alec guinness get to repeat one of the role he do on the london stage with the screen adaption of bridget boland the prisoner which be direct by peter glenville who also do the original stage production . it be one of guinness personal favorite among his part because of the catholicism of the actor . in fact the role really hit close and maybe too close to home and because like the character he play in the film and guinness be a child of a prostitute mother who escape into act a a refuge from a really bad childhood . just a his character the cardinal of an unnamed balkan country now rule by a marxist dictatorship go into the church a a way of rise above the station he be bear in life . jack hawkins play the state inquisitor and a psychologist by train who probe and find the weakness in guinness and use it to get a confession of treason out of him . pride and vanity be the trickiest of human sin and be all guilty of it in one way or another . in make this film guinness and boland and and glenville be all adamant about keep the main character catholic and not some christian preacher of an unnamed denomination a what the producer originally want to do and the good for a broad appeal they reason . catholicism and the special burden and duty it place on it clergy be precisely what make the story valid . accord to a recent biography of alec guinness though it be never go to be anyone else but him in the role of the cardinal and noel willman have do the inquisitor part on stage . several people like john gielgud and peter bull be consider for that part before hawkins be sign for the role . if the subject matter do seem familiar and the role be obviously model on josef cardinal mindszenty of hungary . and director peter glenville would have his great screen triumph in becket and the story of another troublesome priest several century earlier . guinness do lay bare his soul in this film . for fan of alec guinness this film be a must .