IMDb > The Bishop's Wife (1947)
The Bishop's Wife
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The Bishop's Wife (1947) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 7)
The Bishop's Wife (1947) -- A bishop trying to get a new cathedral built prays for guidance. An angel (Cary Grant) arrives, but his guidance isn't about fundraising.
The Bishop's Wife (1947) -- Dudley informs that the coin the professor gave Julia is a very rare coin.
The Bishop's Wife (1947) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)
The Bishop's Wife (1947) -- Dudley takes Julia and their cab driver ice skating.
The Bishop's Wife (1947) -- Bishop Henry asks Dudley to perform a miracle in order to prove to him that he's an angel.

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   4,421 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Henry Koster
Writers:
Leonardo Bercovici (writer)
Robert Nathan (book)
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Bishop's Wife on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 February 1948 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance more
Plot:
A bishop trying to get a new cathedral built prays for guidance. An angel (Cary Grant) arrives, but his guidance isn't about fundraising. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
Gotta Catch Santa Claus - DVD Review
 (From Monsters and Critics. 14 October 2009, 9:44 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
When An Angel Envies The People He's Helping, It's Time To Leave more (93 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Cary Grant ... Dudley

Loretta Young ... Julia Brougham

David Niven ... Bishop Henry Brougham
Monty Woolley ... Prof. Wutheridge
James Gleason ... Sylvester
Gladys Cooper ... Mrs. Hamilton

Elsa Lanchester ... Matilda
Sara Haden ... Mildred Cassaway
Karolyn Grimes ... Debby Brougham
Tito Vuolo ... Maggenti
Regis Toomey ... Mr. Miller
Sarah Edwards ... Mrs. Duffy
Margaret McWade ... Miss Trumbull
Anne O'Neal ... Mrs. Ward
Ben Erway ... Mr. Perry
Erville Alderson ... Stevens
Robert J. Anderson ... Defense captain (as Bobby Anderson)
Teddy Infuhr ... Attack Captain
Eugene Borden ... Michel
Almira Sessions ... Lady #1 at Michel's
Claire Du Brey ... Lady #2 at Michel's
Florence Auer ... Lady #3 at Michel's
Margaret Wells ... Hat shop proprietress
Kitty O'Neil ... Hat shop customer
Isabel Jewell ... Hysterical mother
David Leonard ... Blind man
Dorothy Vaughan ... Delia
Edgar Dearing ... Policeman
The Robert Mitchell Boy Choir (as The Mitchell Boychoir)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edythe Elliott ... Saleslady (uncredited)
Joseph J. Greene ... Santa Claus (uncredited)
Create a character page for: ?

Directed by
Henry Koster 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Leonardo Bercovici  writer
Charles Brackett  uncredited
Robert Nathan  book
Robert E. Sherwood  writer
Billy Wilder  uncredited

Produced by
Samuel Goldwyn .... producer
 
Original Music by
Hugo Friedhofer 
Emil Newman 
Herbert W. Spencer 
 
Cinematography by
Gregg Toland 
 
Film Editing by
Monica Collingwood 
 
Art Direction by
Perry Ferguson 
George Jenkins 
 
Set Decoration by
Julia Heron 
 
Costume Design by
Irene Sharaff 
Adrian (uncredited)
 
Makeup Department
Marie Clark .... hair stylist (as Maria Clark)
Robert Stephanoff .... makeup artist
 
Production Management
Leon Fromkess .... executive in charge of production (uncredited)
Raoul Pagel .... production manager (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph Boyle .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Dorothea Holt .... illustrator (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Fred Lau .... sound recordist
 
Special Effects by
John P. Fulton .... special photographic effects (as John Fulton)
Harry Redmond Jr. .... special effects (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Ralph Goge .... grip (uncredited)
Hal McAlpin .... still photographer (uncredited)
Bert Shipham .... camera operator (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Edgar De Lange .... lyrics
Charles Henderson .... vocal director
Jerome Moross .... music arranger: orchestral arrangements
Emil Newman .... musical director
 
Other crew
Samuel Goldwyn .... presenter
Irene Carson .... script supervisor (uncredited)
Sam Freedle .... script supervisor (uncredited)
Edgar Peterson .... assistant to producer (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributors
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
109 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | French
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono | Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Canada:G (Ontario) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | UK:U
Company:
Samuel Goldwyn Company, The more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
One scene shows Cary Grant and Loretta Young in a conversation. Director Henry Koster staged this with the two facing each other, but both complained that this showed the "wrong" side of their faces. In order to show the "right" side, they both had to be looking screen left, which made a face-to-face talk impossible to film. Koster had a window set piece brought in, and he filmed it from outside, with both looking out in the same direction, Grant behind Young. The next day, producer Samuel Goldwyn visited the set after seeing dailies and berated Koster for shooting the scene in that manner. Koster replied by asking Young and Grant to explain why the scene was shot that way. After both told Goldwyn about the "right" and "wrong" sides of their faces, Goldwyn said "Look, if I'm only getting half a face, you're only getting half a salary!" and stormed off the set. The subject of "right" and "wrong" sides never came up again. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: In several shots throughout the movie, the dog trainer's shadow can be seen. When Dudley pushes Julia's chair in, at Henry's back a shadow moves, and the dog gets up and walks over to Dudley. more
Quotes:
Henry Brougham: Are you expecting a letter?
Dudley: Well, you never know. If I did get one, the stamp would certainly be worth saving.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Touch of Pink (2004) more
Soundtrack:
Lost April more

FAQ

Is there any evidence that Dudley is really an angel? Does he do anything magical?
Is "The Bishop's Wife" a Christmas story?
What does the Bishop say in his Christmas eve sermon?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
When An Angel Envies The People He's Helping, It's Time To Leave, 28 July 2007
8/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

The year before this film came out another heavenly visitor in the person of Henry Travers visited earth after getting a complete and thorough briefing on his client James Stewart in It's A Wonderful Life. But other than learning that Travers liked a flaming rum punch we didn't learn too much about him.

Just as James Stewart prayed for guidance, David Niven who's a man of the cloth prays for it in The Bishop's Wife. Instead of lovable old Henry Travers, Niven gets as his aide, Cary Grant.

Niven proves to be a difficult client, but rather than expose him to an alternate universe, Grant does what he can in this world. Of course the woman who plays the title role, Loretta Young, is quite the distraction and Cary's having difficulty focusing.

Niven's a good man who's been raised to the post of bishop due to rich parishioner Gladys Cooper. He's to do her bidding and she bids that a cathedral be raised as a monument to her late husband. The burden of his conscience and dealing with Cooper has caused Niven to lose sight of what's really important in the world.

This is a Christmas season film so you know that everything will work itself out. If Cary Grant were an angel than I imagine he's very much like Dudley this minute. If I had a problem this Yuletide season, I'd kind of like Cary Grant to help me out, if I couldn't get Bing Crosby.

Loretta Young is radiant as the woman who causes Cary's halo to slip and David Niven is as charming as he always is. I also liked Monty Woolley as the professor and James Gleason as the cabdriver.

Make The Bishop's Wife a must for the Yuletide season. And see it back to back with the version that stars Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, and Courtney B. Vance.

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