Monsignor Quixote (1985 TV film)

Monsignor Quixote is a 1985 British television gentle satirical comedy film made by Thames Television for ITV. Adapted from Graham Greene's novel of the same name — in a much shorter pastiche of Miguel de Cervantes's 17th-century tome Don Quixote — its teleplay is credited to Greene and Christopher Neame, with Rodney Bennett as the director.

The film stars Alec Guinness as the titular priest and Leo McKern as his "Sancho", the communist one-time mayor of their town of El Toboso in La Mancha — a chalk and cheese odd couple — undertaking a touring holiday across post-Franco Spain in the priest's decrepit little Seat 600 called "Rocinante". The fractious pair are brought closer in their dialogues about Catholicism and Communism and learn to appreciate each other better, but also question their own beliefs. The film features several notable actors including Rosalie Crutchley, Ian Richardson, Graham Crowden, Maurice Denham, and an early role by Anton Lesser.

The film was broadcast in Germany on Christmas Eve in 1986; PBS broadcast the film in the United States in 13 February 1987 in its anthology series Great Performances; and it was broadcast in Italy on 3 April 1988.[1]

## Production

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The film was produced by Johnny Goodman with Lloyd Shirley and Graham Greene for Thames. It was directed by Rodney Bennett, with cinematography by Norman G. Langley, and original music by the Spanish composer Antón García Abril.

The film is notable for being filmed in the actual locations Greene wrote about in his novel. Filmed in Spain ten years after Francisco Franco's death, it included filming at the controversial mausoleum site Valley of the Fallen.

## Cast

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* Alec Guinness as Father Quixote
* Leo McKern as Sancho Zancas
* Ian Richardson as the Bishop of Motopo
* Graham Crowden as the bishop
* Maurice Denham as Senor Diego
* Philip Stone as Father Leopoldo
* Rosalie Crutchley as Quixote’s housekeeper, Teresa
* Valentine Pelka as Father Herrera
* Don Fellows as Professor Pilbeam
* Michael Poole as Dr Galván
* Gareth Kirkland as Paco
* Clive Merrison as the Shop Assistant
* Roland Oliver as the Stout Guardia
* Carl Forgione as the Second Guardia
* Colin Haigh as the Guardia by River
* Peter Gale as the Undertaker
* Anton Lesser as the Robber
* Chris Sanders as the Mexican Businessman

## Reception

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The film received well and was short-listed for the 1986 BAFTA award for Best Single Television Drama, with Alec Guinness receiving a BAFTA nomination for the Best Actor for his portrayal of the eponymous role as well.[2][3]

## References

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1. ^ IMDb Monsignor Quixote [1]
2. ^ BAFTA search https://awards.bafta.org/award/1986/television/single-drama
3. ^ BAFTA Award search https://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=alec guinness

## External links

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* Monsignor Quixote at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote (1605/1615)

Characters,
imaginary characters,
and animals|

* Alonso Quixano / Don Quixote
* Sancho Panza
* Cide Hamete Benengeli
* Clavileño
* Dulcinea del Toboso / Aldonza Lorenzo
* Ginés de Pasamonte
* Ricote
* Rocinante

Stage|

* The Comical History of Don Quixote (1694 play)
* Double Falsehood (1727 play)

Opera and
musical|

* Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse (1743)
* Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho (1761 opera)
* Sancho Pança dans son isle (1762 opera)
* Don Chisciotte alle nozze di Gamace (1771 opera)
* Don Quixote (1898 opera)
* Don Quichotte (1910 opera)
* Man of La Mancha (1964 musical, "The Impossible Dream" song)

Orchestral|

* Don Quixote (Richard Strauss, 1898)

Ballet|

* Don Quixote (Ludwig Minkus, 1869)

