The Cardinal is a 1963 American drama film produced independently, directed by Otto Preminger and distributed by Columbia Pictures.

It marks the final appearance by veteran film star Dorothy Gish, as well as the last big-screen performance of Maggie McNamara.

He discovers that his parents are upset about daughter Mona (Carol Lynley) having become engaged to marry a Jewish man, Benny Rampell (John Saxon).

Concerned about the young priest's ambition, the archbishop (John Huston) assigns Stephen to an out-of-the-way parish where it is hoped that he will learn humility.

There he meets the humble pastor, Father Ned Halley (Burgess Meredith), and Fermoyle observes the unpretentious way in which he lives his life and treats his parishioners.

She is taken to the hospital, where the doctor tells Stephen that it is too late to perform a caesarean section and in order to save Mona, the head of the baby must be crushed.

Racked with guilt over the death of his sister, Stephen suffers a crisis of faith, so he is transferred to Europe and made a monsignor, but he is unsure of how committed he is to a life in the clergy, and he travels to Vienna, taking a two-year sabbatical by working as a lecturer.

The Vatican returns him to the United States on a mission in the American South to assist a black priest named Father Gillis (Ossie Davis) who is opposed by the Ku Klux Klan.

The script was credited to Robert Dozier, but featured uncredited contributions by Ring Lardner Jr. who worked with Preminger in developing characterizations and story structure.