Wednesday, 16 December 2015

The Bishop's Wife (1947 Henry Koster)

Niven is rather grumpy and taciturn in the film, though whether that's what the part demanded or he was suffering the sudden, accidental death of his 25-year old wife Primmie, his autobiography doesn't tell us - probably a good idea to return to work, especially against pros like Cary Grant, Monty Woolley, Gracie Fields, Elsa Lanchester and James Gleason (who seems familiar to us from a million old films) - only Loretta Young seems underpoweringly milky. Toland gets his own solo credit again and shoots everything crisply in his trademark deep focus. Fun is to be had with a bottle of sherry which never runs out, and (almost Cocteau-like) a harp which plays itself. That ice-skating sequence is beautifully shot in such a way that we cannot identify the stars as the skaters.

Weirdly has some similarities to Wings of Desire.

The way Grant has of immediately calling everyone by their first names is one of those power trademarks.

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