Bringing Up Baby is a 1938 screwball comedy film starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. The film was directed by Howard Hawks who was also the producer. It was based on a short story in the magazine Collier’s also called “Bringing Up Baby” (1937) written by Hagar Wilde.
Director: Howard Hawks
Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charlie Ruggles, Barry Fitzgerald, May Robson
US Box Office: $2,025,000 ($80,700,000 Adjusted for Inflation)
Film Format: Black & White
Genre: Comedy
Release Date: February 16, 1938 (premier)
Plot Summary: Mild-mannered paleontologist David Huxley (Cary Grant) who is engaged to a boring woman, needs to impress a philanthropist so she’ll donate to his museum. Along the way David meets Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn), a scatterbrained heiress with a pet leopard named Baby. David initially dislikes Susan, but the two eventually fall in love after a series of misadventures.
Production: In 1937 director Howard Hawks signed a contract with RKO Radio Pictures to adapt Rudyard Kipling’s Gunga Din, but because of casting difficulties the film was delayed. After reading the “Bringing Up Baby” short story, Hawks decided to adapt it while Gunga Din was delayed. Katharine Hepburn was cast as Susan because RKO thought that her background and onscreen personality matched well with the character. Hawks initially wanted Harold Lloyd to play David (which RKO refused), and RKO’s first choices Robert Montgomery and Ray Milland were unavailable, so Howard Hawks suggested Cary Grant for the role after having seen his film The Awful Truth (1937). Hawks had Grant base his performance on Lloyd and the character wears glasses like Lloyd. Hepburn initially had difficultly with her role because she was trying too hard to be funny. Hawks coached her act naturally since that would actually create a funnier result. Baby was played by a trained leopard named Nissa, whose trainer stood behind the camera with a whip to make sure the actors were safe. As was common with most comedy films of the 1930s, Bringing Up Baby was mostly shot on set in Hollywood. Filming went over schedule, which Hawks blamed on Grant and Hepburn ruining takes by laughing.
Fun Facts and Trivia: In the scene where Susan pretends that she and David are gangsters she gives David the nickname “Jerry the Nipper”, this is actually the nickname of Cary Grant’s character in The Awful Truth. Humorously David tells the police, “Officer, she’s making it up from motion pictures she’s seen!” George the Terrier was played by the dog Skippy, who famously played Asta in The Thin Man film series. Grant and Hepburn had previously starred together in the films Sylvia Scarlet (1935), and Holiday (1938). In the original short story, Baby is a panther, but was changed to a leopard for the film because Hawks couldn’t find any trained panthers to use.
Reception: Bringing Up Baby received strong reviews when it was first released, with many film critics thinking it was hilarious. For example journal Harrison’s Reports wrote that the filmed contained, “many situations that provoke hearty laughter.” However, the film performed poorly at the box office due to its large budget. As a result, this continued Hepburn’s reputation as “box-office poison” (given by the Independent Theatre Owners of America), which would continue until the release of her successful film The Philadelphia Story (1940). RKO also released Hawks early from his contract with the studio and replaced him on Gunga Din due to the film’s failure.
Bringing Up Baby has since become much more popular with modern audiences, after being rediscovered in the 1950s thanks to television screenings. Many modern critics consider it one of the funniest screwball comedies of the era. In 1997, the American Film Institute ranked Bringing Up Baby as the 97th best American film. In their 2007 list, they ranked it at 88th.
Why You Should See It: Bringing Up Baby is a hilarious classic screwball comedy featuring really good performances by Grant, Hepburn, and the supporting cast. I personally think that it is one of the funniest movies ever made, and far better than most of today’s romantic comedies. If you’re interested in classic comedies this is definitely one you can’t miss.