The Bishop's Wife (1947), directed by Henry Koster.
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Professor: Let's face it, Henry. This Dudley is no mortal man like the rest of us. Is he?
Bishop: How did you know?
Professor: Well, I can't tell. Who is he? What is he?
Bishop: He says he's an angel.
Professor: An angel? From heaven?
Bishop: That I'm not sure about.
A debonair angel helps a troubled bishop through a tough Christmas season. He spends more time with the bishop's wife.
This is a well-liked if lesser known Christmas film. We see it as part of our holiday rotation, but I have problems that keep it from being a Christmas classic for me:
Too sugary sweet.
The plush bishopric is a glum, unhappy place. The bishop's depressed demeanor drags the whole story down.
David Niven and Loretta Young have little chemistry. Maybe clergy marriages were supposed to be passionless.
Cary Grant needs to be a little devilish. Too good doesn't look right on him.
A nice subplot has the radical, jovial, free-thinking Professor (who looks a lot like Kris Kringle), to his own amazement, showing up at church on Christmas Eve. A nudge from the angel, a good story and a minor miracle was all it took.
We have two kids from It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
Photographed by Gregg Toland.
Remade in 1996 as The Preacher's Wife with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston.
Available on Blu-ray.