Details
Movie Description
A nonstop profusion of hilarious calamities, coincidences, and misunderstandings ensue when an accident-prone heiress turns a sheltered scientist's life upside down. Dr. David Huxley (Cary Grant) is a straitlaced paleontologist juggling three important events at once: the arrival of an extremely rare bone needed to complete his brontosaurus skeleton; a meeting to ask for a million dollars for his museum from a wealthy donor; and his impending marriage to the humorless Miss Swallow (Virginia Walker). Into David's life comes Susan (Katharine Hepburn), a free-spirited young woman who seems to bring trouble wherever she goes. Thanks to Susan, David finds himself involved in one ridiculous situation after another, and soon the two are prowling around a country estate looking for the missing dinosaur bone, hunting for a lost pet leopard named Baby, and somehow falling in love. Grant and Hepburn form a sharp-witted and hysterical comic duo, and Howard Hawks directs BRINGING UP BABY with the control of a master, creating a shining example of brilliant screwball comedy.
Synopsis
A non-stop profusion of comic disasters, coincidences and misunderstandings ensue when Dr. David Huxley, an absent-minded, straight-laced zoologist, meets Susan Vance, a flighty (and accident-prone) heiress. Huxley wants nothing more than to obtain a donation to his museum from wealthy widow Mrs. Carleton Random. But he seems unable to avoid Susan, Mrs. Random's niece, and whenever they get together, pandemonium follows. Soon the two are rampaging through Mrs. Random's estate trying to find a rare, lost dinosaur bone buried somewhere on the grounds, searching for a missing pet leopard named Baby, and -- most important of all -- falling in love.
Film Notes
BRINGING UP BABY was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1990.
Although today considered one of the classics of screwball comedy, "Bringing Up Baby" did not do particularly well in its theatrical release, and contributed to Katharine Hepburn's being named a "box-office deterrent" by the Independent Theater Owners Association, as a star whose box-office draw was "nil." This led Hepburn to buy out her RKO contract.
The film is a perfect combination of writing, characterization and staging, demonstrating the range and versatility of director Howard Hawks (whose output spanned almost all genres of films). Throughout "Bringing Up Baby," the comic pace never slackens, hurtling the characters into one ludicrous situation after another. It is a compendium of scenes not to be missed. For example, Grant in a frilly negligee, unable to get a word in edgewise, engaging in slapstick with Hepburn in a restaurant, and being amazed as Susan (Hepburn) pretends to be a gangster's moll. It is to the credit of all involved that the film manages to make completely absurd situations seem dramatically motivated and perfectly sensible.
Mme. Olga Celeste, the leopard trainer for the film was most impressed by the stars'; handling of the animal, noting "If Miss Hepburn should ever decide to leave the screen, she could make a very good animal trainer. She has control of her nerves and, best of all, no fear of animals."
The film cost $1,073,000, well over its intended $767,000 budget. The film was released in February of 1938.
Remakes of the film are "What's Up Doc? (1972) starring Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand and "Who's That Girl? (1987) starring Madonna.
The song "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" was originally written for the film "Blackbirds of 1928."
The Turner videocassette is part of the "RKO Collection."
Industry Reviews
"Susan is one of the first (and the best) of Screen Savers..."
Premiere - Premiere Staff (04/01/2004)
"One of the quintessential screwball comedies as well as one of the loopiest..."
Los Angeles Times - Susan King (03/27/2005)
Quotations
"Our marriage must entail no domestic entanglements of any kind." -- Alice Swallow to her fiancee, Dr. David Huxley (Virginia Walker and Cary Grant)
"I'll be with you in a minute Mr. Peabody!" -- David Huxley repeatedly throughout the film
"There are only two things I have to do: finish my brontosaurus and get married at three o'clock." -- David Huxley to Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn)
"Susan,... Susan, I don't know, you look at everything upside down. I've never known any one quite like you." -- David
"The love impulse in man frequently reveals itself in terms of conflict." -- Dr. Lehman (Fritz Feld) to Susan
"If you had an aunt who would give you a million dollars if she liked you and you knew she wouldn't like you if she found a leopard in your apartment, what would you do?" -- Susan to David
"Because I just went gay! All of a sudden!" -- David explaining to Aunt Elizabeth (May Robson) why he is wearing a woman's boa-collared negligee
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