Greetings from VKMfanHuey!!!

Welcome to the Gingerology blog for the 1965 Kay Lewis Enterprises film, The Confession!!!

Ginger plays the role of Madame Rinaldi, the um... well... "boss lady" of an... um... well... "entertainment establishment"... and who has one of her "employees" (Barbara Eden as Pia) finding herself in a "delicate condition". However, with the unintentional assistance of Mario Forni (played by Ray Miland), Pia believes she has been witness to a miracle, and that all will be well... as a result, the entire town is "transformed", except for Mario and the Madame, who are too busy digging up gold and dodging the law...

Please note the 'menu' above, which has various information regarding the film; to the right (just below the Gingerology link) there are additional links regarding the film.

Please feel free to leave a comment with any general info, links, pics, or just to say hi!

...And be sure to check out our 'main' site, Gingerology - just click on the Ginger pic to the right. There you'll find a list of ALL of Ginger Rogers' films; click on any one, and you will be directed to a 'dedicated' blog about that film (not unlike this blog).

Keep It Gingery, y'all!

VKMfanHuey

---

Sunday, June 26, 2016

GingerBinge film #4... The Confession...

Well, here we are at the film Ginger...did not like... at ALL... there's quite a few reasons why, most of them outside the scope of the film itself... but hey, that's what I'm here to yak about, so... here we go...
...well, first off, the poster for this film gets HIGH marks, no doubt... (I actually have this poster, in Spanish, of all things... not even sure where I purchased it... um, those were in the reckless abandon of my GingereBay days of yore...) I've noted more than once that I am a HUMONGOUS Barbara Eden fan, so... seeing her here, as a REDHEAD, was a VERY interesting development... and her roles were always so sweet...she just always seemed so... SWEET... and BEAUTIFUL... and... well... I think y'all get the idea.
So, a good start right? Of course, GINGER is why we are here, and she is totally devastating in this film, at forty-something... she's just incredible... but her role as the Madame... is not quite as warm and fuzzy as one would like... at least until the latter half of the film. I guess I just don't like to see Ginger in the role of a 'corrupted woman' or whatever, and I'm pretty sure she was uncomfortable with it as well... but she put both feet into it, just like everything she did, and she turned in a solid role.
...the film itself? eh, after seeing it for the 3rd or 4th time, it's not THAT bad... there are some weird sequences here and there, but overall it's watchable... Ginger, Barbara, and Ray Miland do well enough to make it... watchable.
The opening sequence is one of the 60's animation deals, and is kinda cute... I guess the dude is supposed to be Ray Milland... and the female is Ginger...
Um... here's the real ones:
Question: Why does Ginger have a beauty mark on her right cheek? Her real one is still on her left cheek... maybe I'm missing something here...
...she's SOOOOO cute here... but this scene kinda gets a bit nasty, as Madame is trying to talk Pia into getting rid of the baby and remain on at the 'establishment'...
...and Barbara...sigh... I mean this HAS to be my favorite film of ALL TIME, RIGHT??? Alas, it isn't... but I can ALWAYS watch it...
...and I LOVE Ginger's hair... I know sometimes the 'light to dark' deal doesn't work, but it DOES here... for me, anyway... y'all form yer own opinions, but... yepyepyep...

...and then there's the 48 minute mark, where Ginger...ascends a flight of stairs... um... there's no way I can describe it adequately, and if I tried, there would probably be dire consequences from at least a few different parties... but let's just say, if asked, "Hey, what's your favorite six seconds of this film?" the 48:14 to 48:20 frames would be a GRAND candidate... um...the pic below is the 48:51 mark, approximately 30 or so seconds from the 'stair ascension' sequence... um, is it OK for me, as Lead Gingerologist, and Eternal Cabana Boy in Perpetuity, to say that Ginger has a BODACIOUS figure at the time this film was produced??? Well, I'm saying regardless, y'all...


OK - well, as to the FILM...the plot of this one is not extremely bad, as Pia believes she was spoken to by the town statue of Saint Joseph, which TOTALLY changes her outlook on life... and rubs off on the whole town. The weird thing towards the end is when Mario (Ray Miland) leaves a note for Pia explaining he was the one speaking to her from behind the statue... um...WHY would he do that? He and Ginger were skipping town anyway, so why not leave the town in ignorant bliss? Oh well... all's well that wends well... um, sorry if I 'gave away' anything here... but it's a pretty straightforward plot with a very predictable end...
The final analysis? A mediocre film, but it's a must for Gingerologists, trust me... and for any Edenites out there as well...

Thanks for stopping by!

KIG!
Hu
---






2 comments:

  1. Seems that most folks agree that this certainly was not one of Ginger's better films, it does have a few redeeming values. First, while this film must have been difficult for Ginger to make (in fact we're sure she hated it.), once again she gave her best in the performance. Another proof that this lady could do anything she set her mind to do! Second, we are given a great blessing in this picture. Right around the 1:01 point, Ginger's in bed with a nervous Ray Milland walking about. Lighting, make-up and camera art combine to give us several instants of virtually seeing our 20-something Ginger once more... Considering that Ginger was really in the 52-54 age range, it is really special to catch glimpses of her former youthful cuteness. Third, the moral of the story, uttered by the Bishop, is pretty good. Fourth, Ginger had a great closing line. When asked by Ray if she knew how to scuba dive, she replied, "No.... But I'll learn!!" And boy did she learn all those skills over her lifetime! That's Our Ginger!! It's really funny how our walk through Ginger's work this summer is taking an "Alpha and Omega" approach. Talk about comparing both ends together!! This is fun! Thanks for your efforts, Huey!! Onward!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. great thoughts! Yeah, she was in her FIFTIES here... dang I forgot to carry the one or whatever when estimating her age... that makes it even MORE awesome!! And the 'bones' of the film were not too bad, it just was... an ill-fated venture... with a bit more polish and care in the tech / edition department, it may have been 'passable'... for example, the very last scene where the car goes bye-bye, the screen cap I have there was the one spot where Miland's shadow wasn't partially covering Ginger's face... I'm no cinematographer, but... C'MON...even EYE know you shoot with light on faces... but it is pretty interesting, seeing the 'GingerGlimpses' from Madame Rinaldi and Puff Randolph, and how you can pick out those awesome 'Gingerisms' from either end of the spectrum... I love one of the first 'caps' up there where Ginger is talking to Barbara (Eden...) - her eyes are all lit up and is just RADIANT! and yes, the part you mentioned at the 60-minute mark... so beautiful... not sure why I didn't cap that sequence... well, I was just doing an 'overview' here, not the 'HueyReview'... which, after running thru this one again, may not be as bad as once thought...

      Delete