The Little Minister (1975)

In rural Scotland in the mid 1800s, the daughter (Helen Mirren) of an aristocrat disguises herself as a Gypsy so that she may move freely among the local villagers and also warn them of soldiers who, at her father's behest, plan to arrest some of the locals. However, as the Gypsy she also catches the eye of the town's prim young minister (Ian Oglivy) who is unaware of her true identity. Based on the J.M. Barrie novel and play, which was previously filmed in 1934 with Katharine Hepburn, and directed by Cedric Messina. The film suffers from a surfeit of quaint supporting characters intended to provide color and atmosphere but instead are mostly annoying. It's not so much in the writing as in the performances but they overdo the Scottish brogues and the performances are so obviously calculated to be charming but they seem condescending instead. Luckily, Helen Mirren doesn't fall prey to the "cutes" and instead gives a genuinely charming performance with ease and Oglivy matches her though his role is essentially colorless. It's the kind of dated play that doesn't wear well unless somehow re-thought out by a more imaginative director and Messina wasn't one of them.