1953
George Tabori, William Archibald
Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden, Brian Aherne, O.E. Hasse, Roger Dann, Dolly Haas, Charles Andre
Otto Kellar and his wife Alma work as caretaker and housekeeper at a Catholic church in Quebec. Whilst robbing a house where he sometimes works as a gardener, Otto is caught and kills the owner. Racked with guilt he heads back to the church where Father Michael Logan is working late. Otto confesses his crime, but when the police begin to suspect Father Logan he cannot reveal what he has been told in the confession. ------- In Quebec City, Father Michael Logan is accused of killing a well-known lawyer. The priest knows the murderer, but he can't reveal his identity because the man confessed the crime to him in the confessional. The guilty person is Otto Keller, the church sexton, who wore a priest's cassock to commit a robbery that led to the murder. Police inspector Larrue narrows his investigation to Logan, who had a motive for committing the crime. The lawyer was blackmailing Ruth Grandfort, wife of a prominent politician. He had threatened to make public a suspected liaison she had with Logan after he became a priest. Logan is arrested and tried for murder. The jury acquits him, but doubts remain as to his innocence. Following the trial, a crowd on the street threatens Logan and Ruth. When Logan is physically attacked, Keller's wife Alma, tells the crowd that her husband is the real murderer. ------- In Quebec, the exiled German Otto Keller confesses to the Catholic Priest Michael Logan late night in the church that he has just killed the lawyer Villette that employed him as gardener to steal U$ 2,000.00 dressed like a priest. Meanwhile the arrogant Inspector Larrue that is in charge of the investigation discovers two teenagers that have witnessed the killer dressed like a priest sneaking out Villette's house and walking to the church. When Larrue sees Father Logan talking to Ruth Grandfort nearby the crime scene, he summons them to a hearing in the precinct. Ruth provides an alibi to Father Logan telling that they met each other during the night. Further, she also tells that they had a past together before the war and also that Villette was blackmailing her due to a secret meeting she had with Father Logan, when they spent the night together. Father Logan keeps the secret of the confession, but Ruth unintentionally provides the motive for the murder and the prosecutor Willy Robertson uses it in court. ------- In Québec City, the murdered body of M. Villette, a prominent lawyer, is found by his part time gardener, Otto Keller, a German immigrant, who, with his wife Alma Keller, works as the domestic caretakers at Ste. Marie's Rectory. Based on the evidence amassed, the lead police investigator, Inspector Larrue, believes that Father Michael Logan, a parish priest at Ste. Marie's, is the murderer. Some of that evidence includes witnesses who saw a priest leave Villette's house immediately after the determined time of the death, and Father Logan seen suspiciously outside of Villette's house during the investigation with Ruth Grandfort, the wife of a prominent provincial politician. After questioning, Mme. Grandfort reveals the true nature of her and Father Logan's relationship, which some could construe as being inappropriate, and her unsavory relationship to Villette. Mme. Grandfort does whatever she can to help clear Father Logan's name. However, with further and further evidence mounting against him, Father Logan has to figure out what to do in light of the fact that he knows who the murderer is, that person, considered a friend, who made a confession to him. Only the murderer, the murderer's spouse and Father Logan know of the murderer's identity. If the murderer does not come forward, Father Logan has to decide if his reputation and life or his sacred vows to God and the Catholic church are more important.
91 minutes (at 25 frames per second)
699 MB
XviD - resolution: 448x336