Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Dudley Nichols (screen play) &
Hagar Wilde (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 February 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard "Baby."

Plot Keywords:

Bone | Leopard | Museum | Circus | Mistaken Identity

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Katharine Hepburn	...	Susan
Cary Grant	...	David
Charles Ruggles	...	Major Applegate (as Charlie Ruggles)
Walter Catlett	...	Slocum
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Mr. Gogarty
May Robson	...	Aunt Elizabeth
Fritz Feld	...	Dr. Lehman
Leona Roberts	...	Mrs. Gogarty
George Irving	...	Mr. Peabody
Tala Birell	...	Mrs. Lehman
Virginia Walker	...	Alice Swallow
John Kelly	...	Elmer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ruth Adler	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Adeline Ashbury	...	Mrs. Peabody (uncredited)
Asta	...	George the dog (uncredited)
William 'Billy' Benedict	...	David's Caddy (uncredited)
Billy Bevan	...	Joe - Bartender (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Ward Bond	...	Motorcycle Cop at Jail (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Nightclub Table Patron (uncredited)
Harry Campbell	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jack Carson	...	Circus Roustabout (uncredited)
D'Arcy Corrigan	...	Professor LaTouche (uncredited)
William Corson	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Evelyne Eager	...	Circus Performer (uncredited)
Judith Ford	...	Hatcheck Girl (uncredited)
Billy Franey	...	Butcher (uncredited)
Jack Gardner	...	Deliveryman (uncredited)
Edward Gargan	...	Zoo Official (uncredited)
Frances Gifford	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Tex C.C. Gilmore	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Duke Green	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Geraldine Hall	...	Maid (uncredited)
George Humbert	...	Louis - Headwaiter (uncredited)
Karl 'Karchy' Kosiczky	...	Midget (uncredited)
Lorraine Krueger	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Richard Lane	...	Circus Manager (uncredited)
Nissa the Leopard	...	Baby (uncredited)
Dorothy Lloyd	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Buck Mack	...	Zoo Official (uncredited)
Teddy Mangean	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Joe (uncredited)
Jeanne Martel	...	Cigarette Girl (uncredited)
Pat O'Malley	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Eleanor Peterson	...	Circus Performer (uncredited)
Buster Slaven	...	Peabody's Caddy (uncredited)
Larry Steers	...	Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Jean Stevens	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Bobby Stone	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jack Stoney	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Bob Thatcher	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Edward Thomas	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Ida Vollmar	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Crawford Weaver	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Pat West	...	Mac (uncredited)
Cynthia Westlake	...	Minor Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Howard Hawks

Writing credits
Dudley Nichols		(screen play) &
Hagar Wilde		(screen play)
Hagar Wilde		(from the story by)

Produced by
Cliff Reid	....	associate producer
Howard Hawks	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Roy Webb		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Russell Metty		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
George Hively		(edited by)

Art Direction by
Van Nest Polglase

Costume Design by
Howard Greer		(gowns by)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
J.R. Crone	....	production manager (uncredited)
George Rogell	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Donahue	....	assistant director

Art Department
Perry Ferguson	....	associate art director
Darrell Silvera	....	set dressing

Sound Department
John L. Cass	....	recordist

Special Effects by
Vernon L. Walker	....	special effects (as Vernon L.Walker)

Stunts
Jimmie Dundee	....	stunt double: Cary Grant (uncredited)
Helen Thurston	....	stunt double: Katharine Hepburn (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Roy Webb	....	musical director
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Olga Celeste	....	leopard trainer (uncredited)
Mimi Doyle	....	stand-in: Katharine Hepburn (uncredited)
Patricia Doyle	....	stand-in: Katharine Hepburn (uncredited)
Bill Knudsen	....	stand-in: Fritz Feld (uncredited)
Mal Merrihugh	....	stand-in: Cary Grant (uncredited)
Jack Morton	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Ed Rochelle	....	stand-in: Barry Fitzgerald (uncredited)
May Warren	....	stand-in: May Robson (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents) (as RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.)

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1938) (USA) (theatrical) (as An R K O Radio Picture)
• RKO Radio Films (1938) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Radio Filmes (1938) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1941) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (as An R K O Radio Picture)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1955) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (as An R K O Radio Picture)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (as An R K O Radio Picture)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1957) (USA) (TV)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (video)
• Chapel Distribution (2009) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• New Star (2011) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• Taurus Video (1994) (Germany) (VHS)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Home Entertainment (1990s) (USA) (video)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1965) (worldwide) (all media)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (Canada) (DVD) (4 film set)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (4 film set)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min | West Germany:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Certification:

UK:U (passed with cuts) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:G (video rating) | Australia:G | West Germany:6 (nf) | Netherlands:AL (original rating) (1938) | USA:TV-G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #3752) | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Arthur Ranch, Malibu, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #88 Greatest Movie of All Time.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Whenever the elevator of Susan's apartment building is shown, there is no separation between the floor and the elevator itself.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Prof. LaTouche:Morning, Miss Alice. My watch is...
Alice Swallow:Shh. Dr. Huxley is thinking.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sesión continua (1984)

Soundtrack:

I Can't Give You Anything but Love

The paleontologist and the socialite

Howard Hawks, the director of "Bringing Up Baby", was not a name one associates with screwball comedy. Watching this perennial favorite the other night, one wishes Mr. Hawks would have made more comedies like this one because he shows a tremendous capacity for entertaining his audiences. The screen treatment, by Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde, made this movie the classic it became to be after not being embraced by the public when it was originally released.

The pairing of Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn paid off handsomely. Both actors were at their best in the film. Mr. Hawks got excellent performances of his two stars. Cary Grant's paleontologist, with his glasses, and nervous energy, matches perfectly the the socialite that has designs on him. There is a high level of energy in the film that was a requirement for a movie of this genre.

The supporting cast is also one of the things that make this film the fun it is. Charles Ruggles, May Robson, Barry Fitzgerald, George Irving, and the rest of the cast do a marvelous job in the roles they created. Even Asta, the Charles' dog, made a valuable contribution to the proceedings by appearing at key moments, even fighting Nyssa, the tamed leopard that is the "baby" of the title.

The best way to enjoy the film is to let the magic Howard Hawks created put its spell on you. It's one of the best films of this genre.