# The Bishop's Wife

The Bishop's Wife (also known as Cary and the Bishop's Wife) is a 1947 American Christmas romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Henry Koster, starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young 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, Whitney Houston, and Courtney B. Vance.

## Plot

Bishop Henry Brougham, having difficulties funding the building of a new cathedral, prays for divine guidance. His plea is seemingly answered by a suave angel named Dudley, who reveals his 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 reveals himself to viewers as an angel. He helps Julia and Sylvester (a taxi driver) ice skate like pros, redecorates the Broughams' Christmas tree in a few seconds, saves an old church by restoring interest in the boys' choir, dictates to a typewriter to magically produce Henry's new sermon—without Henry's knowledge—among other smaller things.
As the climax to the movie approaches, 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 knowing that Julia loves her husband, Dudley leaves, promising never to return. All memory of him is erased, and later that Christmas Eve at midnight, Henry delivers the sermon he believes he has written. Dudley observes from the street, satisfied that his work is done.

## Cast

* Cary Grant as Dudley
* Loretta Young as Julia Brougham
* David Niven as Bishop Henry Brougham
* Monty Woolley as Professor Wutheridge
* James Gleason as Sylvester, a sympathetic taxi driver
* Gladys Cooper as Mrs. Agnes Hamilton
* Elsa Lanchester as Matilda, the Broughams' housekeeper
* Sara Haden as Mildred Cassaway, the Bishop's secretary
* Karolyn Grimes as Debby Brougham, the Broughams' daughter
* Tito Vuolo as Maggenti
* Regis Toomey as Reverend Miller
* Sarah Edwards as Mrs. Duffy
* Margaret McWade as Miss Trumbull
* Anne O'Neal as Mrs. Ward
* Ben Erway as Mr. Perry
* Erville Alderson as Stevens
* Bobby Anderson as Defense Captain
* Teddy Infuhr as Attack Captain
* Eugene Borden as Michel
* Almira Sessions as first lady in Michel's
* Claire Du Brey (credited as Claire DuBrey) as second lady
* Florence Auer as third lady
* Margaret Wells as hat shop proprietress
* Kitty O'Neil (credited as Kitty O'Neill) as hat shop customer
* Isabel Jewell as hysterical mother
* David Leonard as blind man
* Dorothy Vaughan as Delia
* Edgar Dearing as policeman
* The Mitchell Boychoir as vocal ensemble
Niven was originally cast as the angel, Dana Andrews as the bishop, and Teresa Wright as his wife. However, Wright had to bow out due to pregnancy. According to Robert Osborne, 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 with Henry Koster to create a completely new film. In early previews, audiences disliked the film, so Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett 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. In the scene in which Dudley conducts the boys' choir, the Charles Gounod 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.

## Release

The film was the second to be chosen for a Royal Command Performance and premiered at the Odeon cinema in London on November 25, 1947. Its American premiere was at the Astor Theatre in New York City.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The Bishop's Wife holds an approval rating of 84% based on 25 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

| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| Academy Awards | Best Motion Picture | Samuel Goldwyn Productions | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Director | Henry Koster | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Film Editing | Monica Collingwood | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Hugo Friedhofer | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Sound Recording | Gordon E. Sawyer | Won |

## 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 three times as an hour-long broadcast: first on December 19, 1949, with Tyrone Power 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 1996 film The Preacher's Wife was a remake based on The Bishop's Wife.

## Note

* ↑ 2013 release of Blu-ray from Warner Home Video is slightly cut.