Handlinghandel Review of Full Confession

Full Confession (1939)

Looks Beautiful, like the Best Noir, But Is A Tad Too Preachy

[6/10 · 6 November 2003]

This is a little early to be a noir but it has a beautiful Expressionistic look. It is shot in chiaroscuro much of the time.

Here, everyone is Irish. Barry Fitzgerald, the falsely accused, and Victor McLaglen, the real murderer.

There is an uneasy pious quality to the goings on, with a Roman Catholic priest as the central, and almost Christlike, figure.

When McLaglen finally confesses, he does so to the background of a heavenly choir.