The Bishop's Wife

Premiered December 9, 1947 in New York City, February 16, 1948 nationwide.

"Oscar Takes A Holiday" continues with a film that features contributions from multiple Academy Award-winners.

Loretta Young plays the titular "bishop's wife."  She won the Best Actress Oscar for the 1947 movie The Farmer's Daughter.

David Niven, won his Best Actor Oscar for Separate Tables in 1958.

The Bishop's Wife was produced by Samuel Goldwyn.  He won the Best Picture Oscar for producing The Best Years Of Our Lives in 1946.  At the same Oscars ceremony, Goldwyn won the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award which is presented to "creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production."  In the photo below, Goldwyn is holding both the Thalberg award and his Oscar.

Robert E. Sherwood co-wrote The Bishop's Wife and won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for the aforementioned The Best Years Of Our Lives.

Last, but definitely not least, The Bishop's Wife is an Academy Award-winning film.  It won an Oscar for Best Sound Recording, with the statuette going to the film's sound director Gordan Sawyer.  He won two other Academy Awards for sound recordings for his work on The Alamo and West Side Story.  Sawyer also has an honorary Oscar named for him that is given to people in the motion picture industry "whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry.”

Gordon Sawyer, holding the Oscar he won for West Side Story.

While we normally discuss Academy Award Winners, not nominees during "Oscar Takes A Holiday," it's worth noting that The Bishop's Wife was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing.  

It might come as a surprise to some, but while Cary Grant was one of the biggest movie stars of all time, he never won an Oscar.  He was only nominated twice for Best Actor.

Now that we've discussed this film's strong Oscars pedigree, here's our review:

As Christmas approaches, Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) is having trouble raising money to pay for a new cathedral and prays for guidance.  

His prayers are answered by a charming and handsome angel named Dudley (Cary Grant).

The bishop's fundraising efforts have also created tension between Henry and his wife, Julia (Loretta Young).  She feels like Henry has little time for her and fears he may be overtaxing himself with the cathedral plans.

Dudley's good deeds manage to enchant most everybody in town -- a curmudgeon-y professor (Monty Woolley), the bishop's secretary (Sara Haden) and maid (Elsa Lanchester), his daughter Debby (Karolyn Grimes), a taxi driver (James Gleason), and a snobbish, materialistic potential donor (Gladys Cooper).  

However, the bishop himself begins to wonder if Dudley is really as angelic as he claims to be.  Henry suspects the angel is taking a romantic interest in his wife!

Will the cathedral get built?  Will the bishop and Julia's marital troubles be resolved?  Will Dudley manage to bring peace on earth and goodwill to all and earn his wings?

RigbyMel says: 

I first encountered The Bishop's Wife on cable during the holiday season when I was in high school.  I had been on a bit of a Cary Grant kick at the time and found the movie to be quite charming.   It became a regular part of my holiday viewing and has remained so.   

The story is sweet without being cloying and the cast is absolutely top-notch.

David Niven makes the bishop a sympathetic character who is so focused on getting the cathedral built that he's missing out on what's really important.   Niven's starchy British-ness and comedic chops are deployed to excellent effect -- for instance, take a look at the scene where he becomes literally stuck to a chair at a snooty donor's residence!

Cary Grant is delightful as Dudley -- one can see why he would appeal to pretty much everyone he meets and I enjoy his low key "miracles" throughout the film -- particularly a bit involving a locked door.  There are also some great stop motion animated bits where Dudley gets to quickly sort thru some mail and even decorate a Christmas tree with a wave of his hand.

Interestingly, when the production for this film began, Niven and Grant's roles were reversed!  It's hard to imagine this reversal working quite as well had the director gone through with it.

Loretta Young is lovely in the important (but ever so slightly thankless) role of Julia.  She manages to imbue her just a bit too perfect character with heart. 

And the supporting actors are fun as well -- particularly Elsa Lanchester (whose best known role today is as the Bride of Frankenstein) in the role of the family's maid.

The Bishop's Wife's classic holiday movie bona fides are also very strong.

Monty Woolley - who also appears in The Man Who Came To Dinner - is amusing as the cynical Professor Wutheridge, who also is the recipient of some angelic help from Dudley. 

And two young actors that appear in the beloved 1946 classic It's A Wonderful Life  have small but important roles in the movie.   Keep an eye out in the snowball fight scene for Robert J. Anderson (who also played the young George Bailey in IAWL).  

Robert J. Anderson (right) plays the captain of the "defending" team in the snowball fight.

The bishop's young daughter Debby is played by Karolyn Grimes (who also plays George's daughter Zuzu in IAWL).

The Bishop's Wife is an underappreciated holiday classic and most definitely is worthy of adding to your regular Yuletide film rotation.

RigbyMel's rating:

4 candy canes!

J.A. Morris says:

Unlike my co-blogger, I hadn't seen The Bishop's Wife until she introduced it to me in the last decade.  It's a good Christmas movie that features excellent performances by some of Classic Hollywood's best actors.  

