The Bishop's Wife

"I was praying for a cathedral." (Henry)

 "No, Henry you were praying for guidance." (Dudley)

Dudley decorates the Christmas tree courtesy https://www.pinterest.com/pin/92394229825568244/.

The Bishop's Wife, based on a novel of the same name published in 1928, debuted in 1947 in New York City.  Bishop Henry Brougham, played  by David Niven, is troubled about coming up with the funds for his new cathedral.  Praying for divine guidance, God sends him an angel, Dudley, played by Cary Grant.  Dudley tries to drum up financial support for the church, all the while convincing a woman to donate money to the poor and even typing one of the bishop's sermons.  The angel, sensing that the bishop's wife and young daughter have been neglected while he concerns himself with the new cathedral, steps in.  Unexpectedly, Dudley finds himself falling in love with the wife, Julia, played by Loretta Young.  Dudley realizes he must take a step back and retreats, observing the bishop delivering the Christmas Eve sermon he had typed on the typewriter.  Even though the cathedral hasn't been built, the marriage has been restored.  His work is complete.

Cary Grant in New York City courtesy https://www.pinterest.com/pin/542965298796790954/.

Philip Barry's "The Philadelphia Story"

"They mentioned her doing the Charleston with Josephine Baker in Paris, dancing a foxtrot with the Duke of Windsor at El Morocco...and lunching with Churchill on Aristotle Onassis' yacht." (http://www.reelclassics.com/Movies/Philstory/tracylord-article.htm)

The Philadelphia Story debuted on March 29, 1939 at the Schubert Theatre in New York City.  Starring Katharine Hepburn, it was based on a Philadelphia socialite's wedding plans, which were complicated upon the arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive journalist.  Hepburn had been labelled "box office poison" after the disappointment of Bringing Up Baby.  The actress passed on a salary in exchange for 10% of the play's profits.  The Philadelphia Story, which ran for 415 performances, grossed $1.5 million.

Playwright Philip Barry based his character, Tracy Lord, on a real life Philadelphia socialite named Helen Hope MOntgomery Scott.  Her patrician family, which lived in the Main Line district of Philadelphia, the city's "most fashionable address", represented old money.  The very term WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) was coined to describe Philadelphia's elite.  

Young Philadelphia debutantes had coming out parties at the Philadelphia Assemblies Ball, an event that dated back to 1748.  It was on the staircase that a young Helen Hope Montgomery descended in 1922.  By the end of the ball, the debutante had four marriage proposals.  However, she had a mind of her own and chose to marry Pennsylvania Railroad heir Edgar Scott.  Her parents' wedding gift was a 1720 fieldstone house on her family's 750 acre Androssan estate.  As Mrs. Scott, Helen hosted endless grand dinner parties.  Philadelphia society buzzed about Helen and her beauty.  Painters offered to paint her likeness; photographers lined up to snap her picture.  

In 1939, Philip Barry cast Katharine Hepburn as Helen Montgomery, Joseph Cotten as C. K. Dexter Haven, Van Heflin as Macauley connor and Shirley Booth as Lix Imbrie in The Philadelphia Story.  The following year, Hepburn reprised her role for the screen, but this time opposite Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart.  The latter won Best Actor and the film wont Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

http://cometoverhollywood.com/tag/cary-grant/

Truman Capote`s The Duke in his Domain

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT09hSi1SKpRjmbOd7y1Tqfab7nZrHkURjPrlTdH_3hPbj111Nz

In 1957, Marlon Brando was staying at the Miyako Hotel in Japan with his entourage, his father Marlon Senior, a secretary and a writing companion.  Truman Capote was charged with interviewing him for The New Yorker.  Brando, at the height of his fame, was in Japan to film Sayonara.  Brando brought his entourage with him:  his father, Marlon Senior, his secretary and his writing companion.  According to someone in the entertainment business, the film company foot the bill because this picture just had to have a star.  Sequestered in his hotel room, the famous actor had to don a disguise just to go out in public.  Such was not always the case.

Ten years earlier, Truman Capote had first interviewed Brando on the set of the play A Streetcar Named Desire.  He was just starting to make a name for himself.  In his blue jeans and his white t-shirt he looked a lot like James Dean.  Both played the role of the rebel:  they rode motorcycles, played the bongo drums and dressed rowdy.  Brando sported a Charles Atlas figure at the time.  When not rehearsing for A Streetcar Named Desire he could be found in the basement boxing.  It was there that he broke his nose.  Irene Selznick said the injury gave him sex appeal.  He looked too beautiful before.

According to Brando, he didn`t always want to be a star.  But after two months of doing A Streetcar Named Desire, he heard the roar -- and he was hooked.  He started to dream of being the next Spencer Tracy or Cary Grant.  His star rose rather quickly with parts in movies like Viva Zapata!, The Wild One, Julius Caesar, On the Waterfront and Guys and Dolls.  He could account for a movie`s success at the box office, regardless of the quality of the film, according to an industry expert.

But as Marlon Brandon complained to Truman Capote in the Miyako Hotel, Too much success can ruin you as surely as too much failure.  He struggled with excess:  he smoked too many cigarettes and overindulged in food.  Even though he was on a diet, he ordered beefsteak and French-fried potatoes and spaghetti from room service when Truman Capote interviewed him.  Brandon wanted to get married and start a family, but admitted that he had trust issues.  He seemed to have an affinity for children, showing a special interest in the Japanese children he met while on location.

After the interview, Truman Capote walked the streets of the Japanese city.  It was so late that the cabanas were shuttered and the only people out were the drunks and the red light ladies and a ragged musician.  All of a sudden the writer spotted Brandon, 60 feet tall, splashed on a billboard for The Teahouse of August Moon.  It was a spectacular ending to a first rate piece.