The Missionary (1982) User Reviews

Palin's pro's parable..

[Lejink · 7/10 · 28 March 2010]

I've recently finished reading Michael Palin's second set of diaries ("Halfway to Hollywood"), which includes sections covering the real-time writing and filming of this particular film and so was pleased to get the chance to view it.

It's a pleasantly diverting comedy taking gentle pot-shots at snobbery, the English class system, the church and as the title makes clear, the Edwardian outlook on sex, peopled by a top-drawer British cast in very good form.

Palin himself takes the lead part and if lacking a little in the masculine virility I think the part calls for, nonetheless masters as you'd expect the comic delivery for which he's well regarded. To be fair, he is definitely outshone by his co-lead, Maggie Smith, as the repressed wife of a titled benefactor, late of the street herself as Smith herself relates to us in a disarming Cockney accent near the end. Michael Hordern does a hilarious little cameo as a befuddled butler, likewise Denholm Elliott as a "sporty" bishop and Trevor Howard as the frightfully frightfully titled patron-husband of Smith. I also liked Phoebe Nicholl's little turn as Palin's dim and virginal intended bride with a penchant for cataloguing. Some of the characters do, however, seem like leftovers from Palin's wonderful "Ripping Yarns" series and occasionally the film does veer off the track a little too much into farce territory with the ending tapering off somewhat, but with Palin the writer often employing the familiar trick of finishing scenes with amusing jokes, he just about keeps the film on an even keel for its not overlong playing time.

As for the direction, I did find the lighting a little gloomy at times and I suppose lack of budget could have been slightly to blame for not quite delivering a convincing depiction of the squalid streets of London where Palin looks to lift up his fallen women (in the Gladstonian sense of the phrase, naturally).

On the whole though, a likable, at times highly amusing light comedy rather making me sad a little that Michael later got lost on his worldly travels (entertaining as they've been), at the expense of his writing and acting skills.

good dry farce

[funkyfry · 7/10 · 23 March 2009]

Fun dry comedy by Python writer Michael Palin, who also stars as a missionary sent to the slums of England to minister to prostitutes. He's stuck in a silly traditional courtship with the fetching but anal retentive Deborah (Phoebe Nicholls) and a bizarre romance of a totally different nature with the wealthy Lady Isabel Ames (Maggie Smith).

Of course the best parts of the movie are the ones that let Smith and Palin play off each other, and they're both such wonderful talents that it's enough to carry some parts of the film that seem a bit obvious. There are some good supporting performances too, especially Denholm Elliot as a bishop with rather earthly tastes who nevertheless disproves of Palin's methods in spreading the "good word" to the various fallen women.

I rarely found myself laughing out loud, but I did greatly enjoy the movie. It was pleasant to watch, doesn't really offer that much in the way of gags but also isn't very demanding in general to watch. I found myself really hoping that there are more movies like this with Maggie Smith, and I've always been a fan of Palin so it was quite an enjoyable film for me.

boy toy Palin

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 8 November 2015]

It's 1906. Reverend Charles Fortescue (Michael Palin) returns to England after 10 years as a missionary in Africa. He is to be married to the naive Deborah Fitzbanks. The Bishop (Denholm Elliott) assigns him to proselytize to the prostitutes of London's Dockland and stop them. Deborah eagerly helps him organize even thought she's ignorant of the ladies of the night. Charles needs to raise the funds and the flirtatious Lady Isabel Ames (Maggie Smith) offers to help. She's married to the callous Lord Henry Ames (Trevor Howard).

This is a terrific English comedy. The sly humor is effective. It's funny that Palin is the boy toy and Maggie Smith is the cougar. The jokes take a bit longer to tell like the butler who keeps getting lost. It's a little slow at times but there is good hilarity.

Not so funny as it is charming

[dafishhead · 10 October 2003]

I won't detail the plot as that's been covered rather extensively in the other comments. If you refrain from expecting a Monty Python movie, you'll find it much easier to enjoy The Missionary. It's not a Python movie. It's not outrageously funny though it does have some very funny moments, some hilarious. Most of the humor however is much more subtle, possibly too much so for many viewers. A great cast.

