BRINGING UP BABY (1938)

What’s now considered one of the greatest screwball comedies was originally thought to be too fast paced for audiences to follow. Nor did it help that Katharine Hepburn’s popularity was at an all-time low, and the film’s commercial failure cemented her label of box-office poison. Thanks to television and revival screenings, however, it has since found its audience. Director Howard Hawks turned Hepburn into a top-notch comedienne for her role as a wacky heiress who upsets paleontologist Cary Grant’s life when her dog steals his prized dinosaur bone. Hawks modeled Grant’s character on silent clown Harold Lloyd, while the couple’s witty repartee was inspired by Hepburn’s relationship with director John Ford. Throw in two leopards and a gallery of eccentrics, and you have a stellar comedy that would later influence the work of great directors like Peter Bogdanovich and the Coen Brothers. 

d. Howard Hawks, 102m, DCP

DCP courtesy of Lobster Films.