Bringing Up Baby
Bringing Up Baby was created in 1938 and is considered by many to define the screwball comedy genre. It was directed by the extremely versatile Howard Hawks and was written by Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde. This fast-paced film involves the unlikely relationship between its stars, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Its fame stems from many causes, one being perhaps the best chemistry ever caught on screen between a leading man and woman. According to Jonathan R. Perry of the Tyler Morning Telegraph it's "The gold standard of screwball comedy."
At the time of its release, Bringing Up Baby failed miserably at the box office and, like many of Howard Hawk's films, was not nominated for a single Academy Award. Other films directed by Hawks with the same fate were Scarface (1934), His Girl Friday (1940), and The Big Sleep (1946). Nowadays, though, most of Howard Hawke's films are regarded as masterpieces and will always be remembered in cinematic history.
Susan Vance, portrayed by Katherine Hepburn, is an aggressive, impulsive and accident-prone high-society woman while Dr. David Huxley is a close-minded, nerdy paleontologist from the Stuyvesant Museum of Natural History. Hepburn's affluent character is a perfect contrast to Grant's constricted scientist. Both Hepburn and Grant are spectacular together, giving off a sexual tension, played out by physical humor, in almost every scene.
Bringing Up Baby is famous for its use of innuendo to bypass the early Hollywood censors, like many films of its time. For instance, it has been implied that David Huxley may be the first homosexual character to appear in the cinema. The writers, however, are careful to remain subtle and only hint at any situations that might not live up to Hollywood's standards.
The film opens in the Natural History museum and shows a large room filled with the skeleton of a Brontosaurus. It is immediately made apparent the immense dedication...
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