The Bishop's Wife (1947)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

Leonardo Bercovici (writer)
Robert Nathan (book)
(more)

Release Date:

16 February 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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.

Plot Keywords:

Bishop | Angel | Christmas | Ice Skating | Benefactor

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 nominations

Cast

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)

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)

Production Companies

• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1948) (France) (theatrical) (as R.K.O. Radio Films S. A.)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (VHS)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Nelson Entertainment (laserdisc)
• Pioneer Entertainment (laserdisc)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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

Trivia:

Originally Cary Grant played the bishop and David Niven the angel. When original director William A. Seiter left the film, Henry Koster replaced him and viewed what had been shot so far. He realized that the two were in the wrong roles. It took some convincing because Grant wanted the title role of the Bishop. He soon accepted the change and his role as the angel was one of the most widely praised of his career.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dudley sits down to have dinner with the Bishop and his wife, the Bishop has a stalk of celery in his left suit pocket. He removes it from the pocket as he sits down. The next shot it is back in the same pocket and he takes it out again.

Quotes:

Matilda: Nobody expects him be normal; he's a bishop.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Christmas Movie Quiz (2007) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Noël

An Angel For All Seasons

What a pleasure to revisit this Henry Koster little gem. Everything works in the most unexpected way. The mystic magic of the story is utterly contagious. The unexpected musical number on ice skates by Cary Grant, Loretta Young and James Gleason made me want to see it again straight away and thanks to the new technologies I was able to do it on the spot. There was a remake of this movie a few years ago, remember? No, probably not. Denzel Washington in the Cary Grant part and Whitney Huston in Loretta Young's. To see both films back to back should be a masterclass in film anthropology that proves without a doubt that with the passing of time we have lost something invaluable. I don't know what it is. Maybe there isn't a word for it yet. What I would love to share with all of you is the joy that "The Bishop's Wife" borough to me. Even Gladys Cooper's upper class monster has a moment of exquisite redemption. Not to be missed.