Man, it's fruh-HEEZING tonight. The L.A. Cold has arrived. T'was pouring rain this morning, too. Fortunately, the rain stopped just before 11am, allowing me to take Pearl to the hair salon and get my hair cut as well. Man, if I let it go too long, it just turns into a mop. My hair used to be straighter and have some symmetry, but nowdays it just curls up in several different directions if it gets too long, and I don't like it. Always a relief, then, to be freshly shorn. I should probably get it cut every four weeks instead of every eight. Well anyhow, it's fruh-heezin'.
Tonight I watched a Christmas classic called "The Bishop's Wife" (1947). I discovered it in the same Google search as "The Lemon Drop Kid", on the list of "15 Black & White Christmas Movies" that I mentioned the other night. I ordered it from the Libe, and voila! A new (though old) Christmas movie that I hadn't previously seen.
David Niven stars as as "The Bishop". An IMDB reviewer says he is Episcopalian, though I don't believe this is specified. At any rate, he is in a jam because his church is losing it's lease, and at the same time he wants to build a giant new cathedral, with funding obtained from a wealthy church lady donor. This lady is a crass materialist (Trump, anyone?), and she will only agree to finance the striking new cathedral if her late husband's presence is all over it. His name must be engraved in large garish letters in several places, and even a fresco must be reproduced to include his likeness.
Niven, an officious man very concerned with the bottom line, detests what this woman is forcing him to agree to - basically the placement of a false idol (her late husband) inside the new church - but he accepts her proposal anyway. Anything to get his cathedral built and save face in the process.
Niven stops for a moment in his office to pray for guidance, and the next thing you know, an Angel appears, in the form of Cary Grant, at his most handsome and highly tailored best. We are actually introduced to Grant at the beginning of the film, during a sequence on a downtown street at night. It is Christmastime, snow is falling, shoppers are gazing at department store window displays - as filmed by the great Gregg Toland it is the ultimate Sentimental Christmas Scene from the 1940s of the kind I was describing two nights ago. This opening is everything you want in a Christmas movie, and it gets better from there. Angel Cary Grant is on the sidewalk that night to subtly prevent a few catastrophes among the folks who are out and about, but his main mission is to help in the life of Bishop David Niven, who has prayed to the Lord for guidance.
Niven is skeptical at first of Grant's angelic status, but that skepticism is soon dispelled. Niven knows he has an Angel on his shoulder, so to speak, but he comes to resent Grant because he only believes in himself and in his own ability to solve problems. His faith is strong, but is somewhat specious at the same time, because he will pray and believe, but when the Angel arrives, even though he knows the Angel is real, he is still dismissive of him.
Not so is the Bishop's Wife of the title, played by Loretta Young. She does not know Grant is an Angel. She only sees him as a very special man - one who seems to have unlimited knowledge on any subject - who has come to work for her husband as his assistant. Grant's real mission is to restore their marriage, for the Bishop and his wife have grown apart, due to his responsibilities to the church as it's finances have crumbled.
Loretta Young starts to hang out with Grant and go with him on afternoon dates as her miserable husband gives in to the lure of money in order to save his church. She is having the time of her life, but the romance is spiritual because Grant is an Angel. In real life, she loves her husband, though he thinks Grant is trying to steal her away.
All of this drama is played very lightly, and Grant's charisma as the Angel pervades the movie. He is there to lift everyone, and even the Bishop's housekeepers can feel his effect, though they don't know he is supernatural.
The great character actor Monty Wooley plays an agnostic history professor who is, again, subtly affected by the actions of the Angel. There are some great special effects associated with his scenes, and once again tremendous credit must be given to cinematographer Toland for setting up these shots. This is Hollywood Magic at it's finest.
In short, "The Bishop's Wife" is a lovely Christmas story with every bit as much feeling as "It's A Wonderful Life", though "Bishop" is not as broadly emotional. But it has that Department Store 42nd Street look and feeling that, to me, is the #1 ingredient in what a Holiday Movie should be.
The ending of the film goes farther, to deliver a message about the real meaning of Christmas, which we all know, but are gently reminded of in the last few minutes.
Two Big Thumbs Up for "The Bishop's Wife", which should be included in the list of wonderful Christmas movies, and is a must-see if you like 1940s Hollywood Sentiment, when the studios were at the peak of their magical powers. ///
That's all for tonight. See you in the hopefully less freezing morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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