Set in 15th-century Italy, The Cardinal stars Matheson Lang as one Cardinal de Medici. Bound by the rules of the confessional, the cardinal is unable to disclose the multitude of sins revealed to him by one of his most influential parishioners. De Medici's dilemma is compounded by the fact that the confessor has committed a murder for which the Cardinal's brother has been arrested. The basic plot gimmick was good for another go-round in the 1953 Hitchcock flick I Confess. This 7-reel British film was based on a play by Louis N. Parker.
The Cardinal is a 1936 British historical drama film directed by Sinclair Hill and starring Matheson Lang, Eric Portman and June Duprez. The film depicts a power battle in sixteenth-century Rome between the leading church-statesman Giuliano de' Medici and one of his rivals. Other themes in the film are the Italian Wars against France and the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica to a design by Michelangelo.
