IMDb RATING
6.2/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
In the early 20th Century, devout Reverend Charles Fortesque returns to England from his missionary work in Africa and, despite plans to marry his childhood sweetheart, receives a most unusu... Read allIn the early 20th Century, devout Reverend Charles Fortesque returns to England from his missionary work in Africa and, despite plans to marry his childhood sweetheart, receives a most unusual assignment: minister to the local prostitutes.In the early 20th Century, devout Reverend Charles Fortesque returns to England from his missionary work in Africa and, despite plans to marry his childhood sweetheart, receives a most unusual assignment: minister to the local prostitutes.
Debby Bishop
- Mission Girl
- (as Debbie Bishop)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaActor, Writer, and Producer Sir Michael Palin and Director Richard Loncraine said that they didn't succeed in achieving everything they wanted to with this movie, but though not perfect, it turned out very well nonetheless.
- GoofsThe Ames family home is described, by Deborah, as being on the Great Western line out of London. Later Fortescue is misidentified as the dog clipper from Faversham. But Faversham is on the other side of London, on the north coast of Kent. (This town being on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, not the Great Western). It seems highly unlikely that the family would employ a dog clipper from so far afield.
- Crazy creditsPay close attention to the photo album during the end credits, the photos reveal details about the characters after the events of the film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Live from the Lighthouse (1998)
Featured review
Shows what we had in Hordern/Harrison/Elliott. Sad, sad losses.
This is a delightful film. Watch it with two or three of you in the room, because laughter is infectious. As ever with films that Harrison invests in, it's not afraid to mix styles, but also, there is no point that it labours. Too often films are afraid of changing their tone, as if they had to nail their colours to the 'tonal' mast early on and then obey that: a screwball comedy has to be screwball, a period piece has to be charming, engaging, but not dramatic, etc etc etc.
The script, written by Palin himself, is an absolute gem, and for once his silliness is kept well within bounds. As someone else said, this isn't the 'expansio ad absurdum' technique of fine, fine Python, nor the pull-faces-and-use-silly-words-can't-think-of-an-idea of Palin on his off days. Enough, but not enough, has been written about the cast, all of whom provide top-notch performances. Whom to praise most? I note as well, that the "Memorable Quotes" section still misses what may be the funniest exchange in the whole film, the sequence which begins, "You know perfectly well why we got rid of Margetson." The only people who are going to be disappointed by this film are those people who have dogmatic views about what a Palin film should be, or who think a comedy should spare them the trouble of thinking and leave them in a heap of rubble on the floor. Take the film on its own merits and, though you might think of ideas which the film didn't touch, places where it didn't go, you will still find enough in there to remember those ninety minutes fondly. Would I see it again? When's it on next?
The script, written by Palin himself, is an absolute gem, and for once his silliness is kept well within bounds. As someone else said, this isn't the 'expansio ad absurdum' technique of fine, fine Python, nor the pull-faces-and-use-silly-words-can't-think-of-an-idea of Palin on his off days. Enough, but not enough, has been written about the cast, all of whom provide top-notch performances. Whom to praise most? I note as well, that the "Memorable Quotes" section still misses what may be the funniest exchange in the whole film, the sequence which begins, "You know perfectly well why we got rid of Margetson." The only people who are going to be disappointed by this film are those people who have dogmatic views about what a Palin film should be, or who think a comedy should spare them the trouble of thinking and leave them in a heap of rubble on the floor. Take the film on its own merits and, though you might think of ideas which the film didn't touch, places where it didn't go, you will still find enough in there to remember those ninety minutes fondly. Would I see it again? When's it on next?
- legspinner
- Mar 12, 2008
- Permalink
- How long is The Missionary?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Der Missionar
- Filming locations
- Highclere Castle, Highclere, Hampshire, England, UK(uncreditied)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,241,180
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,864,852
- Nov 7, 1982
- Gross worldwide
- $7,241,180
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content