Rating: 
Summary: Loretta Young deserved that Oscar!
Review: Loretta Young deserved an Oscar and she got it the year this film was made, but for another role "The Farmer's Daughter" a comedy. While that was also a wonderful performance I can't help thinking that Academy voters were also thinking of this movie when they cast their vote for her to win against the odds on favorite that year, Rosalind Russell. In the first 15 minutes of the Bishop's Wife Loretta Young brought me nearly to tears twice the first time I watched this movie and many times since. Mind you the all star cast does not end with her alone, we have Cary Grant giving us a little piece of heaven right here on Earth. In addition, we have David Niven in a wonderful turn as a very believable (trust me I know!) Episcopal Bishop over-worked and harried trying to raise money for a new Cathedral. Monty Wooley, James Gleason and Elsa Lanchester were all wonderful. Gladys Cooper was also a scene stealer as the "selfish materialistic woman" that the Bishop must grovel to for funding. I wish they made wholesome faith-filled movies that still deliver a message of tolerance and inclusion during the Christmas season in this day and age. Well, I will go on wishing, but I recommend this DVD to watch for the time being.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet and magical...
Review: This movie is really quite good - nice for the holidays or for any other day, for that matter. It is very sweet, and features wonderful performances from three classic stars. Essentially, The Bishop's Wife is the story of a bishop (David Niven) who becomes overly obsessed with getting funds for a new cathedral and subsequently neglects his wife and the things that really count. After he prays for help with his project, an angel named Dudley (Cary Grant), arrives to make him see that really counts in his life and to entertain his wife (Loretta Young). An interesting fact about this movie is that, after the initial script was found too dull, several expert writers were brought in (uncredited) to improve the movie. And it worked, because this movie has many good lines and scenes. Most importantly, however, this movie depends on the great performances of its stars. Cary Grant is really the only actor who could have made a role like Dudley seem realistic and interesting, and he pulls it off with his characteristic style, elegance, and charm. Like in all his roles, he plays this one effortlessly and just right. Niven is excellent as the stressed out bishop, and Loretta Young does a nice job as the neglected wife. All in all, a sweet movie!
Rating: 
Summary: BEATS THE [stuff] OUT OF "ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE"!
Review: This movie, as well as "A Christmas Carol" with A. Simm as Scrooge, are the all-time BEST films to view on the holidays - not for the sake of any religion fix, but because "The Bishop's Wife" is so utterly charming that it can't help but leave you with a better perspective on your life and life in general. Old Scrooge is also great - both for the superb performances of ALL the cast, and also because it does a great job in showing HOW and WHY Scrooge became what he was BEFORE the visit of the three spirits.
As for The Bishop's Wife in particular, you simply CAN'T get any better than the story, or the performances, or the cast chosen for the roles. It is great up and down the line from one end to the other. That over-played, grating, hyper bit ... called "Its A Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stuart is lightyears behind The Bishop's Wife in EVERY respect! No comparison! The Bishop's Wife is quite, elegant, refined, and moves along at a nice smooth pace, which is whay you'd would expect things to move like if an actual Angel were manipulating things. This is a far cry from the absurd, jerking and even obnoxious pace and plot of Its A Wonderful Life!
Comparing The Bishop's Wife to Its A Wonderful Life is like comparing a Rolls Royce to a beat up Chevrolet! It becomes a joke!
Get this movie! You WON'T BE SORRY!
Rating: 
Summary: I can't believe it's a top-of-the-line DVD!
