The Missionary (1982)

In 1905, after 10 years of missionary work in Africa, the Rev. Charles Fortesque is recalled to England, where his bishop gives him his new assignment - to minister to London's prostitutes.... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Loncraine

Writer:

Michael Palin

Stars:

Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Trevor Howard

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Palin	...	The Reverend Charles Fortescue
Maggie Smith	...	Lady Isabel Ames
Trevor Howard	...	Lord Henry Ames
Denholm Elliott	...	The Bishop
Michael Hordern	...	Slatterthwaite / Narrator
Graham Crowden	...	The Reverend Fitzbanks
David Suchet	...	Corbett
Phoebe Nicholls	...	Deborah Fitzbanks
Tricia George	...	Ada
Valerie Whittington	...	Emmeline
Roland Culver	...	Lord Fermleigh
Rosamund Greenwood	...	Lady Fermleigh
Timothy Spall	...	Parswell
Neil Innes	...	Singer in Gin Palace
John Barrett	...	Old Man outside Hotel

Storyline

In 1905, after 10 years of missionary work in Africa, the Rev. Charles Fortesque is recalled to England, where his bishop gives him his new assignment - to minister to London's prostitutes. Charles hopes Deborah, his fiancee, will object and give him an excuse to say no to the bishop. But she is so imperturbably innocent that she totally fails to understand what he is being asked to do, and urges him to do his best. Wealthy Lady Ames is expected to fund the work, but once she makes it clear to Charles that there will be no contribution unless he shares her bed...

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Plot Keywords:

bishop | prostitute | africa | england | scotland | 

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Taglines:

He gave his body to save their souls.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

A misszionárius

Filming Locations:

Highclere Castle, Highclere, Hampshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

HandMade Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Peter Vaughn filmed his role in one day (Source: Michael Palin's diaries).

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Quotes

Reverend Fortescue: Isabel?
Lady Isabel Ames: Charles! What are you doing here?
Reverend Fortescue: I've come to stop you.
Lady Isabel Ames: How dare you? How dare you interfere with my plans?
Reverend Fortescue: You mustn't kill him.
Lady Isabel Ames: Why not? What business is it of yours, interfering priest?
Reverend Fortescue: You could hang for it.
Lady Isabel Ames: No one's going to hang. It's a simple shooting accident.
Reverend Fortescue: Isabel, this is England in 1906. People don't go around killing each other just because they don't get on!
Lady Isabel Ames: No, they just endure don't they? Stiff upper lip, that's the British way. I'm sure it wasn't like that in Africa.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Pay close attention to the photo album during the end credits, the photos reveal details about the characters after the events of the film.

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Connections

References Chariots of Fire (1981)

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Soundtracks

"Put On Your Ta-Ta Little Girlie"
Written and Composed by Fred W. Leigh
Sung by Neil Innes

User Reviews

Is it OK to laugh at this?

I really like this film. It's just one of those films that bring a smile to your face. There are some fantastic moments: Roland Culver dying while Michael Palin obliviously continues with his speech, Michael Hordern as the butler who doesn't know where he's going, Michael Palin being propositioned by a lady of the night (and accepting). It's just a very charming film.

One thing that did strike me about it though is how we find situations acceptable if they are transported into the past. I don't think it would be considered very funny to make a film in which a Reverend lets three child prostitutes into his bed at once if it was set in today's London. We can laugh about the hypocritical sexual shenanigans of the Victorians though. Paedophilia's funny as long as it's in the distant past.