The Cardinal | |
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Promotional poster by Saul Bass | |
Directed by | Otto Preminger |
Screenplay by | Robert Dozier |
Based on | The Cardinal by Henry Morton Robinson |
Produced by | Otto Preminger |
Starring | Tom Tryon Romy Schneider Carol Lynley |
Cinematography | Leon Shamroy |
Edited by | Louis R. Loeffler |
Music by | Jerome Moross |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 175 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $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 of the same name (1950) 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
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 (Tom Tryon), returns home to Boston in 1917. He discovers that his parents are upset about daughter Mona (Carol Lynley) having become engaged to marry a Jewish man, Benny Rampell (John Saxon). 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Benny if he becomes a Catholic or agrees to raise any children as Catholic, as demanded by the papal bull Ne Temere (superseded in 1970).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 (John Huston) 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 (Burgess Meredith), and Fermoyle observes the unpretentious way in which he lives his life and treats his parishioners. Father Halley is very sick with multiple sclerosis. Fermoyle learns humility from him and his housekeeper, Lalage (Jill Haworth).
Meanwhile, Mona becomes pregnant out of wedlock. Stephen, his brother and Benny find Mona in agony because her pelvis is too small for a large baby. She is taken to the hospital, where the doctor 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 the doctor 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 (Romy Schneider). 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 (Ossie Davis) 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 a cardinal not to cooperate with the Nazi government, with a threat of a world war looming over all. He and the cardinal 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
- Tom Tryon as Stephen Fermoyle
- Carol Lynley as Mona Fermoyle / Regina Fermoyle
- Dorothy Gish as Celia Fermoyle
- Maggie McNamara as Florrie Fermoyle
- Bill Hayes as Frank Fermoyle
- Cameron Prud'Homme [Wikidata] as Din Fermoyle
- Romy Schneider as Annemarie von Hartmann
- Peter Weck as Kurt von Hartmann
- Cecil Kellaway as Monsignor Monaghan
- Ossie Davis as Father Gillis
- Loring Smith as Cornelius J. Deegan
- John Saxon as Benny Rampell
- James Hickman as Father Lyons
- Berenice Gahm as Mrs Ramble
- John Huston as Cardinal Glennon
- Jose Duvall (as Jose Duval) as Ramon Gongaro
- Peter MacLean as Father Callahan
- Robert Morse as Bobby and His Adora-Belles
- Burgess Meredith as Father Ned Halley
- Josef Meinrad as Cardinal Innitzer
- Erik Frey as Seyss-Inquart
- Wolfgang Preiss as SS major
- Jill Haworth as Lalage Menton
- Raf Vallone as Cardinal Quarenghi
- Tullio Carminati as Cardinal Giacobbi
- Arthur Hunnicut as Sheriff Dubrow
- Chill Wills as Monsignor Whittle
- Wolf Albach-Retty as Baron Hartmann
Background
The script was credited to Robert Dozier, but featured uncredited contributions by Ring Lardner Jr. who worked with 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
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 47% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10.
Accolades
Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Academy Awards | Best Director | Otto Preminger | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | John Huston | Nominated | ||
Best Art Direction – Color | Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler; Set Decoration: Gene Callahan |
Nominated | ||
Best Cinematography – Color | Leon Shamroy | Nominated | ||
Best Costume Design – Color | Donald Brooks | Nominated | ||
Best Film Editing | Louis R. Loeffler | Nominated | ||
Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Won | ||
Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Tom Tryon | Nominated | ||
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | Romy Schneider | Nominated | ||
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | John Huston | Won | ||
Best Director – Motion Picture | Otto Preminger | Nominated | ||
Best Film Promoting International Understanding | Nominated | |||
Laurel Awards | Top Drama | Nominated | ||
Top Male Dramatic Performance | Tom Tryon | 5th Place | ||
Top Male Supporting Performance | John Huston | Nominated | ||
National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | 10th Place |
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.
See also
Notes
- The film won this category (marking the third time, following East of Eden and Spartacus), and (to date) a film to win the category without later being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
References
- ^ Box Office Information for The Cardinal. The Numbers. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- The Cardinal review by Frank Miller, Turner Classic Movies
- Marina Pavido (December 1, 2020). "Wolf Albach-Retty – A Famous Father". Cinema Austriaco. Retrieved July 15, 2023; the actor Albach-Retty was Romy Schneider's father, and this was their only film together.
- Fujiwara, Chris (July 14, 2015). The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-1-4668-9423-5.
- Horak, Jan-Christopher (2014). Saul Bass : Anatomy of Film Design. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-4720-8. OCLC 892799673.
- "N.Y. 'Cardinal' Preem Set". Variety. September 18, 1963. p. 22. Retrieved February 15, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- Natale, Richard (May 21, 1992). "Uni/Imagine throw dice 'Far and Away'". Daily Variety. p. 17.
- The Cardinal at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- "The Beginning of the End". in70mm. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- "Big Rental Pictures of 1964", Variety, 6 January 1965 p 39. Please note this figure is theatrical rentals accruing to distributors, not total gross.
- "The Cardinal". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- "The 36th Academy Awards (1964) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- "The Cardinal". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- "1963 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
External links
- The Cardinal at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- The Cardinal at IMDb
- The Cardinal at the TCM Movie Database
Films directed by Otto Preminger | |
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- 1963 films
- 1963 drama 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
- 1960s American films