''The Little Minister'' is a 1934 American

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

starring

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

and directed by Richard Wallace. The screenplay by Jane Murfin, Sarah Y. Mason, and Victor Heerman is based on the 1891 novel and subsequent 1897 play of the same title by J.M. Barrie. The picture was the fifth film adaptation of the works, following four

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

versions. The original novel was the third of the three "Thrums" novels (a town based on his home of

Kirriemuir Kirriemuir ( , ; ), sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'', is a burgh in Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom. The playwright J. M. Barrie was born and buried here and a statue of Peter Pan is in the town square. History Some of th ...

), which first brought Barrie to fame.

Plot

Set in rural 1840s

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the film explores labor and class issues while telling the story of Gavin Dishart, a staid cleric who is newly assigned to Thrums' Auld Licht church, and Babbie, a member of the nobility who disguises herself as a gypsy girl in order to interact freely with the local villagers and protect them from her betrothed, Lord Rintoul, who wants to keep them under his control. The townsfolk christen Dishart “The Little Minister” on his arrival because of his youth (this is his first parish) and his short stature. Initially the conservative Dishart is appalled by the feisty girl, but he soon comes to appreciate her inner goodness. Their romantic liaison scandalizes the townspeople, and the minister's position is jeopardized until Dishart's heroism stuns and transforms the hearts of the local villagers.

Cast

as Babbie * John Beal as Reverend Gavin Dishart * Alan Hale as Rob Dow *

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English people, English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best S ...

as Doctor McQueen * Lumsden Hare as Tammas Whammond *

Andy Clyde Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967), was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned some 45 years. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer Day''. H ...

as Policeman Wearyworld * Beryl Mercer as Mrs. Margaret Dishart, Gavin's mother * Billy Watson as Micah Dow *

Dorothy Stickney Dorothy Stickney (June 21, 1896 – June 2, 1998) was an American film, stage, and television actress, best known for appearing in the long-running Broadway hit '' Life with Father''. Early years Stickney was born in Dickinson, North Dakota, b ...

as Jean Proctor * Mary Gordon as Nanny Webster * Frank Conroy as Lord Milford Rintoul * Eily Malyon as Lady Evalina Rintoul * Reginald Denny as Captain Halliwell

Production

initially rejected the role of Babbie, then reconsidered, against the advice of her agent

Leland Hayward Leland Hayward (September 13, 1902 – March 18, 1971) was an American talent agent and theatrical producer. He was an agent to about 150 artists in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood, and produced the original Broadway theatre, Broadway st ...

, when

Margaret Sullavan Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1933, she caught the attention of film direct ...

was offered the role. The film was budgeted at $650,000, which at the time was considered a high amount, and much of it was spent on exterior shooting in California's Sherwood Forest and Laurel Canyon and on the elaborate village set constructed on

RKO Forty Acres RKO Forty Acres was a film studio backlot in the United States, owned by RKO Pictures (and later Desilu Productions), located in Culver City, California. Best known as Forty Acres and "the back forty," it was also called "Desilu Culver," the "RKO ...

back lot A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction. Uses Some movie studios build a wide variety of ...

. (It later was used in a number of films, including

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

's '' Bonnie Scotland''). It was RKO's most expensive film of the year and the most expensive film in which Hepburn had appeared.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p79 The soundtrack includes the traditional Scottish tunes "The Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond," "Comin' Thro' the Rye," and "House of Argyle." The 3-CD set ''Max Steiner: The RKO Years 1929-1936'' includes 10 tracks of incidental music that Steiner composed for the film. The film held its world premiere at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

in New York City.

Reception

In his review in ''The New York Times'', Andre Sennwald described the film as "a tender and lovingly arranged screen edition of Sir James's rueful little Scottish romance...in its mild-mannered and sober way, ''The Little Minister'' proves to be a photoplay of genuine charm." The film was popular but its high cost resulted in a loss of $9,000 and contributed to Hepburn's reputation as "box-office poison."

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

gives ''The Little Minister'' three and a half out of four stars, calling the film “charming“ and Hepburn “radiant“.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Minister (1934 film), The 1934 films 1934 drama films American drama films American black-and-white films Films scored by Max Steiner American films based on plays Films based on works by J. M. Barrie Films directed by Richard Wallace Films set in Scotland Films set in the 1840s RKO Pictures films Films with screenplays by Jane Murfin 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language drama films