To celebrate Brian Aherne’s birthday I watched I Confess. It is a noir(ish) black and white Alfred Hitchcock film. The opening credits were over a church that was photographed from a boat on the river in Quebec. After the credits there is a sign after sign of “direction” a one way arrow. The final one points in a window where a body is seen on the floor with blood on his forehead. As the camera comes in the room the beaded curtain swings. It looks like a man in a priest coat walking out of the he building. A camera views sideways and upwards at the church. The camera shows Montgomery Clift in priests cloth at the window with the church reflected in the window. A man, the maintenance man at the church confesses to Clift that he killed a man by accident.
Brian Aherne plays a prosecutor. Detective Karl Malden comes to his office with a few witnesses. “Shall I bring in the girls?” the assistant asks. “Yes brings in the girls” Brian states with a gleam. In comes two pre-teen school girls. “Oh” he states disappointedly. He does several parlor tricks throughout the film.
During the investigation they go from church to church. There are camera views of upward and sideway shots of churches, mainly close up of steeples. Very interesting angles.
During the trial Brian Aherne is very soft spoken in his questions. He doesn’t come over as a bully or overbearing as most prosecutors are portrayed in films.
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