Almost There: Cary Grant in "The Bishop's Wife"
Monday, May 25, 2020 at 9:38PM 
Movie stars are not like us. Most people look perfectly banal when observed through camera lenses, but the stars are ravishing. When one appears, all eyes go to them, as if their mere presence is a gravitational hold. They are glamourous and awe-inspiring, terminally charming, and even more alluring. Idealized beyond humanity, those icons of the silver screen are the green light for which Jay Gatsby reached.
No matter the other sins of Old Hollywood, they were an exemplary movie star factory. The studios often knew just how to showcase the great stars to maximize their appeal. Or at least the finished product often suggests so. For a fascinating example of all of this look no further than Cary Grant in the 1947 Best Picture-nominee The Bishop's Wife…
The Christmas classic had a tumultuous production. At first, this adaptation of a Robert Nathan novel was a vehicle for Dana Andrews and Teresa Wright. However, some radical casting changes eventually had Cary Grant playing the titular bishop whose prayers for guidance are answered when an angel comes down to earth and starts interfering in his life. The man of faith is trying to arrange funds to build a cathedral, an obsession that has made him a neglectful husband and father, not to mention a distracted leader of the community. He cares more about the construction of a monument to his clerical pride than the needs of the dispossessed. David Niven was to play the angel and Loretta Young was Grant's devoted wife.
The shooting was chaotic by all accounts, with producers forcing a director change halfway through. Out went William Seiter and in came Henry Koster. It wasn't the last major change. For Grant was reportedly unhappy with his role and ended up switching with Niven. When The Bishop's Wife arrived at American theaters in December 1947, Grant was now the charming angel by the name of Dudley, whose part got expanded, making him more of a lead than the bishop or even his spouse. Looking at the final product, it's perplexing to imagine Grant in the role of the bishop, since his star persona is so perfectly suited for the angelic being. Even his voice, a British-tinged version of Hollywood's beloved Transatlantic accent, feels removed from earthly reality.
Instead of a sanctimonious creature of mystic detachment, Dudley is an angel made for the big screen, suave and charismatic, perpetually delighted and amused by the wonder of humanity. There's a serenity to his demeanor that suggests the celestial, but Grant mostly makes Dudley into a depuration of his usual character type and doesn't force any fantastical reading of the text. The unattainable perfection of Grant onscreen is thus crystallized in the angel, and the role plays off the performer as much as the performer plays off the role. Dudley is convincing as an angel because he's Cary Grant. Concurrently, the only reason the actor's overwhelming presence can exist within this trifle of a morality tale is that the narrative so cannily frames that quality as something from the heavens.
Overall, playing Dudley is a simple task for Cary Grant, especially when Gregg Toland is on hand to shoot every actor in glorious black-and-white. Still, The Bishop's Wife has some surprises in store, for the angel starts getting attached to the titular woman. During Grant's scenes with Young, the movie becomes a reticent romantic comedy where unfulfilled longing is as far as things are allowed to go. For his part, the actor plays that dynamic most earnestly, snipping in the bud any flower of impropriety. Another actor might have made the schemes of Dudley into a sly grift, but Cary Grant never allows us to doubt the angel's good intentions. He can be a trickster, but never malicious or cocky. No matter what happens, we're always on Dudley's side.
Considering that The Bishop's Wife was the second most nominated film of the 20th Academy Awards, Grant's absence from the Best Actor lineup can rightfully be seen as a snub. Instead of this pitch-perfect movie star performance, AMPAS chose to nominate Ronald Colman as a psychotic Shakespearean actor in Double Life, Gregory Peck's self-righteous journo in Gentleman's Agreement, John Garfield's calcinating work in Body and Soul, Michael Redgrave's doing twisted Greek tragedy in Mourning Becomes Electra and William Powell coasting through Life with Father as a grumpy patriarch. Colman won and Grant, who only ever got two nominations in his lifetime, had to content himself with the Academy's cold shoulder.
You can rent The Bishop's Wife from Amazon, Youtube, Google Play, Fandango Now, and the Microsoft Store.
Reader Comments (18)
I always pretend Loretta Young's Oscar is for this. I know some people think it's too sweet, but I still love it. Cary Grant is always reliably good. Did his contemporaries think he just coasted on charm? I've always wondered.
