Made in 1955, and so controversial that both the Canne and Venice Film Festivals banned it. Based on a play by Bridget Boland and set in an unnamed East European country where communist tyranny has recently replaced Nazi tyranny, it is the story of a strong-willed Cardinal arrested as a traitor to the state following World War II. The Inquisitor, an equally strong-willed character seems benevolent, but uses his oily charm to lure the Cardinal into speaking freely. He eventually resorts to false evidence, dirty tricks and cruelty yet months pass and the Cardinal's spirit does not break or bend - the tyrants must turn to the last stand of the immorally powerful - torture.