Confession

Kay Francis gives what is probably her best, most stunning performance in "Confession" - a near shot-by-shot remake of a 1935 Pola Negri soaper called "Mazurka" about a mother/singer who kills her former lover (Basil Rathbone) as soon as she finds out that he is about court her daughter (Jane Bryan). She is put on trial and asked to recount her story. This is a pretty much a routine "Madame X" weepie about maternal sacrifice but under the direction of Joe May, a German emigré who once collaborated with Fritz Lang in Germany, it becomes an amazingly stylish melodrama with sprawling narrative, expressionist outbursts, inventive camera movements, and interesting use of flashbacks. The final moments after the trial are tragic and sad. I love all Kay Francis' movies; "Confession", I think, is her very best.

A remake of a 1935 film called MAZURKA and starring Pola Negri, Warners bought the rights and imported the story for Kay Francis, then the studio's #1 female star.

Francis is nothing short of sensational in this film, a story about a woman wronged, motherly love, honor, and sacrifice. By today's standards this all seemed like high fiction, but in the hands of Francis and director Joe May, this becomes a very stylish and absorbing film.

The direction and camera work are excellent. The music is also very good and helps set the scene. The supporting cast is very good also: Basil Rathbone, Jane Bryan, Veda Ann Borg, Ian Hunter, Laura Hope Crews, Donald Crisp, Robert Barrat, Ben Welden, and Mary Maguire.

Francis is stunning here, mostly as a blonde. And she's quite believable as a singer, although the operetta is rather lame. Still she does well with lip syncing to several songs. But she's never turned in a better performance, going from the girlish singer in love, to the bored housewife who drinks a tad too much at a party, to the accused in a murder case. It's a tour de force performance that should have earned her an Oscar nomination.

The film is beautifully directed by Joe May which is a surprise. A few years before this, May butchered a promising film version of the hit show MUSIC IN THE AIR which starred Gloria Swanson and John Boles. But here his direction is excellent, with lots of interesting camera angles and movement and some terrific composition. He certainly makes the most of the 86 minutes he has.

They just don't make movies like this any more. This one has a good story, crisp pacing, and stunning work from one of the decades biggest and most underrated stars: KAY FRANCIS.

1937's Confession was a huge hit for Kay Francis, who would soon find Warner Brothers trying to drive her and her big money contract out of the studio with bad scripts. I love when these studios have amnesia about the money a star has made for them.

Confession is a Madame X-type of film, with Francis as a tired, blond cabaret performer a la Dietrich on trial for killing a composer/conductor (Basil Rathbone). She refuses to say anything in her defense, but eventually, she tells her story. In flashback, we see the character of Vera as a young opera singer who gives up her career for love.

The studio treatment of "Confession" was similar to the treatment given "Algiers" - Warners bought up all the prints of "Mazurka," the European version of this film, and kept it from being seen outside of Germany.

Walter Wanger tried to buy up all the prints of "Pepe le Moko" when he made Algiers - fortunately, in that case, the ploy didn't work.

The cast is good, with Francis doing a great job as Vera. Rathbone is appropriately dashing and slimy as Michael.

Jane Bryan (who married Rexall Drugs and retired) gives an odd performance. Her character, Lisa, keeps saying that she doesn't want to see Michael, yet does.

That is understandable, but when she's with him, she acts miserable and like she doesn't want to be there. Not that I blame her, but why go out with him in the first place? She doesn't exhibit, for me anyway, the sexual desire and excitement that would make her nervousness and discomfort believable.

Very good film, recommended, especially for a stunning Kay Francis performance.

This Kay Francis film is a textbook on how to act in a natural manner, even for the minor characters. The dialogue, expressions of the actors, direction and camera work make this little film a true gem. Note that there is no obscene language, nudity or violence for its own sake, and yet the message is very powerful and memorable. Perhaps someday a farsighted film company will come along and make films like this once again so that serious subjects can be viewed and absorbed by the whole family.

Looking older than her years, pretty Polish teenager Jane Bryan (as Lisa) finds herself seduced into kissing suave concert pianist Basil Rathbone (as Michael Michailow). On a date, they see beautiful lounge singer Kay Francis (as Vera) synching "One Hour of Romance" in a sexy costume. When Ms. Francis sees Mr. Rathbone, she faints. As it turns out, Francis has a past connection to Rathbone. Next, one of the film's two startling plot developments occurs, and we move to a murder trial. Francis takes her star position with a flashback to 1912 - and years thereafter, to 1930 - revealing a dark, melodramatic mystery...

Francis proves herself a dynamic tragedienne, especially during the ending trial; darkly costumed, with blonde hair, she emotes fiercely and looks glorious. Ian Hunter (as Leonide Kirow) is credited as the leading man, but he is a supporting player, with relatively little to do. The real leading man is Rathbone, who takes full advantage of a delicious role. "Confession" is a shot-by-shot re-make of Willi Forst's "Mazurka" (1935), which starred Pola Negri (a very influential "silent" actress who lost favor when off-screen affairs preempted on-screen performances). The direction, Joe May swiping Mr. Forst, is excellent.

******* Confession (8/19/37) Joe May ~ Kay Francis, Basil Rathbone, Jane Bryan, Dorothy Peterson