Cary Grant is one of my favorite actors and it's nice to have an excuse to watch him every December, he makes Dudley believable.  Loretta Young is also solid as Julia.  

However, David Niven has the toughest role of The Bishop's Wife and he delivers.  Henry isn't a bad person, he's just going through a rough patch and isn't sure how to go about financing the cathedral's construction while simultaneously trying to be a decent husband and father.  

I'm sure some moviegoers 1947 found themselves rooting for Julia and Dudley to fall in love, since on the surface, they're more likable than the bishop.  I won't spoil the ending, but let's just say when the movie ends on Christmas morning, Henry has grown and changed for the better.  Niven makes Henry's growth very plausible.  

Monty Woolley is also great as Julia and Henry's old friend Professor Wutheridge.  As RigbyMel mentioned, Woolley played the rude and bombastic Sheridan Woodside in another Christmas movie, The Man Who Came To Dinner.  The Bishop's Wife gives holiday film fans a chance to see Woolley play a much nicer character.  

If I have any problems with The Bishop's Wife, it's that its pacing could've been a little better.  It's nearly two hours long and I think it could've told its story in a slightly shorter running time.  

The Bishop's Wife is an enjoyable Christmas movie and I recommended it to fans of Hollywood's Golden Age and everyone who loves Yuletide movies.  If you're not a fan of David Niven's acting, this film will make you one.  

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 candy canes!  

Coming up tomorrow:
We continue our Oscars tribute with a review of a remake of The Bishop's Wife!  See you then!

The Real Ghostbusters: "The Scaring of the Green"

Premiered November 16, 1987

On St. Patrick's Day Eve,  the Ghostbusters have been called to clean up a pesky ghost at a banquet attended by the mayor.   They get the ghost, but unfortunately, they also manage to zap the mayor's wife by accident (she was fine, her dress got fried though), which lands them in jail.

Deputy Police Chief O'Malley arrives with an offer for the Ghostbusters.   He'll have the charges dropped (and pay for the Mayor's wife's dress) if they help him with a little family problem.   Back in Ireland many years ago, the O'Malley clan stole a leprechaun's pot of gold and was cursed.  The curse says that when there is a full moon on St. Patrick's Day, a Bog Hound will rise and carry off the head of the clan.   Since he's the head of the clan and the conditions are right,  O'Malley wants to avoid a presumably grisly fate.   He says that the only way the Bog Hound an be stopped is with the aid of a four leafed clover.

The Ghostbusters (especially Egon) are skeptical, but agree since this gets them out of jail.   They decide to search the city for a four leafed clover.    Ray (Frank Welker) goes to Central Park where he runs into some trouble with an Irish beat cop. 

Venkman (Lorenzo Music) visits the Botanical Gardens and Winston (Arsenio Hall) visits every florist in NYC (!!).   Venkman manages to find a four-leafed clover and is very excited about it, but Slimer eats it when he gets it back to the firehouse.

Egon (Maurice LaMarche) remains skeptical, thinking that science will solve this problem better than superstition, but goes to the Bronx Zoo anyway.   It turns out that many of the animals have escaped and have fled the Bog Hound, which is prowling the zoo!

Egon and some lions are treed by the Bog Hound!

Egon tries to use his proton pack on the beast, but it fails him and he has to resort to climbing a tree and then fooling the Bog Hound into playing fetch to get away.

Meanwhile, the St. Patrick's Day parade is getting underway and the Bog Hound is still on the loose!  Will the Ghostbusters locate another clover and save the day?  Will science (and ghost traps) or superstition prevail?

RigbyMel says: 

I watched The Real Ghostbusters with some regularity due to having a little brother that was crazy about the show,  but I do not recall ever seeing this episode until deciding to write about it for the blog.

It definitely has lots of St. Patrick's Day thematic elements to play with,  four-leafed clovers,  stereotypical Irish cops, a St. Patrick's Day parade and even a variation on the ghostly black dog myth in the form of the Bog Hound.

Interestingly, the design of the Bog Hound resembles the hellhounds from the original 1984 Ghostbusters film.  

The plot is slight,  but amusing and I've always appreciated the vocal talents in the series, even if they bear little resemblance to the voices of the characters from the original movie.

"The Scaring of the Green" is a light, silly episode of a solid 1980s animated series and might be a nice addition to your St. Patrick's Day viewing.

RigbyMel's rating: 

2 shamrocks

The Michael J. Fox Show: "Christmas"

Premiered December 12, 2013.

For those who missed it, The Michael J. Fox Show ran for 14 episodes during the 2013-14 TV season. It focused on the life of newscaster Mike Henry, and his family.  Mike has recently returned to the news biz after taking time off to deal with Parkinson's disease. 

On their first Christmas together, Mike Henry (Michael J. Fox) and his wife Annie (Betsy Brandt) were too poor to buy each other Christmas presents.  Now, they every Christmas they try to out-do each other, in order to see who can give the gift with the most "wow factor."   Mike has gotten Annie a gold turtle necklace, since "turtle" is his nickname for her, since she is "resilient but vulnerable." Since Mike is a huge fan of Sting's music, Annie has hired Sting to perform in their home. 

