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The Cardinal

The Cardinal

Drama · History · War · 1963

A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.

Movie details

The Cardinal

“A motion picture that spans two decades of conflict and drama as it tells the story of a young American and his rise to prince of the church.”

1963 Drama · History · War 3h 5m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Cardinal?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Otto Preminger

Written by

Robert Dozier · Ring Lardner Jr.

Tom Tryon

Tom Tryon

Stephen Fermoyle

Romy Schneider

Romy Schneider

Annemarie von Hartman

John Huston

John Huston

Kardinal Glennon

Carol Lynley

Carol Lynley

Mona Fermoyle / Regina Fermoyle

Dorothy Gish

Dorothy Gish

Celia Fermoyle

Maggie McNamara

Maggie McNamara

Florrie Fermoyle

Bill Hayes

Bill Hayes

Frank Fermoyle

Court is in session

Put The Cardinal on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.