Ames And The Man

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 10 December 2007]

This clearly grew out of Michael Palin's Ripping Yarns series on television and I suspect that most of the adverse comments on IMDb might have been more positive had the film been kept to Ripping Yarns length, but of course feature films need to weigh in at around ninety minutes and that may have been the problem. As it is it's certainly likable with some fine performances on offer. It's difficult to believe that Palin was not familiar with the case of the Vicar of Stiffkey whose interpretation of 'saving' fallen women was to save them for himself. Where the chap from Stiffkey was self-motivated Palin has his clergyman acting on orders from the Bishop although when required to provide more than spiritual comfort he is not averse to so doing. Maggie Smith tends to overact as the well-heeled Lady Ames who's quite happy to shell out for the mission so long as Palin is prepared to adopt the missionary position whenever she feels the urge. Michael Horden contributes a scene-stealing turn as a butler badly in need of sat-nav and Trevor Howard sends himself up. Not a world-beater by any means but as newspaper freebies go this is one of the better ones.

cool religion

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 23 December 2009]

Despite the presence of Michael Palin, "The Missionary" is not a Monty Python movie. It certainly doesn't consist of the wry humor that Monty Python did. Rather, it's got the sort of humor where you sometimes have to listen hard to catch the jokes...that is, when the main stuff isn't happening. Palin plays a chaplain who returns from Africa to start a school to help the poor, but has to get on an aristocrat's (Maggie Smith) REALLY good side to acquire the funds. It appears to be the sort of movie that they made to have fun. The movies from George Harrison's company HandMade Films that I've seen (others include "Time Bandits" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels") have always been good ones. I certainly recommend this one. Worth seeing.

Also starring Trevor Howard, Denholm Elliott, Michael Hordern, Graham Crowden, David Suchet, Phoebe Nicholls, Tricia George, Valerie Whittington, Roland Culver, Rosamund Greenwood, Timothy Spall and Neil Innes.

Some Background on "The Missionary"

[theowinthrop · 6/10 · 30 March 2005]

This is not the funny film it could have been. Given that Palin and Maggie Smith (and Denholm Elliot) were in the very funny "A Private Function" a short time after this film, this is slightly disappointing.

I agree that Michael Hordern's brief appearance as the ultimately lost butler is the movie's finest moment - and I wonder if the germ for this idea was the Monty Python's sketch "The Golden Age of Ballooning", where Graham Chapman, as the butler for the Montgoffier brothers can't recognize what piece of furniture he is supposed to go to, and keeps requesting instructions. Hordern's hopeless invasion of room after room of the immense Ames mansion is quite funny. It was a good moment, but one of too few. Another is the business of Lord Ames (Trevor Howard, sort of spoofing his performance as Lord Cardigan in "The Charge of the Light Brigade") thinking of his favorite words - note how he loves to spell "flog" with two gees.

The film is actually an anachronism of an historical scandal. It is set in the 1906 or so, but actually in 1931 there was such a scandal involving an English clergyman, Reverend Harold Davidson "the Rector of Stiffkey" (pronounced "Stewkey"). He had been leading a mission in the East End of London, and it turned out that for some curious religious motive he had actually had relations with the prostitutes. The Rector was defrocked as a result. Davidson was something of an exhibitionist, and he eventually met an odd fate - he tried to be a lion tamer and was mauled to death. That part of the story is not in this film (probably just as well). But the film still lacks real juice. Fortunately "A Private Function" turned out to have juice. And Palin also had "A Fish Named Wanda" in his future as well.

Always look on the bright side of sex.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 12 January 2021]

When veteran missionary Michael Palin returns from 10 years in Africa, he's reassigned by bishop Denholm Elliott to the London red light district in hopes of rehabilitating the street walkers. As timid about sex as he is titillated by it, he's easy prey for the lonely Maggie Smith, married to the aging and extremely wealthy Trevor Howard. But she's a bit of a jealous sort and plots to have her husband bumped off, something Palin must try to stop, unfortunately on the day he's set to marry his long time fiancee Phoebe Nicholls.

