The Prisoner Summary
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Peter Glenville
Genres: Drama
Rating:
British theatrical director Peter_Glenville made his film directorial debut with 1955's The_Prisoner (Glenville had previous helmed the London stage production of this Bridget_Boland play). The film is based on the real-life travails of Hungarian Cardinal Mindszenty, who after suffering under Nazi persecution was imprisoned by the new Communist regime for remaining loyal to his religious convictions. Alec_Guinness, his head shaved, plays an unnamed Cardinal in an unspecified Eastern European country who is clapped into jail. Here he is ordered by the politicos to issue a phony statement to his flock, one that will effectively end Catholicism in his country. Jack_Hawkins plays the diabolically clever "Interrogator", who is almost successful in convincing Guinness that his false statement will have a beneficial effect. The_Prisoner fared better in its American release than it did in Europe, where it was branded both "pro-Communist" and "anti-Communist" by various single-issue pressure groups. Hal Erickson, Rovi
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