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The Cardinal (1963) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   779 votes
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Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Henry Morton Robinson (novel)
Robert Dozier (writer)
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Contact:

View company contact information for The Cardinal on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

12 December 1963 (USA) more

Genre:

Drama | History | War more

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

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Awards:

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 5 nominations more

NewsDesk:

Actor Ossie Davis Dies at 87
 (From IMDb News. 4 February 2005)

User Comments:

A Heavy Preminger Pastry more (30 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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
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Additional Details

Runtime:

175 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Filming Locations:

Malden, Massachusetts, USA more


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

Tom Tryon nominated for a Golden Globe in 1963 for his performance, but suffered immensely under Otto Preminger's notorious abusive treatment of actors. At one point during filming, Preminger fired Tryon in front of his parents when they visited the set, then rehired him after being satisfied that Tryon had been sufficiently humiliated. This type of treatment was a big turning point for Tryon, who eventually retired from acting and turned to a successful writing career. more

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. more

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.
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Movie Connections:

Featured in Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991) more

Soundtrack:

They Haven't Got the Girls in the U.S.A. more


FAQ

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
A Heavy Preminger Pastry, 13 January 2008
4/10
Author: dowdosean from Culver City, USA

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.

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