At a Catholic public school, Benjamin Stanfield is tired of being the teacher's pet and decides to play a practical joke on his form master Father Goddard. In confession, Stanfield tells ...
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Richard Burton | ... | Father Goddard | |
| Dominic Guard | ... | Benjamin 'Benjie' Stanfield | |
| David Bradley | ... | Arthur Dyson (as Dai Bradley) | |
| Billy Connolly | ... | Blakey | |
| Andrew Keir | ... | Headmaster | |
| Willoughby Gray | ... | Brigadier Walsh | |
 |
Preston Lockwood | ... | Father Hibbert |
| James Ottaway | ... | Father Matthews | |
| Brook Williams | ... | Father Clarence | |
|
|
Jon Plowman | ... | Father Piers |
| Robin Soans | ... | Father Henryson | |
|
|
Trevor Martin | ... | Mr. Gladstone |
|
|
Sharon Duce | ... | Louella |
| Brian Glover | ... | First Policeman | |
|
|
Dan Meaden | ... | Second Policeman |
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Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
Storyline
At a Catholic public school, Benjamin Stanfield is tired of being the teacher's pet and decides to play a practical joke on his form master Father Goddard. In confession, Stanfield tells Goddard that he has accidentally murdered his friend Blakey and buried him in the forest. When Goddard investigates the matter, he finds a buried scarecrow. Goddard is outraged, but, due to the seal of confession, he knows he cannot expel Stanfield. Shortly after, Stanfield once again enters the confession booth, telling Goddard that what before was a practical joke, he has now made happen. In disbelief, Goddard once again goes to the forest to investigate the matter. This time, he discovers Blakey's dead body. The plot soon thickens as Stanfield's fellow student Arthur Dyson mysteriously disappears... Written by Anonymous
Taglines:
Boyhood innocence. Deadly secrets. Burning truths. See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
1981 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
Murder by Confession See more »Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Lyrics by W.S. Gilbert
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Performed by the students
from "Patience or Bunthorne's Bride"
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The poem that Father Goddard (Richard Burton) is discussing with Stanfield (Dominic Guard) is "The Leaden Echo And The Golden Echo" written by Gerard Manley Hopkins. See more »Goofs
In the tennis match, a close shot of Benjie shows him serving whilst standing in the right service court (which would be illegal) but the long shot shows him serving from the baseline (legal). The score is 30-all, so he should be serving from the right side of the baseline, but is shown serving from the left side. See more »Soundtracks
Soldiers of our QueenLyrics by W.S. Gilbert
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Performed by the students
from "Patience or Bunthorne's Bride"
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes, I guess the movie is hard to sit through till the end but as I was watching it all by myself minus distractions I think the movie is good. Richard Burton's acting can be coolly incandescent (Huh? Cool but incandescent? Yes, that is really what I meant) although he leaned towards theatrical dialog and body acting especially towards the few minutes of the film, otherwise, I liked the movie for its storytelling. Perhaps you may really find it boring if your idea of a movie is three-million polygons of hair and fur rendered with subsurface scattering algorithms. Ack!
But I really love the claustrophobic feeling of an all-boys catholic school the movie is trying to capture. I can relate to the interminably boring sessions of sitting thru your Latin textbook translations (Spanish in our case) and endless hours of conjugating all those verbs (AMOS, AMAS, AMAMOS, AMAIS). But what really bothers me is the parochial drift of the plot. It is so narrow that at the end you get the feeling that you are watching a made-for-TV movie. But, hey, this is Richard Burton. They could have given the movie a little more room to breathe. I think they have overdone this claustrophobic statement a bit too far in this movie. But, overall, this is tolerable and better than most movies out there.