Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

**SPOILERS** This is a small thing, and I'm almost sorry to think that I'd complain. However, complain I must, don't you know? The movie had three of my favorite actresses, of course Loretta Young is beautiful and charming as always (even when she plays a bad girl, she's charming), Sara Haden, and the delightful Elsa Lanchester. Niven obviously has a stick up his British bum, and Cary Grant simply can't make a mistake in this story. Being an angel, he better not. Monty Wooley is just as he is supposed to be, and all's right with everything else. The only problem I have, and keep in mind several small miracles, is that on Christmas Eve, the Bishop and his wife don't take their daughter to services with them. This is not only ridiculous, it's just insupportable. Everything else, no problems at all; a terrific movie. The end, without their beloved daughter? Sorry.. a 9.

I'm lying on the Motel 6 bed. Middle of the night, and the TV had been left on TMC. It's 11 below outside, so half the room is a meat locker. Wife is snoring. I'm shivering because I came down with a cold, mistook it for allergies, and got a flu shot at Walmart while building up a good case of snotty pressure in my head. So, I'm cold. I'm in a Motel 6. I'm awake at three in the morning. And I see what's on the tube. The Bishop's Wife, with Cary Grant and David Niven and Loretta Young. I'm thinking that I've seen this movie before, maybe in the last two or three years. All I remember is that Young looked too movie-star, Cary Grant didn't seem like an angel, and David Niven was unpleasant enough for me to give up on his character. That's it. Not much of a recommendation, huh?But you have to cut me some slack--I gawd a code id by doze.

I watched this movie on Christmas with a bunch of people who thought it was great, so apparently there are people for whom this odd mix of romance and religion works, but this movie doesn't connect with me at all.Cary Grant is quite good as a sly angel who comes to earth to help out a minister and his wife. He is, as usual, charming and likable. Loretta Young is okay as the rather bland wife, and David Niven is stuck playing a charmless minister who he can't do much with.The movie is full of moments that delighted my companions, like a cute ice-skating sequence and a choir performance, but for me these all felt like things that seemed like a good idea but that didn't effect me. The movie has clever ideas here and there, but it also has many moments of lead-footed religiosity, as when Grant tells a bible story to a small child while everyone else in the household watches, inexplicably rapt.For me, this movie has an *almost* quality. Grant is good, there are moments I like, and only a small percentage of scenes really grate on my nerves. I feel there is enough here that a good movie probably could have been built out of the pieces, but I've read that the movie went through rewrites already so perhaps this was ultimately as good as they could manage. Watchable, but that's about it.

The years following World War II brought an influx of angels (or Heavenly Conductors) to the movie screen in films such as Stairway to Heaven, It's a Wonderful Life, and the 1947 The Bishop's Wife starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven. Though it is hardly a perennial Christmas favorite in the same league as Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life, The Bishop's Wife has its advocates and is generally considered one of the best Christmas films for a general audience. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, original score, and film editing, the only Oscar the film won, however, was that for Best Sound and the performances by Grant, Young, and Niven, considered to be among their best, were overlooked.In the film, Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) asks for divine guidance to help raise the money to build a cathedral, a project to which he is so single-minded about that his values, marriage, and family are put in jeopardy. The answer to his prayer comes in the form of the angel Dudley (well, I guess it's a better name for an angel than Clarence). This particular angel (Cary Grant) is rather handsome and charming and takes particular notice of Henry's wife Julia (Loretta Young) who is under the impression that he is Henry's new assistant. Daughter Debby (Karolyn Grimes) is also not immune to his charms. The bishop also feels that this angel has picked up some rather strange tendencies and has become quite jealous of the time he is spending with his wife, though Julia seems (or pretends to be) oblivious to his "angelic" qualities.Dudley's heart is in the right place, however, and he steers the dour Henry towards the values that are most important in life and in the process transforms everyone whose lives he touches. These include the guilt-ridden dowager Agnes Hamilton (Gladys Cooper), Monte Wooley as a skeptical History professor who has given up writing a book about Roman history because he doesn't think anyone will read it, and James Gleason as Sylvester, a cynical taxi driver who rediscovers that life has some pleasures. He even brings the flirty housekeeper (Elsa Lanchester) back to life. The film has some memorable set pieces that are worth the price of admission by themselves.Dudley, Julia, and Sylvester performing a sparkling skating routine (with the help of professional doubles), Sherry glasses that keep filling up by themselves, Dudley miraculously rounding up a group of forgetful boys to perform the beautiful hymn O Sing to God (Noel) by Gounod at St. Timothy's church, and Dudley "finding" a harp to play in Agnes' living room.The Bishop's Wife has a good message, brilliant performances especially from Cary Grant, and a joyous feel to it, though it is somewhat dampened by the humorless and aloof Henry who doesn't seem to get the message of humility and love that Dudley is trying to convey (well, at least not right away). In essence, however, The Bishop's Wife is a beautiful film that is done with a minimum of sap and should be seen more often. At least you don't have to wonder whether or not Dudley will get his wings.