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The CardinalThe Cardinal is a 1963 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 by Henry Morton Robinson. The cast included Tom Tryon, Romy Schneider, Carol Lynley, Jill Haworth, Maggie McNamara, Burgess Meredith, Raf Vallone, Josef Meinrad, Tullio Carminati, Dorothy Gish, Bill Hayes, John Saxon, Cecil Kellaway, Ossie Davis, and John Huston. The film shows the life of a fictional Roman Catholic priest, Stephen Fermoyle, played by Tom Tryon, from his ordination in 1917 to his appointment as a cardinal on the eve of World War II. Fermoyle goes through one crisis after another, first in his own family and then as he climbs up the ladder of the church hierachy back in his Boston parish and later in Rome within the Vatican. As the dramatic backdrop to Fermoyle's career, the film touches on various social and world problems such as interfaith marriage, sex outside of marriage, abortion, racial bigotry, the rise of Fascism, and war. Tom Tryon convincingly portrays Fermoyle as a quietly dedicated and intelligent priest, entirely free of arrogance if not egoism, often grappling with the moral dimensions of the crises he must face. Preminger's skills as a director are evident in the shaping of Tryon's performance although it has been recorded that he was frustrated by Tryon's inadequacies. Notoriously temperamental on the set, Preminger never refrained from shouting at Tryon throughout the shooting of The Cardinal. As a result, Tryon was completely crushed and apparently never recovered his confidence as an actor. Though he worked with Preminger one more time in In Harm's Way (1965), Tryon pursued an alternative career as a writer and achieved success when his novel The Other became a best-seller. Preminger was nominated for a Best Director Academy Award, as was John Huston who was nominated for his acting (in a supporting role). 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 Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Other nominations were for Best Cinematography (Leon Shamroy), Best Art Direction (Lyle Wheeler and set decorator Gene Callahan), Best Costume Design (Donald Brooks), and Best Film Editing (Louis R. Loeffler). The film was shot on locations in Boston, Rome and Vienna. It has an excellent music score by Jerome Moross, whose theme music introduces a motif that describes Fermoyle's doggedness and advancement in the face of turmoil and crisis, a theme also seen in Saul Bass's title credits sequence showing Fermoyle constantly walking and climbing stairs. Cardinal, The Cardinal, The
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