Very subtle comedy guides this view of class and manners and sin on both sides of the tracks. There's a shot of the future location of the popular "Downton Abbey", the home of a wealthy widow Palin visits to try to gain funds. Veteran actor Michael Horden provides the narration and is the aging butler to Howard and Smith, often befuddled and possibly senile.

This is the first of two films that Smith and Palin made together (the other being "A Private Function") and while Palin's appearance may seem to indicate it, this is not a Monty Python film. It's nice to see Smith playing a wealthy lady that's not quite like lady Violet from Downton Abbey, and in one part, she indicates that she despises the upper class and is glad to really not be one of them. Interestingly enough, it's set in the same era, so maybe out there in that world was a lookalike great estate where the Crawley's resided. I could listen to Smiths speak all day, but the film nearly is stolen by Horden.

Excellent Movie Garotted by Criminal Pan And Scan Xfer

[rubaxter · 2/10 · 15 October 2005]

I've seen this movie in the ORIGINAL WIDESCREEN VERSION with audiences as diverse as art house theaters, US Navy ships on deployment, and home viewing with friends, and even in the midst of sailors on 8 month deployments there was a genuine enjoyment of the plot and characters. What a shame the excellence has been completely gutted from the film by a horrible Pan and Scan adaptation. It is for such criminal efforts that whipping posts should be retained in public squares.

The movie is a period piece that is more like a Gosford Park with humor than a Pretty Woman as a Victorian costume drama. Handmade Films were ALWAYS films that "teemed with quiet fun", and this one is no exception.

However, when HALF THE SCREEN IS MISSING IT'S HARD TO APPRECIATE THE HUMOR! There's the irony of two men of the cloth talking about the soul building merit of sport, as they pass a bloody-faced 'sport' being hammered into a boxing ring turnbuckle, BUT that's all lost when you don't see the bloody-faced 'sport'. There's the maid in the house forever hovering like some dark force of unrequited passion, together with the swish-swish of her dress, BUT that's all lost when you RARELY see the maid, and you certainly don't see the expressions on her face when the action is allegedly on the other characters in the scene.

There's also the scene at the end that's been 'edited out' of recent releases of this film where the butler, Michael Hordern, ends up getting into bed with the divorced husband of the heroine of the film, Maggie Smith.

Finally, there's the absolutely ROUSING Music Hall finale, where half the screen is devoted to an obvious 'offspring' of Fortesque turning over a scrapbook that details the life of the main characters after the film ends. It's such a great scene that I've had people request to see just IT as a sort of finale to a night's worth of movie viewing.

IT'S THAT GOOD! Without these scenes and half-scenes, what was an excellent plot, full of irony and modern sympathies, is butchered.

To paraphrase Roy Batty from Bladerunner, "All those moments are lost in time, like tears in the rain" by a transfer to Pan and Scan.

If you can find a letterbox transfer of this movie, BUY IT if you enjoy the Handmade Films genre; if you like Time Bandits even though it isn't Jurassic Park.

Otherwise, the only thing to do is hope that some day, some way the 'long tail' theory of online video rental will provide it to people who can appreciate clever and interesting cinema.

Fun and funny

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 13 March 2021]

After ten years as a missionary in Africa, Michael Palin (who also wrote this comedy) returns to England to marry his childhood sweetheart, Phoebe Nicolls. Phoebe is devoted to him, but a complete imbecile. When Michael's superior Denholm Elliot tells him his new assignment, it's a shock but an interesting challenge. He's to get to know the prostitutes in London and set up a mission house for them to save their souls.

The Missionary has very dry humor, very British humor. If you don't like the old "Buried my wife the other day. Had to, you know, she was dead" jokes, you won't like this movie. It's full of tongue-in-cheek set-ups, like a butler who continually gets lost in his large estate house. Maggie Smith is a wealthy Lady who dangles her donation to Michael's mission house with the key to her bedroom. She doesn't take no for an answer and actually hops in his bed - as do the wayward prostitutes so grateful to be rescued by the missionary. Trevor Howard steals the show by playing Maggie's loud, brash husband completely oblivious to his wife's behavior. "Who are those people I hate?" he asks while writing a scathing letter to the editor. Maggie smiles as she simultaneously answers and spots her target: "Missionaries."

