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."
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."