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31 out of 33 people found the following comment useful :-
Holiday Classic!, 27 April 2004

Author: Christopher (mrcaw1@hotmail.com) from New York

The Bishop's Wife (1947- Directed by Henry Koster) A bishop (David Niven) trying to raise money for the construction of a new cathedral, prays for guidance. His answer comes in the shape of an angel named Dudley (Cary Grant). Everyone loves the bishop's new assistant, Dudley that is. Especially, the bishop's wife (Loretta Young)! What follows is a joyous movie that showcases each of the three stars best talents. Grant gets to flash those pearly whites of his and be charming and Young gets to look beautiful and torn between depressed husband and fun-loving Dudley, and Niven gets to showcase his British stiff upper lip while at the same time display some very funny slapstick pratfalls. It's a charming movie that has lots of holiday atmosphere. Boys choirs singing, park skaters skating, city shoppers shopping, etc. Why only a scrooge wouldn't like this movie!

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28 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the top 3 best Christmas movies of all time., 8 October 2004

Author: (konradmts@cox.net) from Chandler, Arizona, USA

I discovered this wonderful movie quite by accident. It was Christmas time many years ago, late at night, I was cruising the channels one last time before retiring for the night. when I saw Cary Grant's face flash on the screen. I had to pause my frenzied surfing. Cary is one of my all time favorite movie stars. Fortunately the movie was just beginning, so I sat back to watch, and was treated to a wonderful Christmas surprise.

Cary is at his wide screen best. All of his charm, wit, and charisma. Endowed by heavenly powers, he bestows his angelic persona upon a small town bishop who is overwhelmed by his mis-guided quest to build a magnificent "earthly" cathedral to glorify God. In frustration at the difficulty in building this false edification to God, he prays to God for guidance. The bishop's prayers are answered in the form of "Dudley", as Cary's angelic character in called.

Dudley proceeds to weave a benign spell over a whole cast of wonderful characters to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas. This charming Christmas fantasy truly warms the hart and kindles the soul.

David Nivin plays the perfect foil for Cary's assignment of "answering the bishop's prayers". Loretta Young's charming demeanor as the bishops devoted, but neglected wife, distracts Cary("Dudley")from his primary mission, and leads the audience on a heart warming journey through small town America at mid 20th century, during a memorable Christmas season.

My young son saw this movie for the first time when he was nine years old. It has become his favorite Christmas movie. He even requested to watch it last summer at age 12. I recommend this film for the whole Family. Put a fire in the fire place, light the scented candles, cuddle up with your love ones, and have a Merry "Cary" Christmas.

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27 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
Touched by an angel, 17 June 2004

Author: jotix100 from New York

Dudley, the angel, comes to earth to teach a thing or two to the people of this town, or so it seems. He touches everyone he encounters in a positive way. The message is how we humans get so involved in things that are so unimportant that we miss the big picture.

This film, directed by Henry Koster, is a classic. In fact, I am surprised it doesn't play more during Christmas, or maybe I have missed seeing it around that time of the year that is the setting for the angel's appearance. It seems as though Dudley is pointing to the arrival of Christmas at a time, perhaps, when the season had still a non-commercial aspect and it was, after all, a family affair.

The cast was exceptional. Cary Grant is Dudley, the man/angel who turns everything he touches into a lesson on how to be kind. Julia, the bishop's wife, plays the neglected woman with conviction. David Niven plays the preoccupied bishop who is trying to bring the moneyed people of town to his side in order to erect his monument to his own ego.

Gladys Cooper is also a distinguished face in the film. She is Mrs. Hamilton who learns a thing or two about humility. Elsa Lanchester was a happy figure in whatever film she appeared. Monty Woolley, as the professor is also effective. James Gleason was one of the most prolific character actors of his generation. He is excellent as Sylvester, the taxi driver who befriends Julia and Dudley. Their ice skating sequence is one of the best things of the film.

This is a film to treasure.

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24 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
He's a real angel of a guy..., 26 December 2002

Author: gaityr from United Kingdom

Reverend Henry Brougham (David Niven) is working very hard to get his cathedral built--in fact, he's so busy speaking to wealthy clients and attending business meetings that he forgets that the one thing he needs most in this world is his wife Julia (Loretta Young) and their daughter Debbie. As Julia feels increasingly hurt at Henry's neglect, who should swoop in but the mysterious, charming Dudley (Cary Grant), telling Henry he's an angel who's there to answer Henry's prayer. Henry can't quite believe this even as Dudley seems to make himself quite at home in Henry's life, charming the wife, the child, the maids... even the taxi driver Sylvester (James Gleason). It's all a bit too much for Henry when Dudley finally brings the cathedral's biggest patron Mrs Hamilton (Gladys Cooper) around to the idea of donating the money to the homeless instead of to the cathedral. Is there anything left of Henry's life that he can salvage? And can he really compete against an angel who has God and little miracles on his side?

THE BISHOP'S WIFE is a sweet little romantic dramedy, perfect for a Christmas night curled up before the TV set. You have to give it credit for packing in a lot more story and real, human characters than you'd expect--it's not stock Christmas heart-tugging schmokum (did I just make up a word?), but a story that's quite genuinely intelligent and real. It's not perfect (what is?), but its presentation of the characters, especially Dudley and Henry, ring true. You can believe that Henry, underneath his bitterness and myopia, really loves his wife. He's just... forgotten his direction in life, is all. Niven does an excellent job with the character, keeping him just this side of prim but making him sympathetic especially when he asks Dudley to put up his fists for Julia.

