Bringing Up Baby, Starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn
Cate Blanchett won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress of the 2004 season for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator. Blanchett captured much of Hepburn’s mannerisms and style in her performance.
For those of you who have never watched a Katherine Hepburn movie or have not seen one in a while, why not check out Bringing Up Baby, which stars not only Hepburn, but also Hollywood Icon Cary Grant?
Bringing Up Baby is a perfect example of screwball comedy at its best. The plot involves a brontosaurus skeleton, a leopard or two, a dog, and a very important “intercostal clavicle.”
Hepburn plays the zany heiress Susan Vance to Grant’s absent- minded paleontologist, David Huxley. Vance sets her sights on Huxley even though he is supposed to marry Alice Swallow (Virginia Walker) a rather prissy, prim, overly buttoned-down woman.
Along the way to a happy ending, Susan’s dog, George, steals and buries the intercostal clavicle, the last bone that David needs to complete his brontosaurus skeleton, almost everyone ends up in jail, and Baby, Susan’s pet leopard is lost and found. Or is it?
Grant, playing against type, is perfect as the clumsy, confused Huxley. Hepburn shines as the distracting, talkative Vance. Viewers know that David is doomed to fall for Susan, even if he does not realize it until the very end of the movie.
It is a joy watching the characters verbally joust back and forth, particularly since David cannot figure out why he keeps on getting involved in such absurd situations every time he is around Susan. Susan, of course, always has the best of intentions, although her “best of intentions” are centered around getting David’s attention.
While there is enough physical comedy for those who enjoy slapstick, it is the dialogue and the actors’ deliveries that make Bringing Up Baby a comedy classic. The interactions between Hepburn and Grant are snappy and more importantly, perfectly timed.
As with many movies that are now considered classics, this movie bombed when it was released in 1938. Hepburn had been having trouble with her film career as many of her movies during that period were financially unsuccessful, leading to her reputation for being “box office poison.”
The failure of this film confirmed the sentiment. Hepburn bought out her contract from the studio with which she was working, RKO, and took off for Broadway. Her career took a turn for the better while onstage and she later returned successfully to film.
Rent this movie. It is a terrific example of the screwball comedy genre and a testament to both Hepburn’s and Grant’s skills at comedy. The dialogue goes by at lightning speed, there are pratfalls and flat out-and-out falls, and an entertaining plot full of fun twists and turns.
Credits:
Bringing Up Baby (1938) Starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. With Charles Ruggles, Walter Catlett, Barry Fitzgerald, May Robson, Fritz Feld, Leona Roberts, George Irving, Tala Birell, Virginia Walker, and George Kelly. Directed by Howard Hawks. Written by Hagar Wilde (story and screenplay) and Dudley Nichols (screenplay).
