Overview
An Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham, has been working for months on the plans for an elaborate new cathedral which he hopes will be paid for primarily by a wealthy, stubborn widow. He is losing sight of his family and of why he became a churchman in the first place. Enter Dudley, an angel sent to help him. Dudley does help everyone he meets, but not necessarily in the way they would have preferred. With the exception of Henry, everyone loves him, but Henry begins to believe that Dudley is there to replace him, both at work and in his family's affections, as Christmas approaches.
This movie was a recommendation by my good friend David. David and I had a running debate over the summer about how the quality of films in the last 20 or 30 years as opposed to films of a half century ago. While I believe that 95% of what is made today is utter drivel (and you have to search hard to find the quality 5%), I also believe that movies of long ago are often given more credit than they really deserve. If finding a quality movie is difficult, finding a Christmas-themed movie is almost impossible. I must say, this movie was a joy from beginning to end. I learned on the TCM pre-show that this movie was remade a few years ago under a different name and I watched the movie with that in the back of my head. I couldn’t help but think how Hollywood would have ruined this film. One of the things that I liked most about it is that there was a subtlety to Carey Grant’s angel and I can only imagine how this would be lost in a modernized movie. I think that this is particularly true in the end of the movie where there would be a more drawn-out final scene with Grant and Lorretta Young that wouldn’t have been true to the movie. Maybe David is more right than I had previously realized. I look forward to finding out!
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews The Bishop's Wife
Movie title: The Bishop's Wife
Movie description: An Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham, has been working for months on the plans for an elaborate new cathedral which he hopes will be paid for primarily by a wealthy, stubborn widow. He is losing sight of his family and of why he became a churchman in the first place. Enter Dudley, an angel sent to help him. Dudley does help everyone he meets, but not necessarily in the way they would have preferred. With the exception of Henry, everyone loves him, but Henry begins to believe that Dudley is there to replace him, both at work and in his family's affections, as Christmas approaches.
Date published: 2008-12-21
Director(s): Henry Koster
Actor(s): Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven, Monty Woolley, James Gleason, Gladys Cooper, Elsa Lanchester, Sara Haden, Karolyn Grimes, Tito Vuolo, Regis Toomey, Sarah Edwards, Margaret McWade, Anne O'Neal, Ben Erway, Erville Alderson, Robert J. Anderson, Teddy Infuhr, Eugene Borden, Almira Sessions, Claire Du Brey, Florence Auer, Margaret Wells, Kitty O'Neil, Isabel Jewell, David Leonard, Dorothy Vaughan, Edgar Dearing
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
My Review
This movie was a recommendation by my good friend David. David and I had a running debate over the summer about how the quality of films in the last 20 or 30 years as opposed to films of a half century ago. While I believe that 95% of what is made today is utter drivel (and you have to search hard to find the quality 5%), I also believe that movies of long ago are often given more credit than they really deserve. If finding a quality movie is difficult, finding a Christmas-themed movie is almost impossible. I must say, this movie was a joy from beginning to end. I learned on the TCM pre-show that this movie was remade a few years ago under a different name and I watched the movie with that in the back of my head. I couldn’t help but think how Hollywood would have ruined this film. One of the things that I liked most about it is that there was a subtlety to Carey Grant’s angel and I can only imagine how this would be lost in a modernized movie. I think that this is particularly true in the end of the movie where there would be a more drawn-out final scene with Grant and Lorretta Young that wouldn’t have been true to the movie. Maybe David is more right than I had previously realized. I look forward to finding out!
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My Review - 8.5/10
8.5/10