Not everyone will like this movie, and I certainly wasn't prepared for what it turned out to be. I thought it was a period piece drama, but it turned out to be a silly comedy. Fun, funny, and light, I'd recommend it if you're tired of serious dramas. Plus you'll get to see two very young fellows: David Suchet and Timothy Spall.

Not Michael Palin's Finest Hour

[robert-turner-1 · 1/10 · 11 November 2004]

Oh dear. This is a film which, contrary to initial expectations, bombed at the Box Office. Most Python fans have never heard of it, and on TV it is quietly tucked away in the late night schedules;normally sandwiched between a documentary on walruses and a Czechoslovakian cartoon.

Supposedly a "parody" on Edwardian moral values, this film looks as if it was scripted and performed by sexually frustrated public school boys (and girls). The comedy is non existent and Michael Palin has a very haunted look about him - perhaps wishing, like the audience, that he was doing something slightly more rewarding.

If you're still curious to know why this movie is so incredibly bad. Keep an eye out for on the TV.Set the video, and tape for a rainy day - a very rainy day!

Wacky but doesn't grate

[johnjredington · 8/10 · 24 September 2005]

Unlike American films where situation and reaction are usually the dominant elements of comedy, English cinema has a tendency to rely on outrageous or eccentric characterisation. It usually works well on a detailed level with typical stock characters such as irascible colonels, domineering great-aunts and frightfully keen twits but, quite often, individual actors get so caught up in their own characters that the film as a whole loses its sense of coherence.

The Missionary is a very traditional English comedy with the usual over-the-top collection of the innocent, the incompetent, the mad, the prim and proper and the sex-starved but, in this case, the characters lock well into each other like a jigsaw. Maybe it is due to a certain respect that stars like Maggie Smith, Michael Palin and Trevor Howard had for each other as they try to complement rather than overshadow each others' performances.

Once you find the pitch of the humour, this is a gem of a comedy and worth seeing alone for the batty directionally-challenged butler played by Michael Hordern.

Amusing and very watchable comedy.

[Prichards12345 · 7/10 · 29 November 2021]

Micheal Hordern's absent-minded butler is an absolute comic gem; and you have to love Michael Palin's filing-mad fiancee, and Trevor Howard's dotty old buzzard, usually to be seen writing letters about flogging and disembowling to The Times!

This is a good, very well made picture, relying on a smashing bunch of actors to deliver Mr Palin's warm and witty script. Palin is his usual likable self, and Maggie Smith is simply wonderful as the Lady of The Manor desperate to get her hands on him.

Palin's African missionary returns from 10 years in Africa to be handed a new assignment - that of saving the fallen women of the London Docklands; and of course, he ends up saving a few for himself!

Early roles for Tim Spall, David Suchet and a blink and you'll miss him Hugh Fraser - Poirot and Hastings - The Early Years! And all do well.

If it has a fault, it's the final subplot of Maggie Smith's attempt to do away with her husband. Otherwise it's a fine and happy film, well worth a look.

The worst thing Palin has ever done.

[CharltonBoy · 3/10 · 13 May 2002]

The Missionary is a film that tries to be far to clever for it's own good. It attemps to be funny but very rarely achieves it's aim. There are moments that you can see are Pythonesque , and that is more down to the fact that Michael Palin stars rather than the script but over all this film is just...well..Dull. It looks very dated ( even though it is set at the turn of the century ) it looks like it was filmed in the sixties instead of 1982. The story is un-inspiring and ends as it began, with a wimper. Even if you are a Palin or Python fan i suggest you give this a wide birth. I just dont have to much to say about this because it left me bored. 3 out of 10

The missionary

[Smalling-2 · 17 September 1999]

In England in 1906, a young reverend, with a sense of vocation and just before marriage, is entrusted to open a house of refuge for fallen ladies of East End. He is then seduced by the grateful girls and a witty, love-seeking lady nob, who is ready to support the institute.

