My Top 9 Favorite Christmas Movies: The Bishop's Wife (1948)

1946 was a prime year for angelic themed movies ranging from Powell and Pressburger's "A Matter of Life and Death"  to the then-box office failure "It's a Wonderful Life." While "The Bishop's Wife," initially orchestrated by William A. Seiter, is neither highly stylistic with that Powell and Pressburger touch or incredibly realistic with that Capra ease, it teeters the perfect medium in that trademark whimsy that only a 40s era Cary Grant film can achieve. 

Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) is looking to collect funds to build a new cathedral. But when he technically prays for guidance than the fiscal help he needs, the bishop finds himself being followed by a man who calls himself an angel (Cary Grant) who has come down from heaven to help Brougham with his problems. The problems are still not of the fiscal sort as they come in the form of the Bishop's own wife, Julia (Loretta Young) who feels quite neglected in her marriage. As Dudley (Grant) continues to cheer Julia into the woman she was once was, he begins to feel an attraction angels are not allowed to feel for mortals. Dudley also enchants a crochety old friend of the Broughams, Professor Wutheridge (a mildly acidic Monty Woolley) a proud atheist and scholar who has made his mind up when it comes to religion.

Not unlike the original 1928 book, "The Bishop's Wife" finds itself in between the lines and blatantly discussing faith whether Episcopalian or among the characters. Yet the original Seiter screenplay seems to have fallen into obscurity once Goldwyn replaced him with Robert E. Sherwood. Sherwood had made Goldwyn lots of money in the Academy Award-winning "The Best Years of Our Lives," a post-war symphony on what would become PTSD. According to David Niven, "The day before shooting was to start, Goldwyn decided that the interiors of the Bishop's house were not ecclesiastical enough and ordered several sets to be torn down, redesigned and rebuilt. For three weeks, while this was going on, production was halted, then, two days after the cameras finally had a chance to turn, Goldwyn decided that Seiter's hand was a little too heavy on the tiller: he was removed, paid his full salary and after a week, Goldwyn hired Henry Koster to start again from scratch - with another two weeks of rehearsal." (Bring on the Empty Horses. 1975.) 

From Koster's decisions, Niven and Grant would switch roles, Grant now Dudley and Niven the Bishop, Loretta Young would play the wife since the desired but pregnant Teresa Wright had to withdraw from the role, and writers Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett were brought in to help with some sequences. Although many of the supporting cast bowed out during the delay (including the great character actress Dame May Whitty), Elsa Lanchester ("The Bride of Frankenstein," "Mary Poppins") as the loyal maid still remained.

But the break had costed Goldwyn dearly, rendering more disasters throughout the filming. Grant had been more meticulous than usual and frustrated with the script changes as his emotions had been amplified almost losing close friend and filmmaker Howard Hughes in a plane crash. David Niven was suffering silently over the death of his wife due to a head injury prior to shooting the revamped script. Despite all the problems, "The Bishop's Wife" came out December 9, 1947 to positive reviews. Even Goldwyn was shocked, immediately predicting a Best Actress nomination for Young. The New York Times described the film as "a sentimental whimsey of the most delicate and dangerous sort" and that "it comes very close to being the most enchanting picture of the year [...] because its incursion is on a comparatively simple and humble plane and [...] is sensitively syphoned from the more human and humorous frailties of the flesh." (Movie Review: The Bishop's Wife', Starring Cary Grant, David Niven, Loretta Young, Opens at Astor)



Links to Check Out
The Bishop's Wife (1948) - Articles - TCM.com
The Bishop's Wife (1948) - Notes - TCM.com
LUX RADIO THEATER: THE BISHOP'S WIFE - CARY GRANT - Youtube