The Power and the Glory (1961 film) The Power and the Glory (1961 film) The Power and the Glory is a 1961 American TV film based on the novel "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene. It was produced by David Susskind for Talent Associates-Paramount. The production was shot for American TV but also distributed theatrically overseas. It was Olivier's second performance for American television following an acclaimed production of "The Moon and Sixpence" which won him an Emmy. Playwright Dale Wassterman wrote the script in seven days. David Susskind originally wanted Richard Burton to co star with Olivier. The project was announced in April 1961
The Power and the Glory suppress the Catholic Church. That suppression had resulted in the Cristero War (1927-1929), so named for its Catholic combatants' slogan "Viva Cristo Rey" (long live Christ the King). In 1941, the novel received the Hawthornden Prize British literary award. In 2005, it was chosen by "TIME" magazine as one of the hundred best English-language novels since 1923. The main character is an unnamed 'whisky priest', who combines a great power for self-destruction with pitiful cravenness, an almost painful penitence, and a desperate quest for dignity. By the end, though, the priest "acquires a real holiness." The other principal character is