Interesting.....the role switch and script changes help explain the odd aspects of the story.
Cash: Very often, when an actor has got two nomination-worthy films, they are rewarded for the more comedic and less "Orcar-y" of the two. Take Richard Dreyfus being recognized for The Goodbye Girl and not Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or Diane Keaton winning for Annie Hall instead of Looking for Mr. Goodbar
I love Cary Grant but not in this movie, he deserved nominations for The awful truth, Bringing up baby, His girl Friday, The Philadelphia story, Suspicion or Arsenic and old lace.
Other actors that could have been nominated in 1947:
James Mason (Odd man out)
Robert Mitchum (Out of the past)
Charles Chaplin (Monsieur Verdox)
Tyrone Power (Nightmare alley)
Burt Lancaster (Brute Force)
It's my idea, of course, but Cary was "almost there" for The Awful Truth. And, even if I know how AMPAS works, his first nom should have been for SUSPICION and not for PENNY SERENADE (after role his partner Joan Fontaine scored the Golden Boy, so they liked Master Hitch's film)
The Bishop's Wife is Mary Poppins' father - without songs and a little better. Cary Grant is wonderful here, like always. Bye the way, the best pictures nominees of 1947 are all of them very good.
*Spoiler Alert* playing second banana again, this time, predictably David Niven's got the girl in the end. ;)
It’s not Wright, but it’s okay.
I like Cary in this one but can't say I'd knock out any of the (very strong) '47 Best Actor nominees for him.
@Marcos - I wouldn't say it happens often, and that didn't apply for Sandra Bullock.
When the movie was being rereleased or toward the end of its run, I think the title was changed to Cary and the Bishops Wife. That alone tells you how much of a star he was.
Love Grant but he was just fine in Bishop's Wife. My 47 lineup would be:
Chaplin (Monsieur Verdoux)
Mason (Odd Man)
Mitchum (Out of the Past)
Power (Nightmare Alley)
Simon (Panique)
Grant does crack my lineup for Awful Truth, Bringing Baby, His Girl Friday & Aresenic
Grant is perfect in the role- a wonderful movie with a sort of light movie magic that seem effortless
Tom G. -- I found that in my research and thought it quite funny. Apparently, audiences didn't immediately respond to the picture, in part because they thought it was a very religious movie because of its title. The addition of Cary's name to the posters is said to have improved ticket sales significantly.
Thank you all for the feedback. While I think this is a good performance, I agree with many of you and wouldn't nominate him either. That said, I do believe he's better than some of the nominees of 1947, especially Peck.
another interesting fact...Studio heads felt that Ms Young's neck was too long..Irene Sharif made her rubber padded shoulders to compensate It's in Sharif's book
Cary Grant made acting look effortless, which is one reason why he didn't receive more Oscar nominations during his career. The Academy often likes to see actors working rather than subtle or seamless work, which is, in my opinion, why his two nominations are for dramas. I like his performance in The Bishop's Wife and I'm not sure who else could have made it work this well. Since the film was a major Oscar player that year, it is surprising no cast member was nominated, especially him.
I believe Grant came even closer to a nom in 1940 for his one two punch o His Girl Friday n The Philadelphia Story!! Jimmy Steward, who shlda won the prev yr, steals his spot n Fonda's Oscar!!
I alws felt Penny Serenade is a make up nom fr the Academy for snubbin him the prev yr.
We can pretend tt he was nom Arsenic n not None in 1944! 😂 but Grant was actually quite proud o his work in None n meh abt Arsenic, which was made in 1941 n only released three yrs later due to a contractual clause.
It's a shame tt he nev got nom for any of his iconic roles for Hitchcock or Hawks. I'd luv to see him get nom for Notorious but 1946 is a super competitive yr!
Well, the movie is still good even for today. Especially Cary Grant in role of Dudley. He show the sincerity of character on the one hand. But on the other hand his habit to be close from public is well pictured. Anyway, I like to re-watch it in calming atmosphere
Well, the movie is still good even for today https://www.paperwritings.com/free-examples/persuasive-speeches/. Especially Cary Grant in role of Dudley. He show the sincerity of character on the one hand. But on the other hand his habit to be close from public is well pictured. Anyway, I like to re-watch it in calming atmosphere