Movie Review: Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Hey, guys!

I canʼt believe that it is the last day of November! How was the month for all of you?

Back in August I did some mini reviews of all the movies that I watched in July and asked if any of you were interested in reading a full review for any of the movies. The lovely Sarah Seele put forth two options! What Iʼm reviewing for you today is one of those, and I hope to talk about the other next month. This is what I consider to be the funniest movie of all time, so prepare yourself for some hilarity, and I hope that you enjoy this review!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning. This is spoiler free!

Bringing Up Baby (1938):

Based on: the short story Bringing Up Baby - by Hagar Wilde.

David Huxley is a paleontologist who works at a museum. It is heard that Elizabeth Random is giving away a million dollars and the Davidʼs fiancée plans ways for him to spend the day with Mrs. Randomʼs lawyer in order to convince why the museum should receive the money. In his various attempts, he keeps running into this girl, Susan, who wonʼt leave him alone. She drags him on some crazy adventures, and loses a rare bone needed for the dinosaur skeleton that he is assembling at work. Will he find it again and get back to New York in time to get married? And what are they going to do about Baby?

Genre: Screwball Comedy.

Length: approx. 102 minutes.

Script: 10, no bad words!

 "The only way you'll ever get me to follow another of your suggestions is to hold a bright object in front of my eyes and twirl it."

Crew: Directed by: Howard Hawks. Written by: Dudley Nichols & Hagar Wilde.

Starring:

Katharine Hepburn as Susan Vance.

Cary Grant as David Huxley.

May Robson as Elizabeth Ransom.

Fritz Feld as Dr. Lehman.

Charlie Ruggles as Major Applegate.

Walter Catlett as Slocum.

Barry Fitzgerald as Mr. Gogarty.

Leona Roberts as Mrs. Gogarty.

George Irving as Alexander Peabody.

Tala Birell as Mrs. Lehman.

Virginia Walker as Alice Swallow.

John Kelly as Elmer.

And the animals Skippy and Nissa.

Costumes: 8, people are only wearing robes a few times, and someone has a garment that rips, but they cover it up and itʼs never indecent.

My favorite:

I love her whole outfit here!

Cinematography: 9, ah, I love the black and white! I donʼt think there is anything too special about it besides that, but it just has such neat feel that I canʼt figure out how to describe.

Cinematography by: Russell Metty.

Music: 8, Well, there isnʼt really any music to speak of besides the song “I Canʼt Give You Anything But Love, Baby”, but I like how it ties in throughout!

Music by: Rob Webb (score). Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields (song).

Quotability: 10, yes! So many excellent and quotable parts! Now, I was so absorbed in watching it when I was supposed to be taking notes, that I forgot to write down the said notes. And even besides that, I canʼt pick quotes out of all of them! It would either be every single part from the whole movie, or not a lot. So youʼre getting the latter. Plus, this script is so fantastic because there are so many running jokes!

'"You've just had a bad day, that's all. "

“Oh, thatʼs a masterpiece of understatement.”'

Content: 9, there is some smoking, and one person tells some lies that are a little suggestive and mention killing.

Originality: 10, all of the situations that Susan and David get into are so unique and hilarious, Iʼve never seen anything like it!

Good For: Screwball comedy fans, for fans of the actors, for anyone who needs a laugh, everyone.

Age Range: This is perfectly acceptable for all ages! Young and old will get a kick out of it.

Overall Score: 9!

Worth watching?: You bet! Every moment in here is golden, and I canʼt think of a single thing that I donʼt like. I laugh from beginning to end and never stop! Itʼs rather exhausting.

I didn't notice it until I was looking for pictures, but there is a lot of talking on the phone in this film.

Will I watch again?: Absolutely! I think that Iʼve now seen it three times, and I canʼt wait to make that number grow. The last time was the first for my little sister and she enjoyed it, too! I can't wait to share it with others!

Bonus thoughts:

This is the most hilarious film that Iʼve ever seen. Now, I often say that I donʼt like strictly comedy films and especially screwball because it seems so forced. I like dramas that have funny parts woven in and often Iʼm laughing when things arenʼt supposed to be funny, but I get irritated with comedies because I feel that Iʼm made to laugh, but it isnʼt my style of humor. This movie though, is excellent. The characters are so distinct that the problems that they get themselves into and the ways that they try to fix it make so much sense, even when they are not logical. It is said that Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn would frequently start laughing without control that production was often delayed! If youʼre like me and usually dislike comedies, I suggest giving this a try! 

It could be that Cary Grant was just brilliant at comedy because my second favorite comedy of all time, Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), also stars him. We canʼt forget about Katharine Hepburn! The role of Susan Vance was written for her and though it is said that she was having trouble doing comedy, you canʼt tell at all. She is marvelous! My older sister doesn't like her in other things, but she agrees that she shines in this film. They are one of my favorite acting pairs because they work off of each other so well!

The supporting cast does nothing but add to the wonderful chaos. I love the confusion and misunderstandings. Major Applegate reminds me a lot of one of my friends.

I could be here all day talking about it, but it's just awesome, okay?

Thanks to Sarah for requesting a review of this! Does anyone else have any requests? Thanks to all of you for reading! What is your favorite comedy movie? Have any of you seen this? What other Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant movies have you seen?

MovieCritic