100 Movies Every Catholic Should See #13: I Confess (1953)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by William Archibald and George Tabori. Starring Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden, and O. E. Hasse.

Between Strangers on a Train and Dial M for Murder, right at the beginning of what many consider Alfred Hitchcock’s golden age of cinematic thrillers, the Master of Suspense directed I Confess, a legal thriller centered around a Roman Catholic priest’s refusal to break the seal of the confessional. It is not as well-known or beloved as some of Hitch’s other films, perhaps because if the audience does not understand the absolute sacrality of the confessional, the main conflict seems like it could be avoided with just a few words. However, to a Catholic audience this film not only deals respectfully and innovatively with our sacramental traditions but also explores Christlike self-sacrifice and heroism in a powerful way.