The Bishop's Wife

Another movie I only discovered a few years ago which I decided to add to this Christmas' rewatching. This is a great script which reminds us to reassess what is most important in life. Cary Grant may seem a strange choice for an angel and a formidable challenge to David Niven's leading man status but the tension works and the finish raises the whole story to a different level. A shout out to the creative vision of Samuel Goldwyn. Great performances, great chemistry, great storytelling. It's not surprising I would rate this an 8 (great) out of 10. {Christmas Fantasy Drama}

This is a fine movie--the sort of nice old fashioned film that Hollywood did so well decades ago. A delightful script, excellent acting, along with beautiful sets and deft direction make this simple movie stand up so well even today.

Cary Grant plays an angel that comes to assist the extremely controlling and obsessed Bishop, played by David Niven. While Niven prayed for divine help, he struggled throughout the film with accepting the help on anything but his own terms. He soon learns of Grant's mission, but others are unaware of his Heavenly origins. Grant plays his angelic role in a very deliberately paced and casual manner--almost like combining TV's Mister Rogers with the usual Grant persona! In addition to these two wonderful actors, the film also features Loretta Young, Monty Woolley, James Gleason, Elsa Lanchester and Gladys Cooper. All did a great job of providing color and support in the film.

Perhaps the biggest star of this film, though, were the sets, cinematography and direction. They created a really nostalgic sense to the film that seemed almost better than real life. The snow, the frozen pond and all the other aspects of the film just set the perfect mood. About the only negative at all (and it's a small one) is the skating sequence. While it was nice to see Grant and Young really ice skating in the beginning, using doubles for them as well as James Gleason wasn't very seamless. Having these doubles skating with darkened faces just seemed pretty cheesy but forgivable.

All-in-all, this is a nice fantasy film that should be enjoyed by most anyone except the most cynical viewers.

I discovered this wonderful movie quite by accident. It was Christmas time many years ago, late at night, I was cruising the channels one last time before retiring for the night. when I saw Cary Grant's face flash on the screen. I had to pause my frenzied surfing. Cary is one of my all time favorite movie stars. Fortunately the movie was just beginning, so I sat back to watch, and was treated to a wonderful Christmas surprise.

Cary is at his wide screen best. All of his charm, wit, and charisma. Endowed by heavenly powers, he bestows his angelic persona upon a small town bishop who is overwhelmed by his mis-guided quest to build a magnificent "earthly" cathedral to glorify God. In frustration at the difficulty in building this false edification to God, he prays to God for guidance. The bishop's prayers are answered in the form of "Dudley", as Cary's angelic character in called.

Dudley proceeds to weave a benign spell over a whole cast of wonderful characters to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas. This charming Christmas fantasy truly warms the hart and kindles the soul.

David Nivin plays the perfect foil for Cary's assignment of "answering the bishop's prayers". Loretta Young's charming demeanor as the bishops devoted, but neglected wife, distracts Cary("Dudley")from his primary mission, and leads the audience on a heart warming journey through small town America at mid 20th century, during a memorable Christmas season.

My young son saw this movie for the first time when he was nine years old. It has become his favorite Christmas movie. He even requested to watch it last summer at age 12. I recommend this film for the whole Family. Put a fire in the fire place, light the scented candles, cuddle up with your love ones, and have a Merry "Cary" Christmas.

Silver-screen glamor oozes from this vestigially cloying but devilishly feel-good Hollywood fable about an angel, descending from heaven in the physical form of Cary Grant, is assigned by the Almighty to answer the prayer of an Episcopal bishop Henry Brougham (Niven), who is preoccupied with his imminent fund-raising of a cathedral which puts a strain on his family life.

The angel Dudley, a choir-conducting, ice-skating, harp-thrumming omnipotent being, comes clean with a dubious Henry of his mission and poses as his new assistant, squires Henry's neglected wife Julia (Young) to recollect her fondest memory, charms the entire household including the high-pitched housekeeper Matilda (Lanchester), Henry's prim secretary Mildred (Haden), and the Brougham's small daughter Debby (Grimes), also, convinces an atheist professor Wutheridge (Woolley) to finally knuckle down to write the history book he has been stalling ever since. Eventually, Dudley's mission is not to build a cathedral, the fund can be wisely disbursed to a more exigent need of its time, but to set Henry's derailed life back on track, right before the advert of Christmas.

But there is a hitch, predictably, Dudley develops a feeling for Julia, which raises the tension between him and Henry, who runs away with jealousy (no sagacious scribe to inject him with any scintilla of trust in his devoted wife), and it is all up to a virtuous Julia to pull the plug with a lachrymose face to adumbrate that Dudley's feeling is not unrequited, but bound by a wife's duty, however tempted, it is too sacrosanct for her to shuck that off, a moral lesson inculcated with a beguiling pretense of cinematic illusion.

While the three leads are deftly treading their designated paths with admirable expertise: Grant is particularly jaunty in Dudley's backhanded magickal tricks with an understated poker-face, Young radiates incredible bonhomie and saintliness and Niven, taking everything with a pinch of salt, perfectly offsets Grant's exuding charisma in his own sizzling pique, it is the witty special effects that mostly, gives the movie an endearing quality that weathers with the age and shifting ethos, a self-typing typewriter, a self-replenishing bottle of sherry and a fully-bedecked Christmas tree, it is indeed, small wonders that save the day in Henry Koster's vintage heart-warmer ensconced as a go-to holiday classic with wholesome contentment.

A good script and inspired casting is what makes this film a real winner.

Cary Grant as Dudley the Angel has a charm that transcends his role.

When he enters a room his presence fills the screen -- you know he is there even if you cannot always see him.

Loretta Young (who was a last minute replacement) is positively luminescent when she gazes into Dudley's face.

This goes for Elsa Lanchester and Gladys Cooper (the staff at the Bishop's house) too -- they have absolute adoration in their countenance. Not hard to do with Cary Grant I am sure -- but they take it to the spiritual level.

David Niven gives just the right amount of disbelief and cynicism as the Bishop that may have lost his faith.

I have always enjoyed performances by Monty Wooley and again he is perfectly cast as the self-described "has-been scholar."

The special effects are wonderful for a time (1947) when special effects were pretty much in their infancy.

Movie books classify "The Bishop's Wife" as a fantasy -- but there is so much more there than that.

It is a love story, a comedy, a drama and an all around inspiring film.

"Peace on Earth; good will towards men."