The Bishop’s Wife (1947)

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Cary Grant stars as an angel from Heaven who comes to Earth just before Christmas to help a Bishop (David Niven) and his wife (Loretta Young) raise money for construction of a new cathedral. But Grant has ulterior motives, trying to get the Bishop to realize that happiness lies in prioritizing his marriage over any construction project — and that the fundraising money is better spent serving the poor. To complicate matters, the angel also starts to fall for the bishop’s wife.

The Bishop’s Wife is one of the most Christmassy of Christmas movies. The sets, artificial snow and ice, and holiday art direction make for a comforting backdrop to an irresistible Cary Grant. Grant is wonderful here, far from a ‘holier than thou’ stick in the mud — he’s a charming, somewhat conniving angel who lets revelatory quips fly from his lips and over the heads of his subjects. He also pulls off a few supernatural parlor stunts when no one’s looking. There’s just a hint of deviousness in his performance, as he falls for Loretta Young and feels jealousy toward the Bishop. And then Grant measures in regret and resolve when he knows it’s time for him to leave.

David Niven’s stuck in a fuddy-duddy role, though he gets to have a bit of comic relief when his pants become magically stuck to a chair (a bit of the Lord’s will?) Elsa Lanchester (The Bride of Frankenstein) appears as the Bishop’s housekeeper, and Gladys Cooper is memorable as a rich widow whose icy resolve melts away after a visit from Grant’s angel.

The film is at its best when Grant is with Loretta Young. The two of them have great scenes with the town’s professor (Monty Woolley) and a cab driver named Sylvester (James Gleason). The film’s best sequence is an impromptu visit to a skating pond, where Grant, Young, and Gleason don skates and perform a little ‘heavenly’ ice skating. It’s a grace note of a scene — you could remove it from the film without hurting the narrative, but you’d sure as hell diminish the spirit of the piece. And we can’t have that. Least of all at Christmas. Directed by Henry Koster (Harvey, Flower Drum Song).

Academy Award: Best Sound

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Director, Film Editing, Music