The Bishop's Wife

A confrontation looms, and Henry decides to submit to Mrs. Hamilton's demands in order to speed things along, get his old life back, and get rid of Dudley. His visit to Mrs. Hamilton is fraught with tension before he even sets off because he'd agreed to have lunch with Julia that afternoon and hear the boys' choir rehearse at St. Timothy's, his old church. Dudley offers to see Mrs. Hamilton so Henry can keep his appointment with Julia and the choir, but Henry curtly refuses, so Dudley meets Julia. He takes her to lunch, to the choir practice, and then they go skating. While Dudley brings out the best in the boy sopranos, Henry abases himself. In the movie's funniest scene, he apologizes to Mrs. Hamilton for disagreeing with her and promises the cathedral will be built exactly as she wishes. She adds a new condition: in the stained-glass window depicting St. George and the dragon, St. George must have her late husband's face. 'Who do you see as the dragon?' asks Henry, and she looks at him a bit suspiciously, but he's all innocence. Having achieved his objective he tries to go, but finds himself stuck to his chair, which prevents him from meeting Julia. Everyone involved — the bishop, the dowager, and her butler — is much too dignified to allow the scene to descend into farce, but it takes some doing to avoid it, with Henry creeping around the room in the hunched posture forced upon him by the chair. Eventually he calls home and asks Matilda to bring him another pair of trousers.