TOM TRYON has the central role in Otto Preminger's majestic looking film version of THE CARDINAL, but he's one of those handsome actors with an impassive face whose emotions never come to the surface. Instead, we get a hint of what he might be thinking without any real clue. And since the film is all about the moral and personal issues facing him as he enters the College of Cardinals, an actor with more emotional capabilities would have been more impressive.

The other flaw is the three hour length for a film in which the story is simply not that compelling. Furthermore, director Preminger has chosen to direct whole scenes at medium length lensing (no close-ups inserted) which gives a flat affect to the dynamics involved.

Aside from these weaknesses, the film has a lot about it to commend. All the interiors of church activities are impressively staged and photographed in beautiful WideScreen photography. The performances around Tryon range from good to excellent, including John Huston, Carol Lynley, Bill Hayes, John Saxon and Burgess Meredith. Huston is particularly commanding as the brusque Cardinal Glennon, who confronts Tryon with: "You're not afraid of me, are you?" when the young man speaks his mind.

All of the technical aspects of the film are professional, giving the story more credibility than it deserves from a rather lumbering script. The icing on the cake is the rich musical score by Jerome Moross.

Holds the interest despite the length as it deals with a young man confronting bigotry, Naziism, and his own personal beliefs as he ascends the ladder of success in the Catholic Church.

The Cardinal l'd watched in 1984 on TV, an overlong movie, in that time l didn't have any idea how meaning of the pictures itself, today after a long time l've the opportunity to re-watch this one from Otto Preminger's unknown movie, after almost three hours long l finally recognized this picture is really amazing, telling a story about a young priest in Boston until a high position in Catholic Church, the movie is showing in flashbacks since the beginning, all the facts one of the most remarkable is about the Father Ned Halley played by Burgess Meredith who died in poverty, another was when he has to help a nigro priest in Georgia and has to confront the segregationist system in this town, the story through the time have many faces until the final, once more Otto Preminger proves as one of best directors for all times!! Underrated movie!!

Resume:

First watch: 1984 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 8.5

I quite like Otto Preminger's work, which has consisted of some masterpieces(Laura),some great movies(Carmen Jones),some underrated curiosities(Under Your Spell) to decent and interesting(this). So far, my least has been River of No Return, and even that was nowhere near close to awful.

I found The Cardinal to be interesting and a very decent little movie. It isn't entirely successful however, the film is lengthy and does feel overlong and stodgy in places, Tom Tryon's lead performance is rather stiff and when I saw The Cardinal, the sound seemed muffled.

However it is a well made movie, with beautiful locations and photography, and the music score is highly emotional. Preminger directs with his usual efficiency, the script has many moments of thoughtfulness and the story is crafted in a loving and careful manner and asks several questions which is a further point of interest. To make up for Tryon, we do have a great supporting cast, especially Burgess Meredith and John Huston who are both wonderful. And the scene with Meredith dying and Huston visiting him was beautifully done.

In conclusion, an interesting film. 7/10 Bethany Cox