The Prisoner (1955)

Director:

Peter Glenville

Writers:

Bridget Boland (play)
Bridget Boland (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 December 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Which One is the Prisoner?

Plot:

A cardinal is arrested for treason against the state. As a prince of his church, and a popular hero of this people...

Awards:

Nominated for 5 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 4 wins

Cast

Alec Guinness	...	The Cardinal
Jack Hawkins	...	The Interrogator
Wilfrid Lawson	...	The Jailer
Kenneth Griffith	...	The Secretary
Jeanette Sterke	...	The Girl
Ronald Lewis	...	The Guard
Raymond Huntley	...	The General
Mark Dignam	...	The Governor
Gerard Heinz	...	The Doctor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jonathan Bailey	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Percy Herbert	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Richard Leech	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Oscar Quitak	...	Cafe Waiter (uncredited)
Delene Scott	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Denis Shaw	...	Plainclothesman (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Glenville

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bridget Boland		play
Bridget Boland		screenplay

Produced by
Sydney Box	....	executive producer
Vivian Cox	....	producer

Original Music by
Benjamin Frankel

Cinematography by
Reginald H. Wyer

Film Editing by
Frederick Wilson

Art Direction by
John Hawkesworth

Costume Design by
Julie Harris

Makeup Department
W.T. Partleton	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Douglas Peirce	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Denis O'Dell	....	assistant director

Art Department
Dario Simoni	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound mixer
Dudley Messenger	....	sound recordist
John Shirley	....	dubbing editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Dudley Lovell	....	camera operator

Music Department
Benjamin Frankel	....	conductor

Other crew
Phyllis Crocker	....	continuity
David Deutsch	....	assistant to producers

Production Companies

• Facet Productions
• London Independent Producers

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1955) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1955) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Netherlands:95 min | USA:91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1997) | Netherlands:12 (2005) (DVD)

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Facet Productions

Trivia:

Deemed suitably controversial enough to be banned from both the Venice and Cannes Film Festivals.

Quotes:

[the Cardinal is in solitary confinement for two months]
The Cardinal:How are you doing this to me? Why am I... going out of my mind?
The Jailer:Well, it's funny, you know. The more store a man sets by his wits, the sooner he loses them. When a man starts watching his mind at work, you can't leave him alone for five minutes without he frightens himself to death.

Movie Connections:

Version of "BBC Sunday-Night Play: The Prisoner (#4.21)" (1963)

THE PRISONER (Peter Glenville, 1955) ***

Inspired by the plight of Catholic Cardinal Josef Mindszenty behind the Iron Curtain – already the subject of a worthwhile low-budget Hollywood film, GUILTY OF TREASON (1950; see above) – this prestigious British production (based on a Bridget Boland play, who adapts her own work for the screen) boasts two powerhouse performances by Alec Guinness (as the proud Prince of the Church) and Jack Hawkins (as the wily Interrogator). Their interaction is a beauty to behold and one cannot help but be reminded how these formidable actors had already worked together in, curiously enough, MALTA STORY (1953) and, of course, would go on to do so again under David Lean's Oscar-winning direction in THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957) and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962). Although much of the running time is devoted to their rigorous one-on-one sessions (enough for it to be deemed a two-hander), the film allows (at least) another fine actor to shine: Wilfred Lawson as Guinness' jailer who grows to respect his prisoner with time. The small cast also includes Kenneth Griffith as Hawkins' eager-to-learn subordinate – incidentally, the latter also appeared in two episodes of Patrick McGoohan's later cult TV series of the same name but which bore no relation to this movie! – and Raymond Huntley as Hawkins' impatient superior. Conversely, the romantic subplot between doubting Communist Ronald Lewis and his Catholic girlfriend Jeanette Sterke seems forced and intrusive – almost like an afterthought (whereas it had been far more effectively handled in the aforementioned Hollywood treatment). But, as I said before, the film's trump card is its gradual depiction of the evolving relationship between the two leads, which really has no equivalent in GUILTY OF TREASON (where Charles Bickford's tormentors were various and generally shrouded in darkness). Although the main characters and the setting remain unnamed throughout (lending it a pretentious air of political allegory also missing from the earlier film), the controversial subject of THE PRISONER got it banned from participating in both the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals – although it did get nominated for 5 BAFTAs and, eventually, won a couple of other international awards.