Movie Info
Movie Name: The Bishop’s Wife
Studio: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Genre(s): Comedy/Drama/Romance/Family/Seasonal
Release Date(s): December 9, 1947
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Have you always wanted an angel to watch over you? Maybe not.
Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) feels his life is slipping away. He and his wife Julia (Loretta Young) are growing more distant as he struggles to raise money for a new cathedral. When he seeks guidance it comes in the form of an angel named Dudley (Cary Grant). Now Dudley is taking over Bishop Brougham’s life and Brougham is having to judge his priorities. As Dudley’s interaction begins to change lives, Dudley wonders if he wants to return to serving his boss upstairs.
Directed by Henry Koster, The Bishop’s Wife was adapted from Robert Nathan’s novel but had some production problems. William A. Seiter was originally started the picture as director and Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett were called in for rewrites when Seiter was replaced. It was nominated for a number of Oscars including Best Picture (but lost to A Gentlemen’s Agreement).
Honey, if we were in a horror movie, it would be called Single, White, Angel
The Christmas movie is fun and quite different than originally proposed by the first director Seiter. Originally Niven was playing the angel, and Carey was the cynical bishop. Teresa Wright was the first “Bishop’s Wife” before being replaced by Loretta Young. This seems crazy because the final product seems perfectly cast. Grant is a great “perfect” man that seems to woo everyone he encounters from Brougham’s servants, to his atheist friend Professor Wutheridge (Monty Woolley), and stingy Mrs. Hamilton (Gladys Cooper) with his charm and skill. Niven likewise is perfect as an the uptight bishop who can’t see his own real problems. I suppose I could see Niven as the angel, but I really can’t see Grant as the bishop.
Let me just step out of the way while my stunt double takes over
The movie is pretty standard directing…nothing daring and very little special effects. It is kind of a joke when Grant and Young go ice skating and Grant’s body double is half his size and has different hair. There are other little errors like this through the whole movie and sometimes it is a bit distracting.
The Bishop’s Wife is a nice holiday film and should not be forgotten. Compared to other films, it doesn’t get as much play in during the season. The movie was remade in 1996 by Penny Marshall as The Preacher’s Wife starring Denzel Washington as the angel Dudley, Whitney Houston as Julia, and Courtney B. Vance playing her husband.
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