Having had eleven films plucked out from a list, I wasn't sure what to watch for the last one. I was between a couple of Sturges film, but I decided on a different film. Bringing Up Baby has got to be one of my favorite films. This is the film that somehow always makes me laughs no matter how many times I've watched it. The jokes don't get old, the performances always seems fresh, and it is by far one of the most ridiculous but enjoyable stories that I've watched on film.
I'm not sure I can pinpoint down one thing that makes this such an entertaining film, but I think a lot of comes down to the performances from Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. They give such wonderfully exaggerated performances of their characters, and they work so well together, Grant as the nerdy David and Hepburn as the screwy Susan. They are complete opposites, yet their attraction to one another seems inevitable and hilarious. Grant, I think, is just easy to watch, always charming, even as an absent-minded professor. Hepburn here gives Carole Lombard a run for her money as the dim-witted heiress. I don't think there are many if any at all that can do the heiress quite like Lombard, but Hepburn does great here. She's never irritating, but instead she just makes you laugh with her responses to just about anyone and her reactions.
As usual, this film is filled with great lines. And these lines actually stand the test of time, because I still laugh whenever I hear them. Perhaps part of the reason is the delivery of the line, the action going on at the same time. There's a way in how Grant says to Hepburn that he's finds himself strangely attracted to her that makes me chuckle just thinking about it. But the great thing about the lines is that it doesn't linger on the joke too much. They're said and the action continues, as screwball comedies do. The pace is right and everything moves along quick enough.
The whole plot as well is a lot of fun. The idea of leopards in Connecticut and a screwball heiress and straight-laced professor running around trying to find one while also trying to find the intercostal clavicle of a dinosaur fossil David's been working on for the past four years, it's enough to make you dizzy just thinking of it. But the truth is that this silly storyline just draws you in with all the antics and the wonderful cast. Hepburn runs around on dainty toes while Grant has more costume changes than male actors usually do. The supporting cast is also outstanding, especially the constable and the psychiatrist, who interpret things so differently as if they're almost dense and end up feeding the misunderstanding about the entire situation. And then of course the ending, which has all the players behind bars while the leopard is loose in the police station. It's a wonderful scene. And what does David learn from all this? That it was the best weekend of his life and he thinks he loves Susan, who of course knew from the beginning she would marry him.
I don't think this film did well commercially when it originally came out. I know Hepburn was deemed box office poison at one point and I'm not sure if it was after this or not. Whatever the case, the truth is that Bringing Up Baby is by far a truly entertaining film with some remarkable performances. It does indeed have a ridiculous plot, but at the same time it's got memorable lines that'll keep you laughing. If anything, this is a must-see just to watch Grant and Hepburn on their own and with each other, and with a leopard, and with a dog. It's one not to be missed.
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