BRINGING UP BABY (1938)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Comedy / Romance

Director: Howard Hawks

Cast: Katharine Hepburn / Cary Grant / May Robson

Plot

Nerdy paleontologist David can’t seem to get rid of kooky heiress Susan, who is determined to win his love.  The fact that Susan has a pet leopard named Baby only makes things more unbearable for the high-strung scientist.

What I Liked

I saw this movie once before as a kid, when my dad was watching it on AMC.  Back then I loved the hijinks involving Baby, the leopard that enters the plot about twenty minutes in as a pet of Katharine Hepburn’s character.  The reactions of everyone else to the big cat made me laugh, and I never forgot this movie because of that unique gimmick.

On a second viewing, this time as an adult, I was much more amused by the screwball banter between Hepburn and co-star Cary Grant.  Grant’s over-polite David and Hepburn’s obnoxious Susan make for a terrific comedic match as the pair constantly bicker with, interrupt, and confuse one another.  With Grant in straight-man mode, Hepburn’s gets the very best lines (many of them improvised), prattling away with befuddled logic that leaves Grant (and the audience) confused as to whether she’s impossibly idiotic or supremely witty.  The fun in Grant’s performance originates from his facial expressions and tone of voice, essentially his exasperated reactions to Hepburn and Baby.

In fact, Baby is almost as good of an on-screen partner for Grant as Hepburn.  I wasn’t surprised to learn that Grant was in fact genuinely terrified of the animal.  He is constantly watching the prowling cat out of the corner of his eye and making sure to jump out of its way.  His terror is natural, making these scenes all the more funny.  Ironically, it was not he, but Hepburn who the feline actor did in fact come after, only to be subdued by a trainer.

What I Didn’t Like

There’s plenty of slapstick comedy to be had as well.  However, for adults, most of the pratfalls and bumped-heads prove anti-climactic when compared with the character-driven laughs.

Also, an insufferable little dog shows up about half-way through and doesn’t stop barking for the rest of the picture, proving quite an annoying distraction.

Most Memorable Scene

Ironically, the film’s funniest moments occur before Baby ever shows up.  The first three encounters between David and Susan, on the golf-course, in the parking lot, and in a restaurant are all terrific blends of the different kinds of comedy to be found through the remainder of the movie: situation, slapstick, screwball, sexual, etc.  The different kinds of funny to be found here mean pretty much anyone can find something to laugh about in at least one of these scenes.  I certainly giggled more than once.  Since these three encounters all run consecutively, I’ve chosen to pick them all as one scene, the best one.

My Rating: 4 out of 5