I Confess

     

 

I Confess. Montgomery Clift stars in this 1953 thriller as a priest who hears a killer’s confession but then is accused of the murder himself. Unable to speak out because of the seal of the confessional, police and public opinion turn against him especially when it turns out there was a woman, played by Anne Baxter, in his past. 95 minutes, CC.

Alfred Hitchcock directed this film that was beautifully photographed onsite in Quebec. At the time it was not received well by critics or the public, but later French critics ranked it with Hitchcock's best. Montgomery Clift gave a superb performance that demonstrated that his extraordinary good looks were matched by his acting ability.

Anne Baxter who had earlier starred in great films such as The Magnificent Ambersons, and All About Eve gave another fine performance, and Karl Malden did a great job as a determined police detective.

The DVD includes a feature full of information about the making of the film, and its stars. The 20 minute video can also be found on Youtube.

 

Anne Baxter and Montgomery Clift

Vicki

Vicki. Jeanne Crain and Jean Peters star in this 1953 remake of the 1941 noir classic, I Wake Up Screaming. Peters plays a glamorous model whose murder has all New York buzzing. Equally beautiful Jeanne Crain plays Vicki’s grieving sister who herself comes under suspicion by an obsessed police detective, played by Richard Boone, when it appears she is falling for the prime suspect in her sister's murder. 85 minutes. CC.

This film is worth watching but it pales in comparison with the 1941 original made at the height of Hollywood's Golden age, and at the dawn of the film noir era. By 1953 with the advent of TV, this short-lived American film renaissance was coming to an end. It is a good exercise to watch Vicki first and then watch I Wakeup Screaming. In every aspect whether it be directing, cinematography, casting, acting, and musical scoring, the 1941 film is better. For example, in Vicki Richard Boone is competent as a tough police detective, but Laird Kregar's performance in the 1941 film is unforgettable. He is a hulking, threatening, obsessive, but ultimately a sympathetic character. ###

Jeanne Crain and Jean Peters

  

Dangerous Crossing

 

Dangerous Crossing. Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie star in this dark and devious conspiracy driven suspense thriller from 1953. Crain, one of Hollywood’s most beautiful stars ever, plays a new bride setting out on a transatlantic honeymoon cruise. But when her husband vanishes, she discovers that not only can he not be found, but also that no one on the ship has any evidence that he was even booked on the cruise. 75 minutes. CC. 

This 1953 black and white drama was one of the last film noirs. The coming of TV to American homes starting around 1949 resulted in a dramatic drop in theater attendance. Hollywood studios had to drop the old formulas and turn to blockbuster technicolor films featuring wide screens. It was the end of film noir, and the Hollywood Golden Age. 

Still Dangerous Crossing is a good, if not great, suspense drama with fine performances by Crain and Rennie. Some critics pan Crain's performance as a woman in danger, but I never can see anything but good in this beautiful actress. She came to Hollywood in 1940 as a fifteen year old beauty queen, and rose to stardom despite getting married and having five or six children. Some of my favorite Crain films are State Fair, Vicki, and A Letter to Three Wives.

Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie

 The cinematography by Joseph LaShelle is excellent and the eerie musical score consists mainly of the ship's foghorn as the cruise liner wends its way through the Atlantic fog. Here is a link to an excellent blogpost by a female fan of Michael Rennie, but who regarded Jean Crain's performance as "spectacularly awful." I disagree.

I viewed the film on DVD but the full film is available on Youtube.

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