Film|

* Don Quixote (1903)
* Incident from Don Quixote (1908)
* Don Quixote (1923)
* Don Quixote (1933)
* Don Quixote (1947)
* Don Quixote (1955–1969, unfinished)
* Don Quixote (1957)
* Dulcinea (1963)
* Don Chisciotte and Sancio Panza (1968)
* Man of La Mancha (1972)
* Don Quijote cabalga de nuevo (1973)
* Don Quixote (2000)
* Lost in La Mancha (2002)
* Don Quixote, Knight Errant (2002)
* Honor de cavalleria (2006)
* Donkey Xote (2007)
* Don Quixote (2010)
* Don Quixote (2015)
* The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
* He Dreams of Giants (2019)

Television|

* I, Don Quixote (1959 teleplay)
* Zukkoke Knight - Don De La Mancha (1980 series)
* The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda (1989 series)
* El Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes (1992 series)
* Don Quixote (2011 series)

Album|

* La Leyenda de la Mancha (1998, "Molinos de viento" song)

Art|

* Don Quixote (1955 sketch)
* Don Quixote (1976 sculpture)

Related|

* Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda
* Amadís de Gaula
* List of works influenced by Don Quixote
* Quixotism
* The History of Cardenio
* "The Truth about Sancho Panza" (1931 short story)
* "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote" (1939 short story)
* Monsignor Quixote (1982 novel)
* Super Don Quix-ote (1984 video game)

* v
* t
* e

Graham Greene

Bibliography

Novels|

* The Man Within (1929)
* The Name of Action (1930)
* Rumour at Nightfall (1932)
* Stamboul Train (1932)
* It's a Battlefield (1934)
* England Made Me (1935)
* A Gun for Sale (1936)
* Brighton Rock (1938)
* The Confidential Agent (1939)
* The Power and the Glory (1940)
* The Ministry of Fear (1943)
* The Heart of the Matter (1948)
* The Third Man (novella; 1949)
* The End of the Affair (1951)
* The Quiet American (1955)
* Loser Takes All (1955)
* Our Man in Havana (1958)
* A Burnt-Out Case (1960)
* The Comedians (1966)
* Travels with My Aunt (1969)
* The Honorary Consul (1973)
* The Human Factor (1978)
* Doctor Fischer of Geneva (1980)
* Monsignor Quixote (1982)
* The Tenth Man (1985)
* The Captain and the Enemy (1988)
* No Man's Land (2005)

Non-fiction|

* Journey Without Maps (1936)
* The Lawless Roads (1939)
* The Lost Childhood and Other Essays (1951)
* In Search of a Character (1961)
* A Sort of Life (1971)
* Ways of Escape (1980)
* Getting to Know the General: The Story of an Involvement (1984)

Plays|

* The Living Room (1953)
* The Potting Shed (1957)
* The Complaisant Lover (1959)
* Carving a Statue (1964)
* The Return of A. J. Raffles (1975)
* The Great Jowett (1981)
* Yes and No (1983)
* For Whom the Bell Chimes (1983)

Story collections|

* Twenty-One Stories (1954)
* A Sense of Reality (1963)
* May We Borrow Your Husband? (1967)
* The Last Word and Other Stories (1990)

Short stories|

* "The End of the Party" (1929)
* "Proof Positive" (1930)
* "The Basement Room" (1936)
* "Across the Bridge" (1938)
* "Alas, Poor Maling" (1940)
* "The Blue Film" (1954)
* "The Destructors" (1954)
* "A Shocking Accident"
* "The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen"
* "The Last Word"

Screenplays|

* 21 Days (1940)
* Brighton Rock (1948)
* The Fallen Idol (1948)
* The Third Man (1949)
* Loser Takes All (1956)
* Saint Joan (1957)
* Our Man in Havana (1959)
* The Comedians (1967)
* Monsignor Quixote (1985)

Adaptations|

* Orient Express (1934)
* The Green Cockatoo (1937)
* This Gun for Hire (1942)
* Went the Day Well? (1942)
* Ministry of Fear (1944)
* The Heart of the Matter (1953)
* The End of the Affair (1955)
* The Quiet American (1958)
* Travels with My Aunt (1972)
* The Human Factor (1979)
* The Honorary Consul  (1983)
* The End of the Affair (1999)
* The Quiet American (2002)
* Brighton Rock (2010)

Other|

* Brighton Rock (play)
* Shades of Greene

Category
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