The Bishop's Wife (1947)

 Production Company: Samuel Goldwyn Production

Directed : Henry Koster

Starring : Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven

Plot : Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven), troubled with funding the building of a new cathedral, prays for divine guidance. His plea is seemingly answered by a suave angel named Dudley (Cary Grant), who reveals his identity only to the clergyman.However, Dudley's mission is not to help construct a cathedral, but to spiritually guide Henry and the people around him. Henry has become obsessed with raising funds, to the detriment of his family life. His relationships with wife Julia (Loretta Young) and their young daughter Debby (Karolyn Grimes) are strained by his focus on the cathedral.

Trivia : * Originally Cary Grant played the bishop and David Niven the angel. When original director William A. Seiter left the film, Henry Koster replaced him and viewed what had been shot so far. He realized that the two were in the wrong roles. It took some convincing because Grant wanted the title role of the Bishop. He eventually accepted the change and his role as the angel was one of the most widely praised of his career.

*Actress Teresa Wright was playing the bishop's wife in the William A. Seiter version until the director was abruptly fired. She was not recast as she was then pregnant. Samuel Goldwyn's decision to start the film over again was a costly one, as $1 million had already been spent.

*In Britain the film was selected for that year's Royal Command Film Performance screening. Princess Margaret and her sister, the future Queen Elizabeth, both attended the screening of "The Bishop's Wife" on November 25, 1947, at the Odeon Theatre in Leicester Square. According to David Niven, "The audience loved every second of it, and the Queen and Princess Margaret told me afterwards and at great length how much they had enjoyed it." The film was reviewed by the London critics, who were sparing in their praise and commented unfavorably about the film not being released immediately "to save tax" (the Labour government had recently introduced a hefty import tax on US films). It was not seen by the public in Britain until July 1948, when it opened at the Carlton, Haymarket.