''The Bishop's Wife'' (also known as ''Cary and the Bishop's Wife'') is a 1947 American

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

romantic

fantasy comedy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on, and parodies of, other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre ro ...

film directed by

Henry Koster Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cin ...

, starring

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Michaela Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Awards ...

and David Niven. The plot is about an angel who helps a bishop with his problems. The film was adapted by Leonardo Bercovici and Robert E. Sherwood from the 1928 novel of the same name by Robert Nathan. It was remade in 1996 as '' The Preacher's Wife'' starring

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

, and Courtney B. Vance.

Plot

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Henry Brougham, having difficulties finding the funding for the building of a new

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, prays for divine guidance. His plea is seemingly answered by a suave

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

named Dudley, who reveals his heavenly identity only to the clergyman. Dudley's mission turns out, however, not to be to help construct a cathedral, but to guide Henry and the people around him spiritually. Henry has become obsessed with raising funds, to the detriment of his family life. His relationships with wife Julia and their young daughter Debby are strained by his focus on the cathedral. Everyone, except for Henry, is charmed by Dudley, even the non-religious Professor Wutheridge. When Dudley spends time cheering up Julia, though, an unexpected development occurs: he finds himself strongly attracted to her. Sensing this, Henry becomes jealous and anxious for his now unwelcome guest to finish and depart. He reveals Dudley's true identity to Professor Wutheridge, who urges him to stand up and fight for the woman he loves. Dudley persuades a wealthy parishioner, the widowed Agnes Hamilton, to contribute her much needed funds, but not to build the cathedral, as Henry had hoped. Instead, he coaxes Mrs. Hamilton to donate her money to feed and clothe the needy, much to Henry's chagrin. On several occasions throughout the film, Dudley is shown to have special powers as an

. He helps Julia and Sylvester (a taxi driver) ice skate like pros, redecorates the Broughams' Christmas tree in seconds, saves an old church by restoring interest in the boys' choir, dictates to a

typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...

to magically produce Henry's new

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

—without Henry's knowledge— and other smaller things. Eventually, Dudley hints to Julia his desire to stay with her and not move on to his next "assignment". Although Julia doesn't fully understand what he's talking about, she senses what he means and tells him it is time for him to leave. Dudley tells the bishop it is rare for an angel to envy a mortal. When Henry wants to know why his cathedral plans were derailed, Dudley reminds the Bishop that he had prayed for guidance, not a building. With his mission completed and now knowing that Julia loves her husband, Dudley leaves, promising never to return, but satisfied that his work is done. All memories of him are erased, and later that

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

at midnight, Henry delivers the sermon he believes he has written.

Cast

Niven was originally cast as the angel, Dana Andrews as the bishop, and

Teresa Wright Muriel Teresa Wright (October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was an American actress. She won the 1942 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Carol Beldon in ''Mrs. Miniver''. She was nominated for the same award in 1941 for her ...

as his wife. However, Wright had to bow out due to pregnancy. According to

Robert Osborne Robert Jolin Osborne (; May 3, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American film historian, author, actor and the primary television host for the premium cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM) for over twenty years. Prior to hosting at TCM, Os ...

, Andrews was lent to RKO in order to obtain Loretta Young. Koster then brought in Cary Grant, but he wanted to play the angel, so the role of the bishop was given to Niven.

Production

The film's production faced several difficulties. Producer Samuel Goldwyn replaced director

William A. Seiter William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director. Life and career Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Senn ...

with Henry Koster to create a completely new film. In early previews, audiences disliked the film, so

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

and

Charles Brackett Charles William Brackett (November 26, 1892 – March 9, 1969) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He collaborated with Billy Wilder on sixteen films. Life and career Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, the son of ...

made uncredited rewrites. Though the premiere of ''The Bishop's Wife'' was acclaimed by critics as a success, the film did not initially perform well at the box office. Market research showed that moviegoers avoided the film because they thought it was religious. As a result, Goldwyn decided to retitle it ''Cary and the Bishop's Wife'' for certain US markets, while adding a black text box with the question "Have you heard about CARY AND THE BISHOP'S WIFE?" on posters in markets where the film kept the original title. By adding Grant's first name to the title, the film's business increased by as much as 25 percent. Location filming was in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. In the scene in which Dudley conducts the boys' choir, the

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

composition 'Noël: Montez à Dieu' ('O Sing to God') was performed by the Robert Mitchell Boys Choir. Emil Newman and Herbert W. Spencer's melody, "Lost April," was given lyrics by Eddie DeLange and recorded by

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Release

The film was the second to be chosen for a

Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

and premiered at the

Odeon cinema Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsid ...

in London on November 25, 1947. Its American premiere was at the Astor Theatre in New York City.

Reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''The Bishop's Wife'' holds an approval rating of based on reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''The Bishop's Wife'' succeeds thanks to the strength of winning performances from a stellar cast, which includes Cary Grant and Loretta Young."

Awards and nominations

Adaptations to other media

''The Bishop's Wife'' was dramatized as a half-hour radio play on the March 1, 1948, broadcast of '' The Screen Guild Theater'' with Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven in their original film roles. It was also presented on ''

Lux Radio Theater ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'' three times as an hour-long broadcast: first on December 19, 1949, with

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

and David Niven, second on May 11, 1953, with Cary Grant and Phyllis Thaxter and third on March 1, 1955, again with Grant and Thaxter. The soundtrack has been released on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

. The 1996 film '' The Preacher's Wife'' was a remake based on ''The Bishop's Wife''.

Note

References

External links

* * * * Streaming audio
''The Bishop's Wife''
on Screen Guild Theater: March 1, 1948
''The Bishop's Wife''
on

: May 11, 1953 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop's Wife, The 1947 films 1947 romantic comedy films 1940s American films 1940s Christmas comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s fantasy comedy films 1940s romantic fantasy films 1940s supernatural films American black-and-white films American Christmas comedy films American fantasy comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic fantasy films Christmas romance films English-language Christmas comedy films English-language fantasy comedy films English-language romantic comedy films English-language romantic fantasy films Films about angels Films about Christianity Films based on works by Robert Nathan Films directed by Henry Koster Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer Films shot in Minnesota Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award Films with screenplays by Billy Wilder Films with screenplays by Charles Brackett RKO Pictures films Samuel Goldwyn Productions films