The best films of Cary Grant: #16 "The Bishop's Wife" (1947)

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Cary Grant is the suavest angel you will ever see. “The Bishop’s Wife” is an unusual Christmas romance melodrama produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Based on a 1925 novel by Robert Nathan, “The Bishop’s Wife” was originally directed by William A. Seiter with Grant as the bishop and David Niven the angel. There was a poor audience preview response so Goldwyn scrapped it at a million dollar loss and shot a new version. Seiter was fired and replaced by another journeyman director Henry Koster. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett were brought in for script rewrites. Teresa Wright was leading lady in the first version but got pregnant and replaced by Loretta Young. Grant and Niven were forced to switch roles. Episcopalian bishop Henry is obsessed with raising funds to build a new cathedral especially trying to convince a rich old lady to give. The overworked Henry is losing his faith and neglecting his wife and prays for guidance. The answer arrives in the form of the impeccably dressed angel Dudley. He is a charmer easily wheedling donations and performing parlor tricks like waving a hand to fill brandy glasses. One little complication: the angel falls for the bishop’s wife. “The Bishop’s Wife” was a box office failure blamed on being perceived as a religious movie. By today’s standards, the film would be considered close to faith based particularly due to the ending. “The Bishop’s Wife” was Academy Award nominated for Best Picture. The 1996 remake “The Preacher’s Wife” starred Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston.