[Starring] Alec Guinness and Jack Hawkins
with Wilfrid Lawson, Kenneth Griffith

In an unnamed totalitarian state somewhere in Europe, a Cardinal, who during the war played an important part as a resistance leader, has now become an embarrassment to the state. He is arrested, charged with high treason, then put in the hands of the state interrogator. The latter believes that a confession can only be achieved by psychological means and that torture merely hardens a strong man's determination to remain silent.
Alec Guinness repeats his superbly judged stage characterisation-the film is adapted from a play - and Jack Hawkins, an actor not usually called on to sustain a part as subtle, is also excellent.
As Derek Hill said in his review, "The Prisoner is the most thought-provoking and adult film Britain has dared to make for far too long a time".