Set in rural 1840s Scotland, the film explores labor and class issues while telling the story of Gavin Dishart, a staid cleric who is newly assigned to Thrums' Auld Licht church, and Babbie, a member of the nobility who disguises herself as a gypsy girl in order to interact freely with the local villagers and protect them from her betrothed, Lord Rintoul, who wants to keep them under his control.

Their romantic liaison scandalizes the townspeople, and the minister's position is jeopardized until Dishart's heroism stuns and transforms the hearts of the local villagers.

The film was budgeted at $650,000, which at the time was considered a high amount, and much of it was spent on exterior shooting in California's Sherwood Forest and Laurel Canyon and on the elaborate village set constructed on RKO Forty Acres back lot.

[2] The soundtrack includes the traditional Scottish tunes "The Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond," "Comin' Thro' the Rye," and "House of Argyle."

In his review in The New York Times, Andre Sennwald described the film as "a tender and lovingly arranged screen edition of Sir James's rueful little Scottish romance...in its mild-mannered and sober way, The Little Minister proves to be a photoplay of genuine charm.