The Bishop's Wife (Cary Grant, Loretta Young)

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It’s six years since we saw the classic 1940s black-and-white Christmas film ‘The Bishop’s wife’. We had recalled the basic outline - that an angel in human form is sent to help a bishop and his wife - but had forgotten all the details. So we decided to watch it again. 

I did remember the opening scenes: a smiling man (Cary Grant) is wandering through a busy town, where lots of people are busy Christmas shopping, or admiring displays in shop windows. Three or four potentially dangerous or tragic incidents are averted at the last moment by this character’s quick reactions - and possibly by what seems to be a little magic. Or maybe a miracle. 

Then he discovers that Julia (Loretta Young), the wife of the local bishop, is feeling sad. She has all she could want materially, and a lovely young daughter. But she feels as if her husband has grown away from her, and that his work is more important than she is. And her daughter is usually looked after by her nanny. 

David Niven is entirely believable as Henry, a stressed bishop, recently promoted and determined to build a great cathedral to glorify God. Unfortunately, the only person in the parish likely to provide significant funding is a widowed woman who wants everything to reflect the glory of her late husband…

When Cary Grant’s character Dudley - who claims to be an angel - appears in the bishop’s study, he says that he’s there to assist him. He’s very persuasive, but won’t stay to dinner. The following morning when the bishop has to admit he’s double-booked himself and can’t spend time with his wife, Dudley takes over, and they spend a delightful day together. Dudley manages to endear himself to the entire household staff, greeting each of them by name, treating them all with respect, and taking an interest in everyone. 

Inevitably, despite his own neglect, Henry is rather put out that his wife is not home when he expects her to be. He becomes rather jealous, too, as Dudley is quite good looking and very chivalrous. And yet, he still puts his fund-raising first; there’s some low-key humour when he can’t get out of a chair, later in the film. The ending is perhaps inevitable, with a few unexpected scenes (which I had entirely forgotten). 

I quickly forgot that the film was black-and-white, other than a few scenes (such as a sparkling Christmas tree) where it would have been nice to see the colours. It’s beautifully made, with some ‘miracle’ scenes that would have been immensely complex to produce in the days long before CGI was thought of. I loved - for instance - a typewriter that typed by itself, and cards that shuffled themselves, all the more while realising that special effects must have taken a great deal of effort.

I thoroughly enjoyed an ice skating session which was also cleverly done; it was obvious that the advanced skating was done by stunt doubles; the man doing complex spins looked almost nothing like Cary Grant, although he was mostly in shadow. But the cutting to and from the main actors was flawlessly done.

There’s some lovely music in the film, including some from choirboys, who sing beautifully when Dudley leads them. And there’s a moving sermon at the end of the film, although Henry is rather surprised to find himself preaching it…

The whole is a wonderful mixture of kindness, gentle humour and poignancy, and I’m very pleased that we watched it again. The rating is U, as there’s nothing unsuitable for young children, though I don’t suppose that many young people would find it very interesting. The pace is fairly slow, and the main characters are all adults. It's inevitably dated, and feels old-fashioned. That's part of its appeal to me, but not everyone likes older films. 

Nevertheless, if a classic, slightly schmalzy 1940s Christmas film appeals, I would definitely recommend it. 

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