![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The Bishop's Wife
Jan. 6th, 2020 07:51 pmWe meant to watch The Bishop's Wife over Christmas, but because of various shenanigans (well, primarily an unexpectedly broken disc), we didn't get to watch it till yesterday night, and it has reminded me how much I love Cary Grant and now maybe I'm thinking that I ought to watch a few more Cary Grant movies this year.
In this movie, Cary Grant plays an angel named Dudley, who has been sent to help a bishop, Henry Brougham, and his wife Julia, who are going through marital trouble. "This sounds like another entry in the Cary Grant OT3niverse," I thought, when I read that description - other notable movies in this category include The Philadelphia Story and The Talk of the Town - but actually I ended up pretty indifferent to the bishop. Dudley/Julia all the way! But in a "this love is impossible because he is a literal angel and can't be pinned down to any one mortal" kind of way.
Cary Grant also makes a surprisingly convincing angel: he radiates kindhearted interest in everyone that he meets, but he's also got a sort of puckishness about him, making little jokes at his own expense: "Are you expecting a letter?" the bishop asks, and Dudley cracks, "Oh, one never knows. But if I should get one, the stamp will be worth saving."
And he doesn't take any bullshit: when the bishop, incensed that Dudley seems to be taking a little too friendly of an interest in his wife, complains, "I was praying for a cathedral [when Dudley appeared]," Dudley shoots back, "No, Henry. You were praying for guidance."
He's a more convincing angel than many I've seen, and I think the reason lies in the fact that the scriptwriter nailed the different between goodness and niceness: Dudley is good, and he's nice when he can be nice without undermining that goodness, but if it's necessary to pull someone up sharp, he doesn't hesitate even though that's not nice at all. And the bishop needs a good amount of pulling up sharp.
Meanwhile, all Julia needs is a little fun in her life. Dudley takes her out to lunch at a charming French restaurant; he convinces her to buy a hat she's been pining over in the milliner's window. They go ice-skating together! Clearly, far superior to her husband, who has gotten so obsessed with his plans for a new cathedral that he hasn't taken her out to their favorite restaurant for years.
Of course (alas!) she can't really run away with an angel, but it's beautiful while it lasts - more beautiful perhaps because it can never be.
In this movie, Cary Grant plays an angel named Dudley, who has been sent to help a bishop, Henry Brougham, and his wife Julia, who are going through marital trouble. "This sounds like another entry in the Cary Grant OT3niverse," I thought, when I read that description - other notable movies in this category include The Philadelphia Story and The Talk of the Town - but actually I ended up pretty indifferent to the bishop. Dudley/Julia all the way! But in a "this love is impossible because he is a literal angel and can't be pinned down to any one mortal" kind of way.
Cary Grant also makes a surprisingly convincing angel: he radiates kindhearted interest in everyone that he meets, but he's also got a sort of puckishness about him, making little jokes at his own expense: "Are you expecting a letter?" the bishop asks, and Dudley cracks, "Oh, one never knows. But if I should get one, the stamp will be worth saving."
And he doesn't take any bullshit: when the bishop, incensed that Dudley seems to be taking a little too friendly of an interest in his wife, complains, "I was praying for a cathedral [when Dudley appeared]," Dudley shoots back, "No, Henry. You were praying for guidance."
He's a more convincing angel than many I've seen, and I think the reason lies in the fact that the scriptwriter nailed the different between goodness and niceness: Dudley is good, and he's nice when he can be nice without undermining that goodness, but if it's necessary to pull someone up sharp, he doesn't hesitate even though that's not nice at all. And the bishop needs a good amount of pulling up sharp.
Meanwhile, all Julia needs is a little fun in her life. Dudley takes her out to lunch at a charming French restaurant; he convinces her to buy a hat she's been pining over in the milliner's window. They go ice-skating together! Clearly, far superior to her husband, who has gotten so obsessed with his plans for a new cathedral that he hasn't taken her out to their favorite restaurant for years.
Of course (alas!) she can't really run away with an angel, but it's beautiful while it lasts - more beautiful perhaps because it can never be.
