The Power and the Glory (1933 film) life. Otherwise, according to Sturges, their lives did not correspond. In 2014, "The Power and the Glory" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. The film is unrelated to the 1940 novel of the same title by Graham Greene. After the funeral service for Tom Garner (Spencer Tracy), a powerful and much-hated railroad tycoon who committed suicide, his best friend Henry (Ralph Morgan) recalls Garner's life, his family problems, and his rise from track walker to president of the railroad. Sturges originally wrote the script as
The Power and the Glory acted by Paul Scofield, and in 1958 at the Phoenix Theatre in New York City. The dramatization was "Play of the Week" on US television in 1959, with James Donald as the priest. A highly acclaimed 1961 US television version, released theatrically overseas, featured Laurence Olivier in the role. "The Power and the Glory" was somewhat controversial and, in 1953, Cardinal Bernard Griffin of Westminster summoned Greene and read him a pastoral letter condemning the novel. According to Greene:The Archbishop of Westminster read me a letter from the Holy Office condemning my novel because it was "paradoxical" and "dealt with