The Cardinal (1963)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Henry Morton Robinson (novel)
Robert Dozier (writer)

Release Date:

12 December 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Naziism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.

Plot Keywords:

Priesthood | Cardinal | Bigotry | Catholic | Church

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Tom Tryon	...	Stephen Fermoyle
Carol Lynley	...	Mona Fermoyle / Regina Fermoyle
Dorothy Gish	...	Celia Fermoyle
Maggie McNamara	...	Florrie Fermoyle
Bill Hayes	...	Frank Fermoyle
Cameron Prud'Homme	...	Din Fermoyle
Cecil Kellaway	...	Monsignor Monaghan
Loring Smith	...	Cornelius J. Deegan
John Saxon	...	Benny Rampell
James Hickman	...	Father Lyons
Berenice Gahm	...	Mrs. Rampell
John Huston	...	Cardinal Glennon
Jose Duvall	...	Ramon Gongaro (as Jose Duval)
Peter MacLean	...	Father Callahan
Robert Morse	...	Bobby and His Adora-Belles

Runtime:

175 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Malden, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Otto Preminger Films

Trivia:

The Special Edition DVD features the documentary Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991).

Goofs:

Continuity: When the blood is flowing from the statue's heart and Father Fermoyle addresses the worshiping crowd, the length of the flow on the statue is inconsistent between cuts going from nearly all the way down the statue to being shown at midway down the statue and returning to be all the way down the statue.

Quotes:

Cardinal Glennon: We've never had a priest working with the Mafia before. But I suppose you made some interesting contacts in Rome.
Stephen Fermoyle: I had no choice, Your Eminence. I had to work my way through the seminary by selling opium in St. Peter's Square.
Cardinal Glennon: You're not afraid of me.
Stephen Fermoyle: No.
Cardinal Glennon: Why not? Most people are.
Stephen Fermoyle: I think it's because you remind me of my father. He was known as "Den the Down Shouter," but I soon learned his roar was the only fierce thing about him.
Cardinal Glennon: He's a lucky man to have a son who's not afraid of him.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991)

Soundtrack:

Alleluja

A Heavy Preminger Pastry

The stiffness in the telling marks the destiny of this confused tale. At times is quite simply, unendurable. The wooden rigidity of Tom Tryon makes things even harder to take. Unconvincing should be the polite way of putting it. Preminger shows an eye for the travelogue part but a total diffidence in the subject at hand. No feel for it at all. Solemnity shouldn't be the way but it is and a rather phony solemnity at that. At times, they all behave like creatures from another planet and nothing they say or do sounds or looks credible. The over long saga is told in little disjointed episodes, the only thing that remains constant is the inexpressive brow of Mr Tryon. Most of Otto Preminger's opus looks terribly dated now. "The Cardinal" is, perhaps, the most dated. Carol Linley goes from saintly sister to exotic dancer in one single throw and Romy Schnaider has a brief and calculated moment. If I had to save something it would be the scene in which John Huston goes to visit his dying friend Burgess Meredith. But those kind of moments are rare. For some reason that I haven't been able to figure out there is a long musical number by Robert Morse, but as absurd as it was, it came as a welcome change from the agonizing pace the film suffers through its interminable length.