6 Best Traveling Preacher and Revival Movies

By Vlad Zakh · June 20, 2026

Charismatic traveling preachers and tent-show evangelists make for morally murky character studies. Elmer Gantry has a salesman reinventing himself as a fire-and-brimstone preacher, The Apostle has a disgraced Pentecostal preacher starting a new congregation, and Leap of Faith has a faith healer’s con threatened by a real miracle. A Face in the Crowd, Marjoe and Wise Blood round out the six.

A Face in the Crowd (1957)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A folksy drifter becomes a television star and shows a talent for dangerous, cynical manipulation.

Directed by Elia Kazan · 2h 05m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Apostle (1997)

TMDB ★ 6.3

A disgraced, volatile preacher flees his past to start a new congregation in a small Louisiana town.

Directed by Robert Duvall · 2h 14m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Leap of Faith (1992)

TMDB ★ 5.8

A travelling faith healer's elaborate con is threatened when his staged miracles start coming true.

Directed by Richard Pearce · 1h 48m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Elmer Gantry (1960)

TMDB ★ 7.3

A charismatic, opportunistic con man ingratiates himself into a travelling evangelist's revival ministry.

Directed by Richard Brooks · 2h 26m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Sky Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Marjoe (1972)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A former child evangelist candidly exposes the theatrical manipulation behind travelling revival preaching.

Directed by Sarah Kernochan & Howard Smith · 1h 28m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, DocuramaFilms Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Wise Blood (1979)

TMDB ★ 6.4

A disillusioned war veteran founds his own blasphemous anti-religion while wandering the American South.

Directed by John Huston · 1h 46m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Traveling Preacher and Revival Movies

A Face in the Crowd (1957)

The Apostle (1997)

Leap of Faith (1992)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

Marjoe (1972)

Wise Blood (1979)

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