The Bishop's Wife

I've just watched the 1947 classic, "The Bishop's Wife." In it, David Niven plays a bishop seemingly devoid of all joy or any capacity therefore who is married to a breathtaking beauty (Loretta Young) who clearly remembers joy but the memory is fading by the second as the movie's plot unfolds. The Bishop somehow believes the Glory of God is destined to be unfurled in a huge cathedral for which he is fundraising and cow-towing to a few self-absorbed congregants who have the moolah to supply the big ol' cathedral in all its (and allegedly God's) glory. 

Bishop Frowny consistently disappoints his gorgeous wife, Julia, with his commitment to work and his neglect of her. We watch as she creates a fortress in a polite smile, vacant eyes, and a self-imposed numbness that is assuredly never quite numb enough. She is fading fast.

Along comes the equally gorgeous Cary Grant as Dudley, the angel. There is an obvious need in the Bishop's household and he has come to meet it by charming Julia and everyone else he meets. Dudley is the guy: if it's important to you, it's important to him; he ice skates, he delights children, he has an eye for ladies' hats, he is perky but not so much that you want to slap him. He sees need and he meets it.

We all need a Dudley.

Dudley's presence makes plain what is missing in the lives of Julia and the Bishop. Dudley reflects on this monstrosity of a cathedral and remarks "that big roof could make so many little roofs." Indeed, it could. Are you listening, Bishop? Dudley sees what makes Julia happy and, in making her happy in a "this isn't an affair because no one is touching or screwing and it's 1947 and there is a bigger lesson to be learned here" way, he wakes up her soul. Suddenly the vacant eyes and polite smiles are a distant memory and they are no longer enough for her. 

They shouldn't be enough for anyone. There's the lesson.

The Bishop's soul is as desolate as his wife's in the wake of his cathedral mania and wife neglect. His aim is for the wrong mark, but he doesn't realize it. 

Watch the movie, folks, and you will find Dudley demonstrating that, when a need is met, we are better equipped to meet the needs of others. And the big cathedral is kicked to the curb in favor of true help for many.

The big moment, though, is when Dudley takes leave of these mortals (before wiping out all memory of his visit) and he asks the Bishop, who sees Dudley as an angelic thief attempting to steal his wife, "Will you fight for her?" He goes on to say that it is rare "When an immortal envies the mortal in his care."

All's well that ends well: the Bishop finally realizes how precious is his Julia whom he values more than his own life. Dudley hesitates momentarily then hits the celestial road.

I doubt you tuned in for a movie synopsis, but it is what it is. Things are happening in my life that find some reflection in this gem of a film. We are all called at pivotal times to decide what is worth fighting for; what is worth building; what should be cherished. To see the weary resignation in Julia's eyes as she confronts a life devoid of affection for or priority of her is a familiar sight.  But the movie provides solution that sometimes real life cannot:  the angel disappears but leaves clear lessons behind. In real life, the lessons are often a tad more brutally learned.  Cinematically, the Bishop and his wife return one to another and to love and appreciation elusive to many of us here on earth.

That kind of love may be difficult to find or keep, but the need is fundamental, and it is everywhere.