The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
“God bless you!”
“Thank you! I’ll pass that recommendation along.”
Divine intervention…as only Cary Grant can deliver.
Ok, I’m biased…this was one of my favorite holiday movies as a kid. Grant (North by Northwest), David Niven (The Pink Panther) and Loretta Young (A Night to Remember). Angels. Magic. Roman history. What’s not to love?
So what’s The Bishop’s Wife about and does it still have wings?
The movie opens just before Christmas. Shoppers are rushing in and out of stores. Children are singing carols. And as a young mother looks away, her baby’s stroller rolls into traffic.
Enter Dudley, a perennially cheerful and charming stranger (Grant), who shows up in the nick of time to rescue the child.
Dudley makes his way to the home of Henry, an Episcopalian Bishop (Niven), and his neglected wife. Julia (Young). We won’t Spoil it too much - but Dudley is on a (non-Blues Brothers) mission from God, apparently sent to Earth to help Henry complete the construction of a new cathedral.
What follows is divine romantic comedy, with the trinity of Dudley, Henry, and Julia exploring ideas about love, duty, and relationships that give the film a depth that isn’t obvious at first glance.
How did it hold up?
Watching movies you enjoyed as a kid can be a hit and miss proposition. In this case it was a hit.
The (literal) magic of The Bishop’s Wife charmed me as a boy. As an…ahem…more seasoned person, the ambiguity of Dudley and Julia’s relationship was intriguing, leaving me wondering if Grant’s apparent attraction to her might not have been a bit of divine misdirection aimed at giving Henry the push he needed to appreciate his wife.
Speaking of magic…while I loved some of Dudley’s trickery as a nine years old…a few of his acts seemed creepily mind controllerish…like him magically “inspiring” (cough…mind zapping) a bunch of boys to make them attend choir practice. It had an odd and slightly disturbing Twilight Zone vibe, ‘though it introduced some interesting thoughts about what the movie had to say about free will.
So what’s the verdict?
You probably don’t need a sign from above to guess that we dug this. It wasn’t the film we remembered…but it was imminently watchable and even more interesting as an adult.
You can check out The Bishop’s Wife HERE.
Three out of Five Delightfully Debonair Divine Messengers.
😇😇😇
Bonus Trivia!
In the first casting of the film, Niven was supposed to play Dudley. Grant, brought on later, asked to play the D-Man, which the producers quickly agreed to.
Ready for one more?
If the story sounds vaguely familiar, it is because the story was remade in 1996 as The Preacher’s Wife, with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston.
Inspired by The Bishop’s Wife? You might want to check out one of there!