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United Kingdom
5.6 1h 30m

The Missionary

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.

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Top Cast

  • Michael Palin

    Michael Palin

    The Reverend Charles Fortescue

  • Maggie Smith

    Maggie Smith

    Lady Isabel Ames

  • Trevor Howard

    Trevor Howard

    Lord Henry Ames

  • Denholm Elliott

    Denholm Elliott

    The Bishop of London

  • Graham Crowden

    Graham Crowden

    Fitzbanks

  • Phoebe Nicholls

    Phoebe Nicholls

    Deborah Fitzbanks

  • Michael Hordern

    Michael Hordern

    Slatterthewaite/Narrator

  • David Suchet

    David Suchet

    Corbett

  • Timothy Spall

    Timothy Spall

    Parswell

Overview

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.

Rating

5.6 / 10
54 Reviews
1 Popular

1 Reviews

  • CinemaSerf
    CinemaSerf
    6 Dec 24, 2025

    Although he does well enough here, I couldn’t ever get the vision of Michael Palin as a sort of “Ripping Yarns” character throughout this pretty weak vehicle for himself and Maggie Smith. It’s the turn of the 20th century and “Fortescue” (Palin) has been brought back to London from Africa by his Bishop (Denholm Elliott) who wants him to get his sleeves rolled up with the women of ill repute who are blighting the city. Of course, it offends his sensibilities somewhat but when he meets the benefactor of this whole enterprise - the married and very wealthy “Lady Isabel” (Smith), he discovers that he has more than met his match. Let’s just say there are strings attached, and many of them are in her corset. It also turns out that she has a little more in common with his prospective subjects than he might have expected. For me, the whole film is over-scripted and Smith over-plays her part, especially as the plot takes them all to the beautiful Ardverikie House (think Balmoral only smaller) where the combination of corridor and grouse shooting shenanigans take it perilously close to farce. The premise of a man dancing to the sexual tune of a woman in Edwardian Britain is quite fun; Trevor Howard parodies his exuberant "Charge of the Light Brigade" performance nicely and Michael Hordern turns in the best perforce of the film as the butler who could get lost in his own pantry. There is some humour here, but all in all it’s just a bit too lightweight to sustain much interest or remain in the memory for long afterwards.

Trailers & Clips

The Missionary (1982) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]

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