Bringing Up Baby, starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, turns 75 this year. The screwball comedy had a rough production history and failed at the box office when first released, but it has made later generations laugh because of the charm of its stars and outrageousness of its plot.
Paleontologist Dr. David Huxley (Grant) feels content with his life. He is an intercostal clavicle short of completing a brontosaurus and a day away from getting married. Then Susan Vance (Hepburn) falls into his life. The kooky socialite convinces David to make a road trip with her from New York to her aunt’s farm in Connecticut to deliver a pet leopard named Baby. While there, David’s precious intercostal clavicle is stolen by the family dog, George. George buries the bone, forcing David and Susan to scour the countryside in search of the missing clavicle and, once the leopard gets loose, Baby.
Although Grant and Hepburn are legends today, in 1938 there were questions as to their abilities to carry a comedy. Hepburn had never appeared in a comedy before and needed constant reassurance from director Howard Hawks. Grant had appeared opposite Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth, but he felt his success in that film was a fluke.
Grant and Hepburn were not even Hawks’ first choices. Hawks wanted silent comedian Harold Lloyd for the role of David, but he the film’s producers did not like that idea. Hawks also wanted Carole Lombard for the role of Susan, but the deal with her fell through. Finally, Howard Hughes stepped in and suggested Hawks give his friend Grant a look. Hughes also had a massive crush on Hepburn and lobbied hard for her to be in the film.
Hughes was further involved in the film once it ran over budget and behind schedule. RKO, the production company, was on the verge of bankruptcy, so Hughes put up the money to buy the film’s negative. The film received distribution thanks to Hughes, but it struggled to gain traction with audiences and critics. The film did so poorly that Hepburn had to buy out her RKO contract for $200,000 instead of having the humiliation of being publicly released by the studio.
Despite its initial failure, Bringing Up Baby has aged well. The jail scene that serves as the film’s climax is hilarious even after multiple viewings. The dialogue is crisp, the pacing strong, and the leading actors charming as ever.
Classic Film Astronomy 