A fitfully amusing, crisply acted, often sophisticated period comedy whose central conception - prostitutes do what they do for pleasure - is slightly absurd to say the least. Most of its fun is provided by the garnish.

Missionary ... life

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 15 July 2022]

The jokes and puns do write themselves sometimes. And while there is no nudity - there is a lot of innuendo at least. There is one scene that has a ... what could be described as phallic symbol ... and a woman carassing it. I don't think anyone should or could be offended by this - but you never know, that's why I am letting you know.

The jokes are more sublime though - so don't expect Monthy Python laugh out loud every other minute kind of things. Even when someone has a heart attack and someone in the room completely obvlivious of that fact won't stop talking ... there are many more scenes and the movie is quite slow paced. That being said, it is still quite the good movie to say the least. And based in real life apparently. Not that I knew the story before I watched it - or believe everything happened exactly like it is shown here. You have to heighten certain things to say the least.

Enjoyable British Farce

[Vindelander · 7/10 · 19 November 2021]

Over 30 years old yet still very amusing. Beautifully written by Michael Palin with a stellar cast, Michael Hordern bring outstanding in the role of the faithful retainer.

One of those films that takes you back to a bygone era which is all too easy to forget. I'll certainly watch it again.

Not quite as good as expected.

[plan99 · 7/10 · 29 November 2022]

As it was written by Michael Palin I had expected a lot of big laughs but it was all played a bit too deadpan and all the laughs were of the small variety. Great characters very well acted by all and with a fortune seemingly spent on the impressive scenery and locations it looked good also. I was surprised to read that they actually travelled to Africa to film the fairly brief scenes there which was very extravagant. It probably has to be watched by all Monty Python fans but most will probably be disappointed like I was. Michael has of course done a lot of travelling in the past forty years and I wonder if his trip to Africa for this film made him want to do travel programmes.

Its Heart is in the Right Place

[itamarscomix · 5/10 · 19 November 2012]

Michael Palin was always 'the Quiet One' of the Monty Python gang, but he was one of the most talented actors in the group (second only to Cleese and maybe Chapman) and a key writer of some of their most memorable skits. In this, his one and only true vanity project - the only film in which Palin was the sole writer as well as the star - he didn't quite make the grade. Palin is a wonderful actor, but not quite as good at being at the center of attention as Cleese, Chapman or even Idle in his own over-the-top way; his character in The Missionary feels bland and uncharismatic, a muffled echo of his Sir Galahad from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (though it may be the inspiration for his much funnier chaplain character in The Meaning of Life).

The Missionary isn't a bad film; it simply reeks of mediocrity and indecision, which leads to a sad feeling that it could have been much better. The writing is solid all the way through, but it's never quite clear if it was intended as a goofball comedy or a tongue-in-cheek social satire. As it is there's a little of both, but neither one goes all the way. The same goes for the characters played by Palin himself and by Maggie Smith, who are are denied strong, comical characteristics, but don't have any real subtlety or depth of character either. It's the more outrageous, cartoonish characters that are memorable - played by fine actors like Michael Hordern, Trevor Howard, Denholm Elliott, Phoebe Nicholls and a young but unmistakable Timothy Spall. Any scene with these characters works well, and that's when Palin's talent as a comedy writer and the famous Pythonesque timing pay off. Unfortunately these are sidenotes in the mess that is the overall film, which is dominated by the wasted talents of Palin and Smith.

Oddly, for a comedy it hasn't a single laugh.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 20 September 2016]

"The Missionary" is a single-joke film...and that joke isn't particularly funny. It's a real shame, as I've loved "Monty Python" for decades...but also realize that the solo projects by the various members of the group have varied tremendously in quality...and this is among the least of the projects I've seen by any of them.

The story begins in Africa. Michael Palin plays the Reverend Fortescue and his work there has apparently been successful. So successful, it seems that they have a new job for him--working with 'fallen women' in London. But he needs to raise money--and he turns to a horny rich woman (Maggie Smith)...and he seems to have forgotten his vows. In fact, once he begins working with the prostitutes he forgets his vows again and again and again...with all the women. In the meantime, he learns that the rich lady is planning on murdering her husband...and this coincides with his marriage to an incredibly frigid and uninteresting women. What's next?

