The Bishop's Wife

I’m not sure Cary Grant would be my first choice to play an angel. It seems so much better to have him play a very real man. Yet in The Bishop’s Wife, Grant plays a very charming, very human angel indeed, in a holiday movie with a light touch and a merry message.

The Plot

The Reverend Henry Brougham (David Niven) is an Episcopal bishop struggling to raise money from his wealthy parishioners to build a beautiful cathedral - and losing sight of his family, faith and sense of perspective in the process.

Enter Cary Grant as his new assistant, an angel named Dudley, sent from above in answer to the bishop’s prayers. He starts charming the socks off everyone in the Brougham household except the bishop himself, from the cook and the maid to Henry’s lovely, neglected wife Julia (Loretta Young) and their daughter.

Dudley seems more interested in taking Julia skating, dropping in on her favorite old professor and listening to the boys’ choir than helping poor, frustrated Henry build his cathedral. And Julia awakens in Dudley the long-buried memory of the man he once was, and something that feels very like romance kindles. Uh-oh.

Don’t worry. It’s a Christmas movie, and even though our heroes may momentarily lose their way, from Henry to Julia to the high-society patroness of the cathedral, Dudley and his boss upstairs won’t let things get too far out of hand.

The Cast of 'The Bishop’s Wife'

Cary Grant makes a very earthy angel, full of mischief and minor miracles, and while he’s here to rescue poor Henry, he doesn’t mind enjoying the bishop's discomfiture. Grant positively twinkles, and when he takes Julia ice skating, you’ll wish it were you gliding along with him. (Even though the scene is charming, the skating doubles look nothing like the stars. It's kind of a hoot.) Grant adds some depth to his angel with a little darkness and a hint of lonely immortality that saves the movie from being too sweet.

Niven does the best he can with his rather thankless role as the misguided cleric, even indulging in a few bits of neat physical comedy while never wholly losing his dignity. Loretta Young just spends the whole movie looking radiantly beautiful, which is all she needs to do. Still, one could wish for a bit more spunk from this neglected wife. If Cary Grant can’t draw the mischief out of you, there’s none to be found.

Filling out the excellent cast are the always-dependable Elsa Lanchester as one of the household servants, Monty Woolley as the self-doubting professor, James Gleason as the serviceable taxi driver, and Gladys Cooper as the rich, haughty old battle axe that only Dudley can thaw.

The Backstory

The Christmas classic It's a Wonderful Life, which also features an angel answering the prayers of a desperate man, came out in 1946, a year before The Bishop’s Wife. The later film was a box office success. It’s a Wonderful Life was a flop when it came out, but has long since surpassed The Bishop’s Wife as an enduring holiday classic and a must-see Christmas movie.

(Look closely during the snowball fight in The Bishop‘s Wife, and you’ll see the same young actor, Robert J. Anderson, who plays the young George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life.)

The Bottom Line - ‘The Bishop’s Wife’

A perfect little holiday movie to watch with a cup of cocoa in your hand and just the tree lights twinkling, or to play while you’re wrapping those last packages. Not the most moving, nor the most profound holiday fare, but a fine little Christmas film.

If you liked 'The Bishop’s Wife...'

You may like other classic holiday films, or Cary Grant movies like Charade, To Catch a Thief, and North by Northwest.

Just the Facts:

Year: 1947, Black and White
Director: Henry Koster
Running Time: 109 minutes
Studio: RKO Radio Pictures