My favourite secondary characters are Sylvester, played impeccably by Gleason, and the slightly dotty Professor Wutheridge (Monty Woolley). They're actually real *people*. Actually, they even fare better than Julia herself, whom I didn't particularly warm to. I wasn't annoyed by her, but nor did I feel that it was very likely she could get a reverend and an angel to almost come to blows over her. It's a shame that Loretta Young spent most of the film looking pensive, and even in her character's moments of joy--say the ice-skating scene--she simply fails to leap off the screen and run away with the audience's hearts.

Cary Grant has no such problem, however. From the moment he strolls onscreen as Dudley--the guardian angel every girl wished she could have--he has everyone's attention. He makes Dudley just a little bit roguish, a little bit dark. You couldn't really take Grant seriously if he's all decked out in an angel's costume, halo and harp and all, but you *can* imagine him as a sort of very human kind of angel. Which is exactly what Dudley is. It's mostly the smaller moments Grant sneaks into the film and his own performance that make THE BISHOP'S WIFE compelling viewing, and if you came to this film as a Grant fan, you certainly won't leave it disappointed.

All in all, the final film is well-drawn-together, cleverly written and directed, and benefiting from its two powerhouse male leads... Niven cleverly underplaying his part, and Grant suffusing Dudley with the charm and deep, hidden vulnerability he can suggest in all his characters without so much as faking a pained expression. It's definitely a great way to spend a Christmas night, and perhaps any other night. 8/10.

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20 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
An Angel For All Seasons, 20 February 2006

Author: marcosaguado from Los Angeles, USA

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.

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20 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the kindest, gentlest, most beautiful movies ever made..., 24 November 1999

Author: Doug Phillips (janabro@aol.com) from Seattle, Washington

A good script and inspired casting is what makes this film a real winner.

Cary Grant as Dudley the Angel has a charm that transcends his role.

When he enters a room his presence fills the screen -- you know he is there even if you cannot always see him.

Loretta Young (who was a last minute replacement) is positively luminescent when she gazes into Dudley's face.

This goes for Elsa Lanchester and Gladys Cooper (the staff at the Bishop's house) too -- they have absolute adoration in their countenance. Not hard to do with Cary Grant I am sure -- but they take it to the spiritual level.

David Niven gives just the right amount of disbelief and cynicism as the Bishop that may have lost his faith.

I have always enjoyed performances by Monty Wooley and again he is perfectly cast as the self-described "has-been scholar."

The special effects are wonderful for a time (1947) when special effects were pretty much in their infancy.

Movie books classify "The Bishop's Wife" as a fantasy -- but there is so much more there than that.

It is a love story, a comedy, a drama and an all around inspiring film.

"Peace on Earth; good will towards men."

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21 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
Choice Role For Cary Grant, 28 April 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Like "Life With Father," also issued in 1947, this is an old-fashioned "nice" film. Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven make up an impressive trio of stars, but Grant has the best role. He makes the best of it, too, with expressions on his face that are funnier than most of the lines he delivers.

One not-so-family oriented thing he does, however, as the "angel," is go out on dates with the bishop's wife (Young). No respectable married woman, especially back then, would ever do that. At least the two of them recognize this fact later. Niven plays the bishop and, as usual in the film world, is portrayed as a weak clergyman.

Nonetheless, it is a charming, feel pretty-good movie that entertains through most of it. There are a few special-effects in here, too, that are good even by today's standards. One example would be the Christmas tree lighting scene.

This would make a good Christmas movie for people looking for suitable films during that holiday.

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18 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
A Light But Worthwhile Holiday Classic, 30 November 2004
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

While not quite on the level of "It's a Wonderful Life" or the best of the "Scrooge" adaptations, "The Bishop's Wife" is still a worthwhile holiday classic. Much of the story is relatively lightweight material, but that's not necessarily all bad, since it thereby avoids taking itself too seriously. It is simple but thoughtful, and often quite entertaining. When it picks up a little more substance towards the end, it is then that much more effective for having maintained a lighter tone for much of the movie.

The cast is quite strong. Very few actors could handle a role like Dudley as well as Cary Grant does, giving it plenty of energy and believability. David Niven and Loretta Young also give fine performances. With the likes of James Gleason, Gladys Cooper, and Elsa Lanchester, plus a couple of good moments from Monty Woolley, the supporting cast also helps a great deal. The production is unpretentious, even downplaying the possibilities for miraculous tricks much of the time, and it works well.

The 1990's remake had a couple of strengths, but it was not up to the standard of the classic version. Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston's singing, and a fine supporting performance from Gregory Hines provided some good reasons to see it. But there was too much predictable padding, and the level of the screenplay and the directing were not up to the standard of the cast.

As for the classic version, it avoided most of the potential mistakes. By taking itself less seriously and focusing on a few core developments, it fits together nicely. The closing sequence in particular works very well, and it is easily the best part of the movie.

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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

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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12 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Cary Grant plays an angel who brightens everybody's day., 27 December 1999

Author: Steve Tarter from Peoria, Illinois

Holiday favorite with a fine cast. Cary Grant is the angel who entrances women the way Peter O'Toole did in 'What's New, Pussycat" but we're on a little firmer moral ground here. Fine supporting cast includes James Gleason as the skating taxi cab driver and Monty Wooley as the history professor.

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