Bringing Up Baby Satire

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 both Dr. Huxley and his fiancée have toward his work. The conversation that ensues is Alice, his fiancée, explaining that the skeleton is to be their child and that nothing should get in the way of his work, not even a
honeymoon.

The next scene, where the two main characters are introduced, takes place on a golf course.
David Huxley is meeting Mr. Peabody to play golf and discuss a $1 million donation. The comedy soon begins when David must retrieve his hooked shot. He finds an eccentric Susan about to hit his golf ball. The first shot of Hepburn is a wonderful beauty shot that captures her as she turns to look at Grant. The lighting is perfect as her free flowing hair is lightly blown from her face. The conversation and wit exchanged is fast-paced and racy, emphasized by the stars genius comedic timing.

As the story unfolds, Susan uses her pet leopard named Baby to trick David into driving to her wealthy aunt's Connecticut home. Once there a dog named George wanders into Huxley's room and steals the intercostals clavicle that is needed to complete his project. The real trouble begins when another leopard escapes from the local zoo and Baby is mistaken for it, leading Huxley and Susan into a series of mishaps to save the cat from the authorities. Inevitably, the two end up in the local jail, only to escape when both leopards show up. Naturally, the mismatched pair falls in
love.

In the scenes that featured the leopard as well as the actors, a special technique, pioneered by Linwood Dunn, was used. It is called the matte process. The scene would be shot twice with the actor playing each role and the camera usually in the same position. The dialogue was carefully timed so that the doubled characters would speak on the proper cues. In the compositing lab, there would then be two strips of film. These would be combined, or composited, onto one new single strip of film.
Unfortunately, this film was Katherine Hepburn's only screwball comedy role. Although Hepburn's performance in Bringing Up Baby was flawless and wonderfully executed, it was also her last film for RKO. She had been infamously labeled as "box-office poison" throughout the 1930's.

Scene after scene, Bringing Up Baby maintains a steady level of energy and comedy. The story, dialogue, and acting move so fast and are so clever that the audience is immediately fascinated and hooked. Everything, from the costumes to the physical humor, serves Hawk's purpose and preserves a high level of chaos and entertainment. Although Ken Hanke of the Mountain Xpress claimed the film was an "overrated classic comedy", it still holds its place in cinematic history and will always be cherished as one of the best textbook comedies of its kind.