Review: Being a lover of old films, I am happy to read the glowing and enthusiastic reviews featured at Amazon. I have always felt that "The Bishop's Wife", for all it's charm and whimsy, is only an average story. What REALLY ELEVATES it into an altogether magical and heartfelt classic is, in my opinion, the incredible musical score by Hugo Friedhofer. In those scenes in David Niven's sombre study we hear shimmery, otherworldy sounds, the chorales which drift in and out, with the saxophone melody that symbolizes the appearence of the angel in human form...now THAT"S what great filmaking is about! And yet, let's face it: David Niven's problems are really pretty insignificant compared to, say, what Jimmy Stewart faces in "It's a Wonderful Life".....here it's all vanity, wounded pride, confrontations with an arrogant old woman, etc....It's tough for me to get too concerned for a cleric who lives with his family in a fabulously lavish house and seem to have all the comforts of the rich and famous, right down to servants and cooks....the plot is really rather tedious in a way. But still, I really enjoy the movie---it has a wonderful mood, especially in the scenes near the old church and in the professor's apartment, as Christmas Eve is growing near and we know the problems must all resolve themselves soon. I really like the final scene, where the old church is alive again, the boy's choir is singing its new hymn, the atheist professor is attending midnight mass...and everyone seems to be aware on some level that their lives have been touched by something magical...even though they don't CONSCIOUSLY remember Dudley's visit. Pretty cool. I remember reading that Cary Grant really didn't care for the script and bascially walked through his role. I have always felt that way; for all of his charm, there's something cynical and jaded about his performance, if ever so slightly. But there's that lovely skating scene---was that the way it really used to be in the "Old Days"?? A skating rink with a live band playing--how cool! Of course, all of the fancy skating is done by doubles, but there's that lovely closeup of Cary Grant and Loretta Young gliding together as James Gleason finally gets the hang of it---what a wonderful moment (again, Mr. Friedhofer's MUSIC really makes the scene work!). But WHY didn't they give us a final close-up of ALL THREE skaters--Dudley, Julia, and Sylvester---gliding together arm in arm----instead of all of those long shots which used professional skaters as doubles? It would have really capped the scene off beautifully. Oh well.... BUT NOW I MUST ASK----IS THIS THE BEST DVD TRANSFER THAT MGM COULD GIVE US FOR THIS FILM????? It's dark and gritty looking---lots of grain in the image...and the volume level is so LOW---I had to crank up my TV volume all the way to really hear it. THE DVD transfer is a MAJOR BAD JOB; it's alarming to think that this release might represent the BEST AVAILABLE source material for this fine film. That would be a great shame. I hope that something better turns up and that MGM will re-release The Bishop's Wife and give it the treatment that it deserves.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Angel~
Review: Who could ask for a more pleasing angel then the beloved Cary Grant? Playing an angel named Dudley, Grant lights up the screen as a guardian angel for the Bishop and his wife, played by David Niven and Loretta Young. The Bishop who seems to have lost touch with the true meaning of his religion and his role in the church becomes somewhat antagonized by the appearance of angel Dudley in his life. The series of events that occur provide some good old-fashioned comedy with a great lesson as well. This is a movie that you will want to watch again and again and gives other Christmas favorites a run for their money.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a Christmas Classic.
Review: This is my all-time favorite Christmas movie. It is very whimsical and funny, but not overly sappy like It's A Wonderful Life. It also has its serious side as it reminds us what the Christmas spirit really means - both as individuals and a society. These two themes are perfectly exemplefied in the skating and ending sermon scenes respectively. The entire cast does a superb job and the special effects are a lot of fun. They really don't them like this anymore.
Rating:
Summary: What genius cast Cary Grant as the angel?
Review: Loretta Young and David Niven would have been easy picks for the Bishop and his wife Julia. But Cary Grant as Dudley the angel? That was truly inspired. There were any number of actors at that time who could have played saintly and pure-minded angels. Only Cary could have portrayed an incredibly handsome, well tailored and sophisticated, but still believable, angel. One of the most touching scenes is the one where he asks Julia not to send him away, back to where he's neither hot nor cold. He makes immortality seem so very lonely.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT Christmas movie!!!
Review: This is one of the best Christmas movies ever made and should be enjoyed every year during the Christmas season...or any time you want to watch a great uplifting movie. With Cary Grant as an angel and Loretta Young as the bishop's wife.
The bishop and his wife are growing apart, so an angel comes to show the bishop that he had better save his marriage while he can and that the other problems in his life and with his church aren't as terrible as they seem.
Rating:
Summary: Forget all other Christmas movies - this is the one to see!
Review: I have been watching this movie for the last 30 years and it still makes me laugh out loud and my eyes well up with tears. Forget "It's a Wonderful Life" (although it is a great movie too), nothing compares to Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young in "The Bishop's Wife". Once you have seen it you will be hooked. It is one of my favorite movies of all time!
Rating:
Summary: The Bishop's Wife: A Movie for the whole family.
Review: This is one of the classics of Christmas videos. Cary Grant is at his very best as the angel who comes to assist the Bishop (David Niven) who has prayed (for a great cathedral, he thinks, for guidance, according to the angel) only to find that God works in mysterious ways. The acting is supreme and one can find more and more to enjoy in this film the more one watches it. Loretta Young is the Bishop's Wife - thus the title of the film. The charismatic angel performs small miracles as he interacts with this small group of flawed human beings, unbeknownst to them. One of the best parts occurs when Dudley (the angel) and Julia (the wife) must attend a choir performance given by the boys who still attend the neglected poor parish church. Under the guidance of Dudley, the boys sing with all their hearts and it is truly inspiring! There's a twist at the end, leaving all without having ever known that an angel has visited them. They seem perplexed and a little saddened at his leaving although they do not know why they feel this way. The audience feels sad also - to see such a great movie end. One of my all time favorites for Christmas with wonderful family values.
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