bringupbaby

I make no secret that Katharine Hepburn, while talented, is not a favorite of mine. If I had to choose
between a Hepburn film and, say, an Ingrid Bergman film, you can bet I’d grab the Bergman film
first. There is one exception however. In 1938, Hepburn teamed up with Cary Grant to produce
what is arguably the funniest comedy of all time, “Bringing Up Baby.”

This Howard Hawks directed screwball comedy is one of the zaniest and craziest comedies of the
1930s, and in it Hepburn has never been more lovable. For once, she’s not stiff, formal and
aristocratic. She’s sweet and dare I say, almost soft.

In the film, Grant plays David, a paleontologist who has just found the last bone he needs to
complete his brontosaurus skeleton after many years of work. He is about to get married to a rigid
stuffy woman and she expects him to socialize with one Mr. Peabody, who happens to know a Mrs.
Random who has a million dollars that she is thinking of donating to the museum, if David makes
the right impression.

Enter Hepburn, playing Susan Vance, and the niece of Mrs. Random. From minute one, her
bubble-headed and carefree nature start getting the stiff and nervous David into trouble, to the
point that Peabody starts to think David is crazy and Random doesn’t think too highly of him either.
Susan is smitten with David and, unbeknownst to him, is willing to do anything to prevent him from
marrying his bride-to-be, including lying to him that she’s being attacked by her aunt’s pet leopard,
Baby.

Soon, David finds himself on the misadventure of a lifetime as Susan’s dog George buries his
precious dinosaur bone and he finds himself miles away from his home and without any clothes
hours before his intended wedding. Grant is perfection in this role, stiff and uptight but wholly
slapstick just the same. His complete irritation with Hepburn in the movie is a constantly funny and
standing joke. Rarely has Grant been more entertaining than he is here.

This is a precious gem of a screenplay. Every line is a joke almost, every actor delivers perfect
timing, and everyone in the film is simply insane. Grant runs around in a furry woman’s bathrobe,
he and Hepburn chase a leopard through the forest, and ultimately everyone gets thrown in jail.
How you ask? You’ll have to see this one to believe it. I don’t want to give the film away. It’s too
much fun.

Sadly, both Grant and Hepburn never made a film like this again, much in the way that Claudette
Colbert and Clark Gable never did another film like, “It Happened One Night.” Hepburn and Grant
would eventually star in “Holiday,” but it was more of an aristocratic comedy than the sheer
screwball structure of this fine picture.

I can put this movie in anytime, any day, and laugh my face numb. This is real comedy, folks.