The Cardinal

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1963 film by Otto Preminger

title: "The Cardinal" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1963-drama-films", "1963-films", "american-drama-films", "best-drama-picture-golden-globe-winners", "films-featuring-a-best-supporting-actor-golden-globe-winning-performance", "films-about-catholicism", "films-about-catholic-priests", "films-based-on-american-novels", "films-directed-by-otto-preminger", "films-scored-by-jerome-moross", "films-set-in-boston", "films-set-in-the-1910s", "films-set-in-the-1920s", "films-set-in-the-1930s", "films-set-in-vatican-city", "films-shot-in-massachusetts", "films-shot-in-rome", "films-shot-in-vienna", "films-with-screenplays-by-ring-lardner-jr.", "columbia-pictures-films", "1960s-english-language-films", "1963-american-films", "english-language-drama-films"] description: "1963 film by Otto Preminger" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cardinal" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1963 film by Otto Preminger ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]

FieldValue
nameThe Cardinal
imageThe cardinal.jpg
captionPromotional poster by Saul Bass
directorOtto Preminger
producerOtto Preminger
based_onThe Cardinal by
Henry Morton Robinson
screenplayRobert Dozier
starringTom Tryon
Romy Schneider
Carol Lynley
Jill Haworth
Raf Vallone
Josef Meinrad
Burgess Meredith
Ossie Davis
John Saxon
Dorothy Gish
Tullio Carminati
Maggie McNamara
Bill Hayes
Cecil Kellaway
John Huston
Robert Morse
musicJerome Moross
cinematographyLeon Shamroy
editingLouis R. Loeffler
studioGamma Productions
distributorColumbia Pictures
released
runtime175 minutes
countryUnited States
languageEnglish
gross$11,170,588
::

| name = The Cardinal | image = The cardinal.jpg | caption = Promotional poster by Saul Bass | director = Otto Preminger | producer = Otto Preminger | based_on = The Cardinal by Henry Morton Robinson | screenplay = Robert Dozier | narrator = | starring = Tom Tryon Romy Schneider Carol Lynley Jill Haworth Raf Vallone Josef Meinrad Burgess Meredith Ossie Davis John Saxon Dorothy Gish Tullio Carminati Maggie McNamara Bill Hayes Cecil Kellaway John Huston Robert Morse | music = Jerome Moross | cinematography = Leon Shamroy | editing = Louis R. Loeffler | studio = Gamma Productions | distributor = Columbia Pictures | released = | runtime = 175 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = $11,170,588

The Cardinal is a 1963 American drama film produced independently, directed by Otto Preminger and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel by Henry Morton Robinson. The music score was written by Jerome Moross.

The film's cast features Tom Tryon, Romy Schneider and John Huston, and it was nominated for six Academy Awards. It marks the final appearance by veteran film star Dorothy Gish, as well as the last big-screen performance of Maggie McNamara.

The film was shot on location in Rome, Vienna, Boston and Stamford, Connecticut.

Robinson's novel was based on the life of Francis Cardinal Spellman, who was then Archbishop of New York. The Vatican's liaison officer for the film was Rev. Dr. Joseph Ratzinger, later to become Pope Benedict XVI. The story touches on various social issues, such as: interfaith marriage, sex outside marriage, abortion, racial bigotry, the rise of fascism and war.

Plot

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/BERy_396_at_Seashore_Trolley_Museum,_May_2016.jpg" caption="This former Boston streetcar was restored to its 1915 [[Boston Elevated Railway]] livery for scenes in the film."] ::

The film is shown as a series of memory flashbacks during a formal ceremony where the protagonist is instituted as a cardinal.

A newly ordained Irish Catholic priest, Stephen Fermoyle, returns home to Boston in 1917. He discovers that his parents are upset about daughter Mona having become engaged to marry a Jewish man, Benny Rampell. Stephen and his Irish Catholic family will only permit Mona to marry Benny if he becomes a Catholic or agrees to raise any children as Catholic, as demanded by the papal bull Ne Temere (superseded in 1970). Benny does not agree and leaves to serve in World War I. Mona seeks Stephen's counsel as a priest. After he tells her to give Benny up, she runs away and becomes promiscuous.

Concerned about the young priest's ambition, the Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Lawrence Glennon assigns Stephen to an out-of-the-way parish where it is hoped that he will learn humility. There he meets the humble pastor, Father Ned Halley, and Stephen observes the unpretentious way in which he lives his life and treats his parishioners. Father Halley is very sick with multiple sclerosis. Stephen learns humility from him and his housekeeper, Lalage Menton.

Meanwhile, Mona becomes pregnant out of wedlock. Stephen, his brother Frank and Benny find Mona in agony because her pelvis is too small for a large baby. She is taken to the hospital, where Dr. Parks tells Stephen that it is too late to perform a caesarean section and in order to save Mona, the head of the baby must be crushed. Stephen will not allow Dr. Parks to do so, because according to Catholic doctrine, the baby may not be killed. Mona dies giving birth to the child, Regina.

