Cinema
Bringing Up Baby
Howard Hawks · 1938
Synopsis
David Huxley, a palaeontologist, has spent four years assembling the skeleton of a brontosaurus and must obtain a million dollars for his museum from a wealthy donor, Mrs. Random; the next day he is to marry his assistant, Alice Swallow. On a golf course, a young woman, Susan, plays his ball and takes his car, then draws him into Connecticut with Baby, a tame leopard her brother has sent her from Brazil. The bone that is to complete the skeleton arrives by post; George, the household's dog, buries it. A second leopard, escaped from a circus, prowls the countryside.
Context
The leopard, a trained female named Nissa, worked with her trainer, Olga Celeste; it was often filmed separately, then combined with the actors in the laboratory. After the release, an association of exhibitors listed Katharine Hepburn among the stars labelled box-office poison; the actress bought out her contract with RKO shortly afterwards, and Hawks's contract with the studio ended earlier than planned. Hepburn did not regain success until 1940, with The Philadelphia Story.
Who it is for
A comedy of one hour forty, with very fast dialogue, available in France in several languages, including French.
Prizes and reception
Added to the National Film Registry in 1990, and eighty-eighth on the AFI's list of the hundred best American films.
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