The Bishop's Wife
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| The Bishop's Wife | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Henry Koster |
| Produced by | Samuel Goldwyn |
| Starring | Cary Grant Loretta Young David Niven |
| Music by | Hugo Friedhofer |
| Cinematography | Gregg Toland |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures Inc. |
| Release date(s) | December 9, 1947 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 109 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Bishop's Wife is a 1947 romantic comedy film which tells the story of an angel who comes to Earth to help a bishop with his problems. It stars Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven and Monty Woolley, supported by James Gleason, Gladys Cooper and Elsa Lanchester.
This movie was adapted by Leonardo Bercovici, Charles Brackett (uncredited), Robert E. Sherwood and Billy Wilder (uncredited) from the book by Robert Nathan. It was directed by Henry Koster.
It won the Academy Award for Sound, and was nominated for Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture and Best Picture.
It was remade in 1996 as The Preacher's Wife, starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston and Courtney B. Vance.
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[edit] Plot
Bishop Henry Brogham (David Niven) prays for divine guidance with the troubled building of a new cathedral. His plea is seemingly answered by a suave angel named Dudley (Cary Grant), who reveals his identity initially only to the clergyman.
However, Dudley's mission isn't to help with the construction of the cathedral. He is there as a guide to Henry and the people around him. Henry has become obsessed with the building of the new cathedral, to the detriment of his duties and marriage with his neglected, unhappy wife, Julia (Loretta Young). Everyone, except for Henry, is charmed by the newcomer, even the non-religious Professor Wutheridge (Monty Woolley). Dudley finally and easily persuades the wealthy parishioners, particularly Mrs. Hamilton (Gladys Cooper), to contribute the needed funds, but not to build the Cathedral. He helps Mrs. Hamilton come to the decision to give her money to feed and clothe the poor and needy--much to Henry's chagrin.
When Dudley spends time cheering up Julia, there is an unexpected development: it appears that he finds himself strongly attracted to her. Sensing this, Henry becomes jealous and anxious for his unwelcome guest to finish and depart. Eventually, he stands up to the challenged angel. Dudley, however, has already acknowledged his attraction to Julia and the warning that attraction means to him and, with his mission completed, he departs promising never to return nor will he be remembered.
[edit] Production
William A. Seiter was the film's original director but early on during the filming, producer Samuel Goldwyn decided that he was unhappy with Seiter's work. Henry Koster was then brought in to create a completely new film. Niven was originally cast as the angel and Grant as the bishop, but Koster had them switch parts. In early previews, audiences disliked the film so Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett were brought in to make uncredited rewrites.[1]
Although no denomination is mentioned in the film, the characters are intended to be Episcopalians.
