''Full Confession'' is a 1939

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

proto film-noir,

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film made by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

. It was

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, he was nomina ...

from an adaptation by Jerome Cady of Leo Birinski's story. The film stars

Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British-American actor and boxer.Obituary '' Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. His film career spanned from the early 1920s through the 1950s, initially ...

, Sally Eilers, Barry Fitzgerald and

Joseph Calleia Joseph Calleia ( ; born Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja, August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975) was a Maltese-born American actor and singer on the stage and in films, radio and television. After serving in the Merchant Navy (Un ...

Plot

Pat McGinnis (

) murders a policeman and escapes by committing a more minor crime, for which he is arrested and jailed. An innocent man, Michael O'Keefe ( Barry Fitzgerald), is convicted of the murder and sentenced to death. While delirious after an injury, McGinnis confesses to priest Father Loma (

). Loma, whose flock includes McGinnis's girlfriend Molly Sullivan ( Sally Eilers) as well as the O'Keefe clan, struggles to find a way to save O'Keefe without violating the sanctity of confession. He must convince McGinnis to give himself up.

Cast

as Pat McGinnis * Sally Eilers as Molly Sullivan *

as Father Loma * Barry Fitzgerald as Michael O'Keefe *

Elisabeth Risdon Elisabeth Risdon (born Daisy Cartwright Risdon; 26 April 1887 – 20 December 1958) was an English film actress. She appeared in more than 140 films from 1913 to 1952. A beauty in her youth, she usually played in society parts. In later yea ...

as Norah O'Keefe * Pamela Blake as Laura Mahoney (as Adele Pearce) * Malcolm 'Bud' McTaggart as Frank O'Keefe * John Bleifer as Weaver * William Haade as Moore * George Humbert as Mercantonio *

Stanley Blystone William Stanley Blystone (August 1, 1894 – July 16, 1956) was an American film actor who made more than 500 films appearances from 1924 to 1956. He was sometimes billed as William Blystone or William Stanley. Early years Blystone was born in ...

as Detective (uncredited) *

Robert Homans Robert Edward Homans (November 8, 1877 – July 28, 1947) was an American actor who entered films in 1923 after a lengthy stage career. Life and career Robert Homans was born November 8, 1877, in Malden, Massachusetts. Although he studied ...

as Bartender (uncredited)

Production

Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal ...

of RKO bought the film rights to Leo Birinski's story in January 1939 intending to turn it into a vehicle for Chester Morris. Robert Sisk was assigned to produce. Eventually the lead role was given to

and

was given the job of directing. A key support part was given to Barry Fitzgerald, who had appeared in ''The Informer'' (1935) with McLaglen and had not made a film since ''

Bringing Up Baby ''Bringing Up Baby'' is a 1938 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. It was released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. The film tells the story of a paleontologist in a numb ...

'' (1938); he had most recently been on Broadway in ''The White Steed''.

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

was to play the female lead but was ultimately unable to because she was recovering from an operation for appendicitis. Filming started 15 June 1939.

Notes

Full Confession is often regarded as a semi-remake of

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

's '' The Informer'' (1935) starring the same leading man, Victor McLaglen.

References

External links

* * *
Review of film
at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

1939 films American crime drama films American black-and-white films 1939 crime drama films Films scored by Roy Webb Films directed by John Farrow RKO Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language crime drama films {{1930s-drama-film-stub