Bringing Up Baby (1938)

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.

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Dudley Nichols (screen play), Hagar Wilde (screen play)

Stars:

Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Mild mannered zoology professor Dr. David Huxley is excited by the news that an intercostal clavicle bone has been found to complete his brontosaurus skeleton, a project four years in the construction. He is equally excited about his imminent marriage to his assistant, the officious Alice Swallow, who is interested in him more for his work than for him as a person. David needs the $1 million endowment of wealthy dowager Mrs. Carleton Random to complete the project. Her lawyer, Alexander Peabody, will make the decision on her behalf, so David needs to get in his favor. However, whenever David tries to make a good impression on Peabody, the same young woman always seems to do something to make him look bad. She is the flighty heiress Susan Vance. The more David wants Susan to go away, the more Susan seems not to want or be able to. But David eventually learns that Alexander Peabody is her good friend, who she calls Boopy, and Susan's Aunt Elizabeth, with whom David has also made a bad ...

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Plot Keywords:

leopard | male female relationship | sheriff | illegal parking | top hat | 

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Taglines:

And so begins the hilarious adventure of Professor David Huxley and Miss Susan Vance, a flutter-brained vixen with love in her heart! [Theatrical trailer.]

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 February 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Leoparden küßt man nicht

Filming Locations:

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,073,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,180

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though Katharine Hepburn never received royalties as an actress in the film, because she was a part investor, the film did provide a financial return for her (and still does for her estate).

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Goofs

Around 1:02:00 David talks about "Major Appletree" instead of Major Applegate.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Prof. LaTouche: Good morning, Miss Swallow.
Alice Swallow: Shh.
Prof. LaTouche: Why what's the matter ?
Alice Swallow: Doctor Huxley is thinking.

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Alternate Versions

Some scenes were cut for the German theatrical release. In 1992 the German ZDF TV reconstructed the missing scenes but the German voice actors/actress who dubbed the movie were no longer available. Thus the reconstructed version changes between the existing dubbed scenes and English-speaking scenes with German subtitles. However, the additional scenes are also from a different print, resulting in a much lesser contrast.

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Connections

Referenced in The Happy House (2013)

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Soundtracks

Dixie
(uncredited)
Music by Daniel Decatur Emmett
[Heard in the background during the parade/butcher shop scene.]

User Reviews

Great comedy

I really enjoyed this classic screwball comedy. Grant was brilliant as the exasperated zoologist and Hepburn also shines as his troublemaking foil. The supporting cast is also uniformly excellent. The entire cast is of course blessed to be working with first rate material. Baby starts slowly and gradually builds momentum before becoming a comic frenzy. It's hard to believe today that this Howard Hawks masterpiece was a bomb in 1938, causing RKO to drop Hawks and Hepburn. I don't usually gravitate towards films of this sort but I'm glad I gave this gem a chance. I was thoroughly entertained. 9/10.