In post-WWII Hungary, Cardinal Mindszenty speaks out against Communist control of Catholic schools, leading to his arrest by Soviet authorities. The film follows American journalist Tom Kelly who witnesses Mindszenty’s show trial in Budapest while becoming involved with music teacher Stephanie Varna, who refuses to sign a petition demanding the Cardinal’s arrest despite her relationship with Russian officer Alex Melnikov. After thirty days of interrogation and drugging, Mindszenty is convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment, while Stephanie dies for refusing to confess to espionage charges.
Original title: Guilty of Treason (1950)
Directed by Felix E. Feist
Main cast:
Charles Bickford – Joszef Cardinal Mindszenty
Bonita Granville – Stephanie Varna
Paul Kelly – Tom Kelly
Richard Derr – Colonel Aleksandr Melnikov
Roland Winters – Commissar Belov
Berry Kroeger – Colonel Timar
John Banner – Doctor Szandor Deste
Alfred Linder – Janos
Thomas Browne Henry – Colonel Gabriel Peter
Nestor Paiva – Matyas Rakosi
Morgan Farley – Doctor
Lisa Howard – Soviet Official
Elisabeth Risdon – Mindszenty’s mother
Release date: February 20, 1950
Filming location: Universal’s back lot (some documentary footage from Hungary)
Black & White version: https://youtu.be/u0xAJ3ys0WI
