The Cardinal


The Cardinal is a 1963 American drama film which was produced independently and directed by Otto Preminger, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was written by Robert Dozier, based on the novel of the same name by Henry Morton Robinson.
Its cast featured Tom Tryon, Romy Schneider and John Huston, and it was nominated for six Academy Awards.
The film was shot on location in Boston, in Stamford, Connecticut, and in Rome and Vienna. The music score was written by Jerome Moross. The Cardinal featured the final appearance by veteran film star Dorothy Gish as well as the last big-screen performance of Maggie McNamara.
Robinson's novel was based on the life of Cardinal Francis 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, 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. Mona seeks Stephen's counsel as a priest.
Concerned about the young priest's ambition, the archbishop assigns Stephen to an out-of-the-way parish where it is hoped he will learn humility. There he meets the humble pastor, Father Ned Halley, and Fermoyle observes the unpretentious way 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.
Stephen and his Irish Catholic family will only permit Mona to marry her Jewish fiancé Benny if he becomes a Catholic or agrees to raise any children as Catholic. Benny does not agree and leaves to serve in World War I. Mona runs away and becomes promiscuous. She 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 operation and in order to save Mona the head of the baby must be crushed. Stephen will not allow the doctor to do this. 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 is unsure how committed he is to a life in the clergy and travels to Vienna, Austria, taking a two-year sabbatical by working as a lecturer. There he meets and enters into a relationship with a young woman, Annemarie. 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 that assignment, Fermoyle was consecrated as a bishop. Father Gillis was present for the consecration.
Stephen is sent back to Austria to persuade a cardinal there not to cooperate with the Nazis, 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 Nazis. After the success of the missions the Vatican sent him on, he was 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

The film was the first to be shown in 70mm despite being shot in 35mm for some roadshow releases using a "print-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.

Awards

The film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Drama, marking the third time, following East of Eden and Spartacus, and the last time a film won that category without later being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.Preminger was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director; John Huston was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. Huston's role as Cardinal Glennon was his official debut as an actor although he had previously played bit roles in several films including his own The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Other Academy Awards nominations were for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing.

Honors

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: