The Bishop's Wife

"Have you heard about Cary and the bishop's wife?"

1947 1h 49m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 290

ComedyFantasyDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Have you heard about Cary and the bishop's wife?”

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Cast

Cary Grant
Dudley
Loretta Young
Julia Brougham
David Niven
Henry Brougham
Monty Woolley
Professor Wutheridge
James Gleason
Sylvester
Gladys Cooper
Mrs. Hamilton
Elsa Lanchester
Matilda
Sara Haden
Mildred Cassaway

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Henry Koster
Writers: Leonardo Bercovici, Robert E. Sherwood
Languages: English, French
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

79 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Henry Koster, shot by Gregg Toland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hugo Friedhofer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Monica Collingwood shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Cary Grant and Loretta Young and David Niven carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Have you heard about Cary and the bishop's wife?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039190 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henry Koster directs. Gregg Toland behind the camera. Hugo Friedhofer scores. Monica Collingwood cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

179 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
3Directed by Henry Koster, shot by Gregg Toland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Hugo Friedhofer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Monica Collingwood shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Cary Grant and Loretta Young and David Niven carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Have you heard about Cary and the bishop's wife?".
8IMDB entry: tt0039190 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 15 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "angel", "holiday", "taxi driver".

The technical file

Cinematography: Gregg Toland
Original score: Hugo Friedhofer
Editing: Monica Collingwood
Costume design: Adrian
Makeup / hair: Marie Clark
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Bishop's Wife (1947)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Sound

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Henry Koster

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-03-28
★ 7/10
This is one of those wonderful Christmas films that you can watch at any time of the year and still feel a certain feeling of satisfaction afterwards. David Niven is the Bishop who is struggling to get wealthy widow "Mrs. Hamilton" (Gladys Cooper) to fund a new cathedral - without, that is, her putting her late husband's face on the stained glass windows! He prays for guidance and it duly arrives; in the guise of Cary Grant ("Dudley") who quite determinedly, and mischievously, tries to help the Bishop not just with his new church, but with his priorities in general - especially towards his wife "Julia" (Loretta Young) and their daughter. Peppered with some characterful appearances from Elsa Lanchester as their maid, James Gleason as the skating cabbie and Monty Woolley as the professor with the never ending bottle; this is fun yet poignant. It has a sort of spirit to it; of kindness, consideration and Henry Koster gets the best from this whole cast as he builds it all gently to a suitable seasonal conclusion.

Production companies