Racked with guilt over the death of his sister, Stephen suffers a crisis of faith, so he is transferred to Europe and made a monsignor, but he is unsure of how committed he is to a life in the clergy, and he travels to Vienna, taking a two-year sabbatical by working as a lecturer. There he meets and enters into a relationship with a young woman, Annemarie von Hartmann. Stephen does not violate his vows.

Stephen's vocation calls him back to Rome and the church. The Vatican returns him to the United States on a mission in the American South to assist a black priest named Father Gillis who is opposed by the Ku Klux Klan. After successfully handling the assignment, Stephen is consecrated as a bishop, with Father Gillis present for the consecration.

Stephen is sent back to Austria to persuade Cardinal Theodor Innitzer not to cooperate with the Nazi government, with a threat of a world war looming over all. He and Innitzer ultimately must flee for their lives. He manages to see Annemarie one last time after she has been imprisoned by the Nazi authorities. After the success of the missions on which the Vatican had sent him, he is elevated to the College of Cardinals. On the eve of World War II, a ceremony is held in which Stephen formally becomes a cardinal. He warns about the dangers of totalitarianism and pledges to dedicate the rest of his life to his work.

Cast

Background

The script was credited to Robert Dozier, but featured uncredited contributions by Ring Lardner Jr. who worked with Otto Preminger in developing characterizations and story structure. Saul Bass was not only responsible for designing the film's poster and advertising campaign, but also the film titles, during which Bass transforms a walk through the Vatican into an abstract play of horizontal and vertical lines.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Saxon Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first film to be shown in 70 mm despite being shot on 35 mm movie film for some roadshow releases, using a "print-up" (blow up) process.

Reception

Box-office performance

The Cardinal was the 18th highest-grossing film of the year. It grossed $11,170,588 in the United States, earning $5.46 million in domestic rentals.

Critical reception

Accolades

::data[format=table]

AwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
Academy AwardsBest DirectorOtto Preminger
Best Supporting ActorJohn Huston
Best Art Direction – ColorArt Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler;
Set Decoration: Gene Callahan
Best Cinematography – ColorLeon Shamroy
Best Costume Design – ColorDonald Brooks
Best Film EditingLouis R. Loeffler
Golden Globe AwardsBest Motion Picture – Drama
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – DramaTom Tryon
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – DramaRomy Schneider
Best Supporting Actor – Motion PictureJohn Huston
Best Director – Motion PictureOtto Preminger
Best Film Promoting International Understanding
Laurel AwardsTop Drama
Top Male Dramatic PerformanceTom Tryon
Top Male Supporting PerformanceJohn Huston
National Board of Review AwardsTop Ten Films
::

Honors

The film was nominated by the American Film Institute for its AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores list.

Preservation

The Cardinal was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Notes

References

References

  1. [http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1963/0CRDT.php Box Office Information for ''The Cardinal''.] [[The Numbers (website). The Numbers]]. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  2. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130608201210/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/70290/The-Cardinal/#articles-reviews ''The Cardinal'' review] by Frank Miller, [[Turner Classic Movies]]
  3. Marina Pavido. (December 1, 2020). "Wolf Albach-Retty – A Famous Father".
  4. Fujiwara, Chris. (2015). "The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger". Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
  5. Horak, Jan-Christopher. (2014). "Saul Bass : Anatomy of Film Design". University Press of Kentucky.
  6. (September 18, 1963). "N.Y. 'Cardinal' Preem Set".
  7. Natale, Richard. (May 21, 1992). "Uni/Imagine throw dice 'Far and Away'".
  8. {{AFI film. 23836
  9. "The Beginning of the End".
  10. "Big Rental Pictures of 1964", ''[[Variety (magazine). Variety]]'', 6 January 1965 p 39. Please note this figure is [[Gross rental. theatrical rentals]] accruing to distributors, not total gross.
  11. "The 36th Academy Awards (1964) Nominees and Winners". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
  12. "The Cardinal". [[Golden Globe Awards]].
  13. "1963 Award Winners". [[National Board of Review]].
  14. "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees".
  15. "Preserved Projects".

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1963-drama-films1963-filmsamerican-drama-filmsbest-drama-picture-golden-globe-winnersfilms-featuring-a-best-supporting-actor-golden-globe-winning-performancefilms-about-catholicismfilms-about-catholic-priestsfilms-based-on-american-novelsfilms-directed-by-otto-premingerfilms-scored-by-jerome-morossfilms-set-in-bostonfilms-set-in-the-1910sfilms-set-in-the-1920sfilms-set-in-the-1930sfilms-set-in-vatican-cityfilms-shot-in-massachusettsfilms-shot-in-romefilms-shot-in-viennafilms-with-screenplays-by-ring-lardner-jr.columbia-pictures-films1960s-english-language-films1963-american-filmsenglish-language-drama-films