Day 18: The Bishop's Wife

"Sometimes angels rush in where fools fear to tread."

What is the true meaning of Christmas? 1947's The Bishop's Wife has the right idea. It's the story of a bishop trying to raise money to build a shining new cathedral. He prays for help and is sent an angel named Dudley in the form of Cary Grant (all angels look like Cary Grant, right?). The angel seeks to help the bishop, played by David Niven, but not in the way the bishop would wish. 

It turns out that heaven knows the bishop's problems have little to do with money and cathedrals. No, the bishop's trouble is that, in his rise to power and prestige, he's neglected his concern for the little people and even the most important person of all: his wife. This is a story of preserving love and kindness in the face of today's crazy notion that having more means more happiness.

The premise: What happens when an angel comes to earth to guide a bishop and his wife?

The best scene: When Cary Grant and the bishop's wife, played by the lovely Loretta Young, attend a boys' choir practice. Enjoy it here!

The best short quote: "The only people who grow old were born old to begin with." _ Dudley the angel

The best long quote: "Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry. A blazing star hung over a stable and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries; we celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, the sound of bells, and with gifts. But especially with gifts. You give me a book; I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry could do with a new pipe. We forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled... All that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. It's his birthday we're celebrating. Don't ever let us forget that. Let us ask ourselves what he would wish for most... And then let each put in his share. Loving kindness, warm hearts and the stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth." _ The Bishop