The Bishop's Wife (1947)

This is one for Bruguru's Christmas in July Write-off.

If you're ever feeling a little down, one of these old Cary Grant movies is just the prescription to get you feeling in tip top form once again. Cary was one of the guys who truly could make magic on the screen and looked like he had fun doing it.

The movie concerns a bishop (David Niven) who has set the goal of building a big cathedral in his urban parish - you know the type; a cold, massive pile of bricks more dedicated to the vanity of man than any particular connection to God - at least in my opinion, and apparently in the opinion of the moviemakers, too.

Anyway, the Bishop is frustrated because he cannot convince the rich patrons of the city to give him the financial backing to build his big pile of bricks, so he prays for guidance. A man appears (Cary Grant) which startles the Bishop, but the man is actually an angel, named Dudley, sent by God in response to the Bishop's prayer. You can see how stressed the Bishop is because he doesn't even realize that Dudley is God's way of answering his prayer. The rest of the movie shows the contrast between the Bishop, wrapped up as he is in his failing project, and the Angel's helping nature which brings joy to all he touches and teaches everybody the true meaning of happiness.

To balance the two male leads we have The Bishop's Wife of the title, Loretta Young, who is as charmed by Dudley as everybody else in town is, that is, everyone except the Bishop.

Several subordinate characters add variety to the situations - we have the rich old skinflint patron (Gladys Cooper); the agnostic professor (Monty Woolley); the housekeeper (Elsa Lanchester); and the cab driver (James Gleason) all of whom do good jobs with their parts.

Of the performances by the three principals, Loretta Young's was by far the weakest. She is assigned the role as the pivot in a love triangle, torn between her distracted husband and the Angel. But her pensive and nice nature does not really build much tension and we cannot seriously believe she would fall for the Angel and leave her husband. The movie works out for the best in the end and has a nice twist that leaves you satisfied.

Apart from the slight weakness of the wife character, which may be due to the writing, the movie is a great example of a romantic comedy that will become one of your favorites, and also a great Christmas movie. The performance by Cary Grant, as is usual in most of his roles, has to be seen to be believed; absolutely on target 100%, nothing vulgar and nothing sappy either.

The movie was directed by Henry Koster (Stars and Stripes Forever) and shot by Gregg Toland with his brilliant eye for alluring cinematography and is a product of Samuel Goldwyn Studios. A classic era score was provided by composer Hugo Friedhofer.

The DVD is from MGM and has an interesting trailer as an extra, which features the three stars on the lot of Samuel Goldwyn Studios, and is quite cool compared to most film previews. The 109 minute movie is in 1.33:1 theatrical format and in black and white and is well preserved. Most everybody unless they are totally averse to religion will like this movie.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie