The Bishop’s Wife

We need more good moralistic films like The Bishop’s Wife. Initially, as I was watching it this morning, I was thinking that they just don’t make films like this anymore. And then I realized that this movie was remade as The Preacher’s Wife with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. Then I remembered that that film turns thirty years old next year. Then I wanted to cry because that made me feel old.

All levity aside, this movie did something so few films these days do: it uplifted my spirit and made me feel good about the world again, at least for a little while. This is a movie that is akin to It’s a Wonderful Life, including using a few of the child actors from that film. It also shares themes of generosity, love, and even the Christmas spirit. It would not surprise me to see these two films on a double bill on Turner Classic Movies at some point. It would make for a pleasant evening cuddled together with the wife and kids enjoying something that raised the spirits and brought some joy into our lives. 

What I especially like about this film is that it can be viewed and enjoyed by virtually anyone, Christian, Jew, agnostic, atheist or any other faith. The message is the same no matter your background. Even if you are the staunchest of atheists and have no doubt in your mind that angels and miracles don’t exist, you can enjoy the ride as a metaphor for the messages being presented in this movie. It works on all those levels. The central concept of an angel coming to save a man and his marriage is no more far-fetched than Mary Poppins, and you don’t need to be a Christian to enjoy that film, either. In fact, Mary Poppins and The Bishop’s Wife have quite a bit in common, thematically and in some of the story beats, too. 

The film is about two people. The first is Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven), a minister who has a dream of building a massive new cathedral for his congregation but is struggling to secure the funding for it. He has been working with several of the older, wealthy women in the area, specifically Agnes Hamilton (Gladys Cooper), but hasn’t been getting very far with any of them. Agnes is only willing to support the idea if it is used more as a monument for her dead husband than a gathering place for worshippers. In desperation, he prays for divine assistance. This prayer is seemingly answered with the arrival of Dudley (Cary Grant), a suave and well-dressed angel who reveals his divine character only to Henry, who doesn’t believe it. 

Dudley is not there to help construct the cathedral, though. He is there to guide Henry and those around him, spiritually. Because Henry is so focused on building the cathedral, it has strained his relationship with his wife, Julia (Loretta Young), and their daughter. Julia, the other person this film focuses on, loves her husband dearly, but the strain of his obsession is starting to wear on her. Dudley manages to charm everyone around him with the exception of Henry, who looks upon him with suspicion. This is exacerbated by the unexpected feelings of attraction Dudley begins to feel towards Julia, which Henry senses. 

Through Dudley’s influence, he manages to impact the lives of several people around him, including Professor Wutheridge (Monty Woolley), an agnostic man who believes only what he can observe, and Sylvester (James Gleason), a cab driver whose life is brightened by Dudley’s influence. He also convinces Agnes to donate the needed funds, but not for the purpose that Henry has wanted, for there are bigger needs in town than a gigantic cathedral. Most importantly of all, though, is his influence on Henry and Julia’s marriage. Dudley’s influence reminds Henry of the reason he married Julia in the first place, putting things back into perspective for both of them.

A popular country music singer once sang “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers.” Another way of looking at that would be to say that God always answers prayers, just that the answer might not be what you wanted. In this case, Henry thought he knew what he needed. He prayed for what he wanted. God knew better and sent Dudley down to get things back in place the way they needed to be. Even men of the cloth can get mixed up on what they think is God’s will; they are human after all. God just needs to nudge them a little to get them back on track. Sometimes that nudge needs to be a little more significant.

I have heard it posited that Dudley may not be an angel after all. He does some parlor tricks like levitate objects, disappear into thin air, and makes a bottle of wine magically refill indefinitely. But we only have his word that he is an angel. I have heard people state that he could just as easily be a demon, there to tempt Julia away from her husband. He certainly does that and there is that old saying that the devil will take on a pleasing appearance. What is more pleasing than Cary Grant? But we also hear that an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit nor vice versa. From the very first time we see Dudley, he is going about doing good deeds. He helps a blind man cross the street and prevents a runaway baby carriage from getting hit by an oncoming vehicle. He also inspires those around him. Everyone, with the exception of Henry, is enamored by him. Nothing about what he does comes across as disingenuous, with the possible exception of him developing feelings for Julia. To think he is anything but a legitimate angel is cynical and this film is anything but that.

This aspect of the story, Dudley’s feelings towards Julia, is the one major weak point of the film. It spends entirely too long developing this part of the story. We get long scenes of Dudley and Julia going out to a nice dinner, riding around in a cab, and even an extended sequence at an outdoor ice skating rink. The moments by themselves are fun to watch, but as a whole, it slows down the pace to a mere crawl. The ice skating sequence also loses some of the suspension of disbelief thanks to some very obvious body doubling. But worse than production weaknesses is the growing sense that Julia may be falling for Dudley a little, too. She comes very close to expressing that, too, before coming to her senses.

Nitpicking aside, this is a lighthearted film with a good, solid moral compass made at a time when movies like this could be made without being cynical. It’s a miracle it turned out as good as it did, considering the numerous troubles behind the scenes, including the firing of the original director, William A. Seiter. Seiter’s version had to be heavily rewritten and reshot, complete with some major retooling of the script by both Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. The final result got great critical reviews but failed to ignite much excitement at the box office. It got plenty of acknowledgment at the Oscars, too, where it competed directly with another Christmas classic, A Miracle on 34th Street. Alas, with five nominations, including Best Picture, it only took home one award, for the sound. Fortunately, though it failed at the box-office, it found an audience in the years since and is now considered a bona fide classic. This is a film that should be watched around the holiday season, preferably with the family together and a loved one to cuddle up with under a nice warm blanket. Maybe even throw in some hot cocoa for good measure. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Motion Picture: Samuel Goldwyn

Best Director: Henry Koster

Best Film Editing: Monica Collingwood

Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Hugo Friedhofer

Best Sound Recording: Gordon E. Sawyer (won)

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Release Date: December 9, 1947

Running Time: 109 Minutes

Not Rated

Starring: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven

Directed by: Henry Koster