, Otto feels guilty for what he has done and for the actions of his country, Pierre feels guilty for keeping Ruth from the man she loves, and so on. In Hitch's cinema, pretty much everyone is guilty of something - it's our subsequent actions which either redeem or condemn us. It's not that well known that he was raised in a fairly strict Catholic household, although this is one of his few films to explore religion in any detail. Whilst the concepts and conflicts are intriguing, for me the movie is let down by a lack of action - there are lengthy exposition sequences and dull conversations which lead nowhere. Also, Clift's method acting does not really suit Hitch's suspenseful style and it's hard to identify with a man who alternately clams up and protests his innocence. The rest of the cast are pretty solid though. Arguably the best performance is from German actor O.E. Hasse as the killer, whose insistent doubt and fear that Logan will give him away to the police consumes any decency he has left. Hasse's first name was Otto, the same as his character, and he had an interesting if low-key career in both European and American films, notably Jean Renoir's 1962 Le Caporal Epingle. Note also the intense performance by Haas as the wife (named Alma, Hitch's real life wife's name) who ultimately cannot bear the weight of the secret. Technically however, there is a lot to enjoy here. The black-and-white Quebec location photography by Robert Burks is first-rate throughout, and the fine score by Dimitri Tiomkin is probably the best of the four he did for Hitch (although the three other movies are all better). Note the subtle but inspired use of the Latin hymn Dies Irae in the creepy opening church sequence as Logan first confronts Otto. A lesser but thought-provoking exploration of an age-old question - can you keep a secret ? Hitch appears in one of the opening shots for his standard enigmatic cameo.
This is a minor Hitchcock picture I guess, a little too static and talky for me, but it's still a good story with many interesting themes going on. If ever there was a film about guilt it's this one. Father Logan feels guilty for loving Ruth and for not reporting Otto, Ruth feels guilty for ruining her marriage, Otto feels guilty for what he has done and for the actions of his country, Pierre feels guilty for keeping Ruth from the man she loves, and so on. In Hitch's cinema, pretty much everyone is guilty of something - it's our subsequent actions which either redeem or condemn us. It's not that well known that he was raised in a fairly strict Catholic household, although this is one of his few films to explore religion in any detail. Whilst the concepts and conflicts are intriguing, for me the movie is let down by a lack of action - there are lengthy exposition sequences and dull conversations which lead nowhere. Also, Clift's method acting does not really suit Hitch's suspenseful style and it's hard to identify with a man who alternately clams up and protests his innocence. The rest of the cast are pretty solid though. Arguably the best performance is from German actor O.E. Hasse as the killer, whose insistent doubt and fear that Logan will give him away to the police consumes any decency he has left. Hasse's first name was Otto, the same as his character, and he had an interesting if low-key career in both European and American films, notably Jean Renoir's 1962 Le Caporal Epingle. Note also the intense performance by Haas as the wife (named Alma, Hitch's real life wife's name) who ultimately cannot bear the weight of the secret. Technically however, there is a lot to enjoy here. The black-and-white Quebec location photography by Robert Burks is first-rate throughout, and the fine score by Dimitri Tiomkin is probably the best of the four he did for Hitch (although the three other movies are all better). Note the subtle but inspired use of the Latin hymn Dies Irae in the creepy opening church sequence as Logan first confronts Otto. A lesser but thought-provoking exploration of an age-old question - can you keep a secret ? Hitch appears in one of the opening shots for his standard enigmatic cameo.