The Little Minister (1934)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Richard Wallace

Writers:

J.M. Barrie (novel)
Jane Murfin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 December 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

In rural 1840's Scotland, Gavin Dishart arrives to become the new "little minister" of Thrums's Auld Licht church...

Plot Keywords:

Minister | Soldier | Church | Riot | Gypsy

Cast

Katharine Hepburn	...	Barbara 'Babbie'
John Beal	...	Reverend Gavin Dishart
Alan Hale	...	Rob Dow
Donald Crisp	...	Doctor McQueen
Lumsden Hare	...	Tammas Whammond
Andy Clyde	...	Wearyworld, the policeman
Beryl Mercer	...	Mrs. Margaret Dishart
Billy Watson	...	Micah Dow
Dorothy Stickney	...	Jean Proctor
Mary Gordon	...	Nanny Webster
Frank Conroy	...	Lord Milford Rintoul
Eily Malyon	...	Lady Evalina Rintoul
Reginald Denny	...	Captain Halliwell
Leonard Carey	...	Hendry Munn
Herbert Bunston	...	Mr. Carfrae

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #481) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Fryman Ranch, Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Although the copyright records state the film is based on Barrie's 1891 novel and not his 1897 play, most reviewers specify only the play. The onscreen credit does not say on which work the film is based.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Little Gypsy (1915)

Soundtrack:

Comin' Thro' the Rye

A Charming Keek At Auld Scotland

A mysterious & headstrong gypsy girl falls in love with THE LITTLE MINISTER called to pastor in a small Scots village. Soon her influence has him behaving in a most unclerical manner, with repercussions for the entire community.

Although sadly neglected & overlooked, this fine, sentimental film, based on a 1891 novel by Sir James M. Barrie, features excellent performances and superior production values. RKO lavished care & money to get the details just right; it is a fine example of how Hollywood films of the period could evocatively portray other times, other places.

Katharine Hepburn has one of her most fetching roles in the exuberant Babbie. Full of boundless energy & good humor, yet fiercely protective of those weaker & less fortunate than she, Hepburn turns in a beguiling, always entertaining, performance. While there is really no mystery as to the true identity of her character, this in no way hinders Hepburn from continually delighting her expectant audience.

In the title role, John Beal (born James Alexander Bliedung in 1909) had doubtless the best role of his career in this, his second, film. By underplaying his scenes, he holds his own with the vivacious Hepburn. Exhibiting real star quality, it is unfortunate that the good movie roles failed to materialize. Beal did quite a bit of work through the years on the stage and had a triumph in television's THE ADAMS CHRONICLES in 1976. John Beal died in 1997 at the age of 87.

A very fine supporting cast lends depth to the smaller roles: Andy Clyde as the lonely village policeman; Donald Crisp as the local doctor; Reginald Denny as a pompous army captain; Mary Gordon as an elderly indigent; Alan Hale as the community's repentant drunk; Lumsden Hare as a strict & powerful church deacon; Eily Malyon as a member of the aristocracy; Beryl Mercer as Beal's devout mother; and Dorothy Stickney as a fluttery maid.

Mention should be made of Max Steiner's lovely score, which incorporates old & familiar tunes.

A couple of historical notes: the Auld Licht (Scottish for 'Old Light') is mentioned many times in the film. This was the very conservative Church of Scotland, or Presbyterian Church in America, which had the allegiance of a majority of the Scots people. Barrie's original novel was of the Kailyard (Scottish for a small cabbage patch near a cottage) School of writing which had great favor in Scotland in the late 19th Century. This style featured highly idealized & sentimental representations of Scottish village life. Thrums in THE LITTLE MINISTER would certainly be a prime example.