"The Bishop's Wife" is a heartwarming, feel-good Christmas fantasy. Its moral is to treasure friends and family; giving generously of one's time and money in the place of career ambition. Made the year after "It's a Wonderful Life", it has a similar feel, and even some of the same cast (most notably little Karolyn Grimes, of 'angel gets its wings' fame). Director Henry Koster would later direct James Stewart in five of his films, ensuring his place as a successor to Frank Capra.
Cary Grant stars as Dudley, an angel sent to Earth to do good deeds. He answers the prayer of Henry Brougham (David Niven), a humorless bishop whose dream is to build a magnificent cathedral. Unfortunately, his obsession has alienated him from his sweet, loving wife Julia (Loretta Young) and young daughter Debby (Karolyn Grimes). He also has to grovel to wealthy matron Mrs. Hamilton (Gladys Cooper, again playing a stern matron), whose bank account is necessary to build the cathedral.
Those among us who are deeply cynical may not enjoy "The Bishop's Wife". Whimsical and sentimental, Grant and Young play perfect, romantic characters, while poor Niven misses out on all the fun that they are having together. Grant is well cast as the assured, benevolent angel, but he does seem to take a perverse pleasure in tweaking Niven's character, the only one who actively dislikes Grant. Niven is grumpy throughout.
Perhaps this is because Grant took away Niven's plum role. "The Bishop's Wife" was first filmed with Niven as the angel and Grant as the bishop. A different director was used, and Teresa Wright played the title character. Studio mogul Sam Goodwyn rejected the results, and brought in director Koster. Koster switched the roles of Grant and Niven, and replaced the pregnant Wright with Young. The result was an enduring, popular Christmas classic, that showed little traces of its stormy production.
I don't feel that "The Bishop's Wife" is a very good film. Grant is charming but bemused. None of the characters save for the history professor (Monty Woolley) are compelling. Cooper makes a Christmas metamorphosis from shrewish to saintly, like Scrooge or the Grinch, but unlike those beloved villains, her character turn lacks depth and drama. Niven mopes and fumes throughout, while Young is gushing. (All this has more to do with the script and direction that the limitations of the actors). The story is so relentlessly wholesome and fanciful that the occasional wry humor is the patient viewer's sole reward.
"The Bishop's Wife" was remade in 1996 as "The Preacher's Wife", starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. The updated version is weaker than the 1947 original. (58/100)
A Christmas fantasy about a debonair angel who comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new ch...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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