As I said above, the film just isn't funny. Palin's acting is just fine but the film will offend many and bore the rest. It's a clear misfire and isn't all that interesting.

Missionary Position

[JamesHitchcock · 10/10 · 30 May 2008]

To celebrate my 500th review for IMDb, I turn to another of my favourite films. The Reverend Charles Fortescue is an Edwardian clergyman who has spent ten years working as a missionary in Africa. He returns to England and is asked by the Bishop of London to run a Mission to Fallen Women in the East End. Fortescue sets about his new task with vigour, supported by a generous donation from the wealthy Lady Ames, and the Mission proves a great success. Suspicions begin to grow, however, that Fortescue is offering the young women of the Mission something more than spiritual comfort, and that Lady Ames's interest in his work is motivated by something other than philanthropic zeal.

This is one of a number of films made by the former Pythons since their partnership came to an end; Michael Palin not only wrote the script but also appears as Fortescue. Several of these films show the clear influence of the famous Ealing comedies, and it is obvious that some at least of the Pythons must have a deep admiration for that series, even though the style of their early comedy was very different. "A Fish Called Wanda", which starred Palin and John Cleese, was directed by the Ealing veteran Charles Crichton, and there are clear thematic links between "A Private Function" (Palin again) and "Passport to Pimlico" and between "Splitting Heirs" (Cleese and Eric Idle) and "Kind Hearts and Coronets".

Like "Kind Hearts…..", "The Missionary" is set among the Edwardian upper classes. It does not have any direct thematic links to any of the Ealing films, but does have a similar style of humour, updated to suit the changing tastes of the eighties. Jokes about sex, for example, can be much more direct than would have been possible in the forties or fifties. This is not, however, a simple satire on Edwardian attitudes to sex and religion. It is a very different film to the ghastly "Best House in London", which was set in the Victorian period and took the line that prostitution is all jolly good rollicking fun.

"The Missionary", in fact, is a comedy about sex which (unlike most British comedies on that subject) avoids smuttiness and a comedy about religion which avoids the standard line that religious believers are all either fools or hypocrites. Although there is some fun at the expense of the Bishop, the film does capture the ethos of Edwardian "Muscular Christianity" with its progressive social attitudes and emphasis on good works. Prostitution is shown as a social evil because it leads to the exploitation and degradation of working-class women, and the Church's opposition to it is seen as both morally justified and socially progressive.

Palin plays Fortescue as a mixture of ardent social reformer and holy innocent, a kindly, well-intentioned man whose good intentions reflect many of the assumptions of his age. (He assumes, for example, that the African children he is teaching need to know all about English mediaeval history). He ends up sleeping with the young women of the Mission almost by accident- they all fall in love with him because he is the only man who has ever shown them kindness or has treated them as anything other than sex objects. Fortescue is not, however, the most comic character in the film; indeed, for much of the time he appears to be playing straight man to the others, who all have their own eccentricities. There is the aristocratic nymphomaniac Lady Ames and her ferociously reactionary husband, played by Trevor Howard as the comic equivalent of his Lord Cardigan in "The Charge of the Light Brigade". (The use of the hymn "From Greenland's Icy Mountains" provides another link between the two films). There is their comically inept butler Slatterthwaite, forever unable to navigate his way round their palatial stately home.

Denholm Elliott plays the Bishop as hearty and obsessed with sport, especially boxing and cricket. I first saw "The Missionary" in the cinema with two college friends and we were amused by the resemblance of the Bishop to one of our lecturers, who also peppered his conversation with cricketing clichés like "batting on a sticky wicket". Elliott and Maggie Smith, who plays Lady Ames, were later to star with Palin in "A Private Function". My favourite performance, however, came from the lovely Phoebe Nicholls as Fortescue's terminally naïve fiancée Deborah, totally unable to understand the concept of "fallen women". ("Women who have hurt their knees?"). She also has a passion for neatness and order and has devised a fantastically intricate filing system for keeping track of her fiancé's love-letters.

