The Cardinal

Otto Preminger's The Cardinal (1963) follows a young man's progression from an earnest young priest to an earnest middle-aged cardinal, facing temptations of the flesh and soul along the redemptive path, which takes him from the snowy wilderness on the Canadian border to the blistering heat of the Deep South. Tom Tryon (later a bestselling author) stars as Stephen Fermoyle, the title character in Preminger's provocative Production Code envelope-pushing three-hour epic that touches on premarital sex, abortion, KKK cross-burnings and, most interestingly, the problematic relationship between the Vatican and the Nazi government. Unfortunately, the results are jumbled--a laundry list of hot button issues without a strong narrative center, a failing only exacerbated by Tryon's wooden acting (especially apparent whenever he shares the screen with a compelling actor, such as John Huston as a cardinal who tries to teach humility, or Ossie Davis, as a priest experiencing racism). In small doses, though, The Cardinal offers a complicated portrait of the Catholic Church and features genuinely stunning photography by the legendary Leon Shamroy. The double-disc DVD is blessed with a lovely transfer, and includes both a making-of featurette, and the fascinating feature-length 1991 documentary Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker. A strong optional purchase. (D. Fienberg)