Dudley persuades a wealthy parishioner, the widowed Agnes Hamilton, to contribute her much needed funds, but not to build the cathedral as Henry had hoped.

When Henry wants to know why his cathedral plans were derailed, Dudley reminds the Bishop that he had prayed for guidance, not a building.

Producer Samuel Goldwyn replaced director William A. Seiter with Henry Koster to create a completely new film.

In early previews, audiences disliked the film, so Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett made uncredited rewrites.

Though the premiere of The Bishop's Wife was acclaimed by critics as a success, the film did not initially perform well at the box office.

[8] Emil Newman and Herbert W. Spencer's melody, "Lost April," was given lyrics by Eddie DeLange and recorded by Nat King Cole.

The film was the second to be chosen for a Royal Command Performance and premiered at the Odeon cinema in London on November 25, 1947.

The website's critical consensus reads, "The Bishop's Wife succeeds thanks to the strength of winning performances from a stellar cast, which includes Cary Grant and Loretta Young.

"[10] The Bishop's Wife was dramatized as a half-hour radio play on the March 1, 1948, broadcast of The Screen Guild Theater with Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven in their original film roles.