Palin had already proved himself to be a great comedian; in "The Missionary" and "A Private Function" he also proved himself a great comic actor, just as Cleese had done in "Fawlty Towers". The two things are not necessarily the same; there are several British comedians- Dudley Moore being a good example- who never seemed as funny on the big screen as they did in their stage and TV routines. Palin was later also to prove himself a very good serious actor in "American Friends", another film in which he plays a likable Anglican clergyman. It is interesting that he should have twice given a sympathetic portrayal of men of the cloth- perhaps the Pythons were not all as anti-religious as those who criticised them for their "Life of Brian" assumed.

Besides some wonderful performances, "The Missionary" also has some great lines and together with "A Private Function" it is the best of the post-Python comedies and one of the funniest British films of the eighties. 10/10.

Quite Virginal.

[adamjohns-42575 · 3/10 · 2 May 2023]

The Missionary (1982) -

This effort was not quite as witty as 'Stiff Upper Lips' (1997) or even 'A Private Function' (1984). In fact the comedy seemed so subtle that the film could have easily been a serious one made by Merchant Ivory and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. There was none of the wit that Palin showed as part of Monty Python.

And I didn't think that it had enough of Reverend Fortescue's (Michael Palin) actual "Mission" or rather, what he was actually getting up to. Maybe that was due to the time when it was made, but I've seen saucier stuff from the likes of the Carry On team much earlier and sort of expect it from a story that is about getting women of the night off the streets.

There were many jokes that could have been utilised, but weren't. For me that was a missed opportunity and they didn't even build on Fortescue's own sins as they should have done either.

With so much innuendo to work with it was hard to see how they only delivered this creation.

I was hoping for much more hilarity, but I was very disappointed. In fact I was quite disappointed overall.

It wasn't the worst film ever, it just wasn't the laugh riot I had hoped for and come to expect from Michael Palin and company. I barely snickered throughout.

Maggie Smith in the role of Lady Isabel was superb as she always is. And so was Michael Hordern (Slatterthwaite). Actors like them and the brilliant Denholm Elliott (The Bishop) have so frequently been in the more traditional period dramas, that it was hard to see the humour in their characters, without the necessary comedy as mentioned, but at least they didn't embarrass themselves.

I've definitely seen better from the actors involved and I've certainly seen better films overall. I very much doubt that I will return to this one again.

321.28/1000.

Shows what we had in Hordern/Harrison/Elliott. Sad, sad losses.

[legspinner · 9/10 · 13 March 2008]

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?

Slow but still fun

[chrisn-6 · 8/10 · 12 May 2003]

A bit like "Ripping Yarns" I think you need an appreciation or at least familiarity with the mores of late Victorian/Edwardian society. This film appears to be a gentle comedy of manners but there is a hint of satire beneath.

I have liked this film since I first saw it years ago. I have had this on tape for some time but recently bought the DVD which has some nice extras.

The cinematography is good. Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott and Michael Hordern can do no wrong. Trevor Howard blusters in a suitable 'Lord Cardigan' manner and you get an early Timothy Spall role.

I gave it 8/10. Unrepentant. It's a slow burner but still has a charm of its own.

An classic film, with an outstanding cast and clever comedy

[gillybaker · 9/10 · 11 January 2006]

You don't have to be a fan of Monty Python in general, or Michael Palin in particular, to enjoy "The Missionary". It's gently British humour conceals a razor sharp satirical edge, and there is something new to spot with every fresh viewing.

With Maggie Smith in the lead role, making the whole thing look as effortless as ever, it's easy to miss the outstanding performances from such icons as Michael Hordern and Tim Spall, the latter looking like a parody of himself as a servant of, shall we say, basic stock.

Phoebe Nichols delights and charms as the appalling Deborah and Denholm Elliott oozes charm as an outrageously un-Christian bishop. The characters are classics of comedy yet they still surprise. A satisfying dollop of bad taste completes the mixture. Unmissable.