Their daughter Eve (Juliette Goglia) is questioning her spiritual identity.  She recently attended a Hanukkah party and is highly critical of the material side of Christmas.  Eve has taken an interest in Judaism and begins to sprinkle her conversations with Yiddish slang. 

When their older son Ian (Conor Romero) tries to get his younger brother Graham to participate in holiday traditions (like making cookies and writing a letter to Santa), Graham (Jack Gore) acts disinterested.  This makes Ian worry that Graham has stopped believing in "the magic of Christmas" and is determined to make sure his younger brother retains his Yuletide spirit.  Graham wants a toy called Spacefish, so Ian is determined to scour the city to find the present.

Plans begin to go awry when Mike's assistant Kay (Ana Nogueira) gives him an expensive personalized brief case.  Since Mike is worried his gift for Kay (a Starbucks gift card) isn't good enough, he gives Kay the turtle necklace.  Mike now has nothing for Annie and sends Eve in search of another necklace.  Making matters worse, Kay dumps her fiance Kevin (Vandit Bhatt) because his gift was far inferior.

Sting arrives at the Henry's apartment.  Unfortunately, Mike is delayed due to being stranded at the news bureau by a snowstorm.  Annie is forced the hang out alone with Sting.  During their conversations, it becomes obvious that she knows nothing about Sting's music, since she was "more of a hair band girl."  This appears to disappoint Sting and their interactions are extremely awkward.

Ian's attempts to find a Spacefish come up empty, since it's Christmas Eve and all the stores are sold out.  His aunt Leigh (Katie Finneran) tells him not to worry, she knows a guy who sells things that "fall off trucks."  Ian is desperate enough to accept Leigh's offer.  Ian is directed to visit a diner and ask for  a man named Chris (J.B. Adams).  It turns out that "Chris" bears a striking resemblance to a certain resident of the North Pole.

Will the Henry family's Christmas plans work out?

J.A. Morris says:
I enjoyed The Michael J. Fox Show during its brief run and I think this is a solid Christmas episode.  I'm not sure why the show failed, but I'd guess that viewers in 2013 were tired of shows that used the "fake documentary" format of characters speaking to an unseen interviewer.

Mike and Annie's Christmas tradition of one-upping each other sounds materialistic but in context is actually very sweet.

I particularly liked Ian's concern over Graham losing the Christmas spirit.  Older siblings are often seen bullying younger ones in TV comedies or ruining Santa for them, so this represents a nice change of pace.

Eve's "spiritual crisis" is mostly played for laughs, but the commercialization of Christmas is sometimes enough to make even the most faithful observers question the point of Christmas.

Fans of Wendell Pierce's work in dramas like Treme and The Wire may be surprised to see Pierce act in a comedy series.  Pierce, as Mike's boss Harris Green, has some of the funniest lines in "Christmas."

Sting is a good sport here, acting let down when Annie ignorant about his music.

"Christmas" features a story that's both funny and touching, something that's difficult to pull off.  If you've never seen this series, I think it's a good "starter" episode.

J.A. Morris's rating:

.5


3 and a half candy canes.

RigbyMel says: 

"Christmas" is a solid episode of a sweet sitcom that was still finding its feet and was not allowed to do so due to its cancellation.

Yes, the storylines are a bit predictable, but holiday entertainment tends to fall into this "comfort food" sort of category and there is much to enjoy here.

Competitive gifting is a trope in holiday shows because it occurs in real life - this episode invites us to laugh at Mike and Annie's attempts while also showing that their gifting comes from really caring about each other.   Side note:  if someone wanted to get Sting to come to my house as a Christmas present,  I would certainly not object!!!

We also get a time honored "getting stuck at the office" at Christmas segment, which harks back to similar instances of TV holiday celebrations -- most notably an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which also takes place in a newsroom.

Teen daughter Eve comes off as well intentioned but a bit clueless with her flirtation with Chhh-anukkah (as she pronounces it) and Judaism.   There's a great scene where a Jewish cab driver gives her food for thought about what's good about the holidays.

As J.A. Morris says, the B-plot with Ian trying to keep Christmas magical for his little brother Graham is adorable and a bit unusual for sitcom sibling relationships at the holidays.

Sting performs "August Winds", a song from his album The Last Ship which was released a couple of months before this episode aired.  It's a pretty song,  but I think in the context of a holiday themed episode, I'd prefer to have seen him do something a bit more Chirstmas-y -  there are several previous holiday recordings he could choose from.   That being said,  he's a very good sport playing along with the running gag about Annie professing not to know his music at all and Aunt Leigh's confusing him with Billy Joel.

This may not be a classic holiday episode per se,  but it's worth checking out if you have the inclination.

RigbyMel's rating :

.5


2 and a half candy canes