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The Little Minister

Play trailer Poster for The Little Minister 1934 1h 50m Romance Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 32% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
The stoic, proper Rev. Gavin Dishart (John Beal), newly assigned to a church in the small Scottish village of Thrums, finds himself unexpectedly falling for one of his parishioners, the hot-blooded Gypsy girl Babbie (Katharine Hepburn). A village-wide scandal soon erupts over the minister's relationship with this feisty, passionate young woman, who holds a secret about the village's nobleman, Lord Milford Rintoul, and his role in an increasingly fractious labor dispute.

Critics Reviews

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Ann Ross Maclean's Magazine 09/25/2019
It was the Hollywood touch turning up unluckily at the last moment, and even Katharine Hepburn couldn't make it seem quite right or very moving. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Steve D 03/04/2024 I didn't find it the least bit convincing. See more 10/11/2013 good kate hepburn vehicle See more 01/08/2013 Katharine Hepburn's free spirit is tamed in a light romantic story full of curious Scottish accents. The second half of the film becomes a melodrama as the love story unfolds. See more 11/23/2012 I will never understand what was so bad about this film or why it was one of the reasons why Katharine Hepburn briefly became box office poison (Before making one of the greatest comebacks ever with The Philadelphia Story). I found it to be a charming and wonderful romantic drama about a stuffy reverend of a small Scottish village who falls in love with a strange gypsy girl wandering in the nearby woods. Though they don't really like each other at first, she shows him the true meaning of compassion and she starts to fall in love with him. It's a striking film about expectations, initial biases, and overcoming those hurdles, while also providing a surprisingly heartfelt film that explores the nature of faith better than most other religious films. The Little Minister is one of the most underrated films in Katharine Hepburn's filmography that deserves proper critical re-evaluation. See more 05/16/2011 I Watched it on TCM and thought it was charming--silly in only the way a 1934-Hollywood-worldview can be silly--but otherwise nicely done. And, of course, Hepburn was glorious. See more 12/27/2010 The Little Minister (1934) -- [6.0] -- A young minister (John Beal) falls in love with a gypsy (Katharine Hepburn) and begins a village scandal. Hepburn and Beal are fairly matched and the rural setting is lovingly evoked through impressive indoor sets. The story, based on a novel by Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, doesn't quite break free from the hackneyed cross-class romance mold, but you could do worse for formulaic '30s fare. See more Read all reviews
The Little Minister

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Movie Info

Synopsis The stoic, proper Rev. Gavin Dishart (John Beal), newly assigned to a church in the small Scottish village of Thrums, finds himself unexpectedly falling for one of his parishioners, the hot-blooded Gypsy girl Babbie (Katharine Hepburn). A village-wide scandal soon erupts over the minister's relationship with this feisty, passionate young woman, who holds a secret about the village's nobleman, Lord Milford Rintoul, and his role in an increasingly fractious labor dispute.
Director
Richard Wallace
Producer
Pandro S. Berman
Screenwriter
Jane Murfin, Sarah Y. Mason, Victor Heerman
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co
Radio Pictures
Genre
Romance, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 28, 1934, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Jul 21, 2009
Runtime
1h 50m