Ever watch a movie and think, “You are perfect in every way!“? Of course you have! I think these very words every time I watch Bringing Up Baby (1938) with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. There’s nothing about this movie I don’t love to distraction. Truth be told, it’s one of those delicious classic old movies that I am completely and utterly obsessed with.
I could talk for hours and hours about this movie without ever taking a breath…
- director Howard Hawks’ brilliance
- the perfection of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant’s performances
- the hilarious dialogue
- the way the film is perfectly timeless – as hilarious today as it was then and as enjoyable the 100th time you watch it as it was the first
- the phenomenal way Katharine Hepburn NAILS comedy, in spite of this being her first comedic role
- the fact that this is my favorite Cary Grant role
- the chemistry between Hepburn and Grant
- the beautiful leopard!
- how perfect Barry Fitzgerald is in every single movie he’s in
- the clothes from this era
See what I mean? Obsessed.
Those of use who are Old Hollywood enthusiasts (addicts, fanatics… whatever word you use, I’ll answer) have lists we carry around in our heads of movies we recommend to those who aren’t as deep into old movies as we are. Bringing Up Baby is high on my own mental list.
I also keep it in my mental files on lists for people who only think they don’t like Katharine Hepburn or people who don’t think Cary Grant can do screwball comedy.
Heck… get out of here with that… he helped invent it.
Plot: Katharine Hepburn beautifully (absolutely beautifully) plays Susan, an eccentric heiress who happens to have a pet leopard named Baby. She falls hard (literally a few times) for nerdish paleontologist David – played brilliantly and hilariously by Cary Grant. Problem is, she is making a total mess out of his prim and proper life and he just wants to get away from her.
Or, so he thinks.
Not only is this movie an absolute joy to watch, I’m in love with the fact that the stars, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant had such a wonderful time making the film. I’ve read that they enjoyed it so much they’d frequently show up to the set early, just to get started working on their scenes. Some colorful “scenes,” no doubt as entertaining as the movie, carried out during the making of the movie as well!
The following is from the WONDERFUL Katharine Hepburn biography, I Know Where I’m Going by Charlotte Chandler:
“I make an effort to get along with all of my costars, the director, everyone on the set,” Cary Grant told me, “but I did not wish to establish a relationship with Baby.” He was referring to the leopard in Howard Hawks’ film Bringing Up Baby.
“I felt she might, at some moment, remember the call of her genes that told her she was a wild animal. Or she might like me too much and want to play. I hoped she’d had a good manicure, short claws, but I wasn’t going to be the one to take a close look. Now, Kate was never as worried by Baby. She like to pull her tail, fearless girl that she was, and Baby seemed to enjoy it. Kate didn’t pull very hard.”
“The was I saw my character, Susan,” Kate said, “was, I did anything that came into my heart. There was a great deal of the way I see myself in Susan,” Kate told me.
Ironically, frustratingly, and bewilderingly (pulling out all the stops with the -ly words here, aren’t I?), Bringing Up Baby was a box office bomb. I don’t understand it in the least, but there you have it. Equally {insert all of the previous -ly words here} is the fact that Katharine Hepburn seemed to get the blame!
WHAT?!
In 1938, the Independent Film Journal published an editorial to the Hollywood studios from the National Theatre Distributors of America. It included a list of stars (wait unitl you read the names) the writer of the letter, Harry Brandt, called “Box Office Poison.” The Hollywood studios ridiculously put a lot of stock in this idiocy.
On the list were…
- Katharine Hepburn
- Bette Davis
- Joan Crawford
- Marlene Dietrich
- Greta Garbo
Hahaahahahahahaa. They’re household names, today, and I just had to glance back to see Harry Brandt’s name again, even though I’d typed it mere minutes ago!
Spoiler: The ladies would survive Harry’s list.
When RKO attributed the failure to the “poisonous” Katharine Hepburn’s, they had NO idea how popular and beloved the movie would one day become. This is considered one of the original “screwball comedies” and, for my money, it’s also one of the best.
In addition to phenomenal performances by Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, the movie also stars Barry Fitzgerald (although he doesn’t appear onscreen as much as you’d like…. does he ever??), Charles Ruggles, Walter Catlett, Leona Roberts, and May Robson.
“We were both crazy. Bringing Up Baby has always been called a screwball comedy. Well, we were the two screwballs!” ~ Cary Grant
Find Bringing Up Baby on Amazon and add it to your collection today… this is one of those movies that’ll be your “go to” movie when you need a little lift or just feel like escaping with a couple of lovable screwballs.
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