Barnes & Noble

Ostensibly a fantasy, this gentle, warmhearted movie celebrates the innate human goodness that we all occasionally conceal from the world or avoid displaying, lest we be categorized as soft or weak. Hollywood movies, especially those from the "golden age" of the '30s and '40s, often perverted genuine emotions for the sake of story development, but the characters in The Bishop's Wife are portrayed with a profound humanity. The fanciful plot has an angel coming to earth and taking human form (in the image of top-billed Cary Grant) to help people tap into their better natures. Grant's principal target is a young, aggressive bishop (David Niven) who, in his obsessive determination to erect a massive cathedral, has gradually distanced himself from the members of his parish as well from as his adoring wife (Loretta Young). The flesh-and-blood angel wants nothing more than to help strengthen both parish and family, but the enigmatic newcomer’s relationship with the bishop’s wife leads the cleric to confusion and jealousy. Director Henry Koster handles this material with a feather-light touch and brings out the best in his cast by putting them through their paces with subtlety and restraint. Indeed, by keeping his naturally ebullient comedic persona in check, Grant delivers one of his finest performances. The same can be said of Young, who is particularly moving as the wife who senses that things are changing without realizing she's been touched by an angel. Sensitive scripting by playwright Robert E. Sherwood, expert cinematography by Gregg Toland, and evocative scoring by Oscar-nominated Hugo Friedhofer combine to make this 1947 drama one of the richest and most affecting ever to come out of Hollywood. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

When Episcopalian bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) prays for divine guidance in his efforts to raise the necessary funds for a new cathedral, his prayers are answered in the form of a handsome, personable guardian angel named Dudley (Cary Grant). Establishing himself as a Yuletide guest in the Brougham home, Dudley arouses the ire of Henry, who, unaware that his visitor is from Up Above, assumes that Dudley has designs on the bishop's wife Julia (Loretta Young). Eventually, the lives of both Henry and Julia are agreeably altered by the presence of the affable angel: He regains the "common touch" he'd almost lost, while she realizes anew how much she truly loves her husband. Adapted by Robert E. Sherwood and Robert Bercovicci from a novel by Robert Nathan, The Bishop's Wife was remade in 1996 as The Preacher's Wife, with Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston and Courtney B. Vance. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 027616858917
• Source: MGM (VIDEO & DVD)
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: B&W, Pan & Scan
• Sound: Dolby Digital, stereo, monaural
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Subtitles: Français, Español
• Time: 1:49:00
• Sales Rank: 84

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