It is funny how movies that are considered “classics” by modern standards are often those most widely rejected or simply ignored by audiences of the time. While some may consider Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory an essential family film or John Carpenter’s The Thing as one of the greatest horror featured ever seen on screen, these films were not considered as such after their dismal box office returns. The same thing happened to what is often referred to as one of the greatest comedies of all time. When Bringing Up Baby from the great Howard Hawks (The Big Sleep) debuted in 1938 it soundly flopped and even led to star Katherine Hepburn (The Philadelphia Story) to being included on an infamous “box office poison” list that haunted her for a while. Cary Grant (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House) made it out of the situation okay by carving out something of a personality for himself that had been mostly underdeveloped up until this point. The quality was always there, but it took until the 1960s for audiences to catch up to the fact that it is a stone cold comedy classic. It makes you wonder, what films are classics just waiting to be rediscovered?
The thing you will find from the very first scene of Bringing Up Baby is the breakneck pace that Hawks employs in his comedy that never gives the audience a moment to even consider boredom as an option. The economy of storytelling is impeccable as you first meet David Huxley (Cary Grant), the prototypical absent-minded professor who makes his living as a paleontologist. In quick succession you learn that David has been trying to assemble the skeleton of a Brontosaurus for four years, he has an impending marriage to the to the joyless Alice Swallow (Virginia Walker), and he needs to impress Elizabeth Random (May Robson), a potential wealthy benefactor to the museum. There is even time to slip in a few racy double entendres that will make you blush. Grant is at his comedic best as this high-strung, socially awkward man in need of some balancing out, a bit of levity in his life. Never has an agent of change come on so strongly as the unpredictable woman he meets at the golf course where he is trying to secure the donation to his museum.
Katherine Hepburn gives an unforgettable performance as Susan Vance, a woman who you can never quite tell if she is genuinely scatterbrained or willfully chaotic and illogical. When a rogue golf ball causes David to cross paths with Susan, the grounded scientist does not know what to do with her as she talks him into a knot with her ideas of what is and is not her property from a simple golf ball to a car. This dynamic only intensifies later that night in one of the most impressive and funniest scenes in the film in a nightclub. An unexpected replay of their earlier meeting quickly ends the night with upset dinner guests, smashed hats and ripped garments. The two are polar opposites which appears to be part of the draw of David to Susan. The two continue to be drawn into each other’s orbit through promises of securing donations and eventually the titular “Baby,” a tame leopard from Brazil sent to Susan by her brother. Each and every scene is an exercise in perfect onscreen chemistry as Grant and Hepburn play off one another in a way that has rarely ever been rivaled.
Bringing Up Baby is a farcical slapstick comedy of the highest order. One of Hawks’ few regrets about the film is said to be that he wishes he would have included some “normal” people in the film, but the screwball nature of all the side characters only leads to greater feats of gut-busting comedy. From the cocky, ignorant big game hunter (Charles Ruggles) to the befuddled constable (Walter Catlett) who only wants people to stop lying about seeing a leopard around town, every character is given a juicy part of the story that brings about huge laughs. Hawks nails the pacing of this story and editing of this narrative by spritely flowing from scene-to-scene and shot-to-shot in a way that fueled the storyline. Compared to other screwball comedies of the era, something feels a bit daring about Bringing Up Baby. These are characters that are not meant to be put neatly into boxes, as they have lived their lives in chaos and in chaos they shall continue, even if it presents in a slightly different form. This particular story is a fantasy disguised as a simple romance. There is nothing grounded about the events of this film, but this is what allows Hepburn and Grant to create something so magical. This is what makes a film fight to be known as the classic it always was.
Video Quality
Bringing Up Baby makes its Blu-Ray debut in its original 1.37:1 thanks to The Criterion Collection with a brand new 1080p master from a 4K scan from a mixture of the 35mm nitrate duplicate negative and a 35mm safety fine-grain positive. Given the state that the film elements were in, which you can read about in the accompanying booklet, the transfer we have here is quite incredible. The lovely black-and-white photography shot by Russell Metty shines in high definition with natural grain intact. Black levels are strong with no overwhelming occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts, but the grain can fluctuate in some sequences. There is a great amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and within the production design, especially at the museum. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. There are only occasional moments where the density is a bit inconsistent due to the state of the source elements. The contrast is well defined, and the track only experiences a minor amount of flicker and stray specks on the print. The Criterion Collection has done as great of a job as they possibly could with this material.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a solid LPCM 1.0 audio track that serves this movie really well with a pleasing fidelity. This track does present with a minor amount of faint hissing and some strained upper registers that likely date back to the source elements. This is inherent to most films of this time and not a huge distraction. The sparse music never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. Dialogue and background noises are represented in perfect harmony with all competing elements. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. The team at the Criterion Collection have done their best to provide the most stable track possible for this one.
Special Features
The Criterion Blu-Ray of Bringing Up Baby includes a booklet featuring the new essay “Bones, Balls, And Butterflies” by film critic Sheila O’Malley in which she discusses the themes of the story, the real-life personality traits of the performers and how they relate to the film, the legacy of the picture and more. There is also the short story “Bringing Up Baby” by Hagar Wilde which served as inspiration for the film but contains a great number of differences. These materials provide a great amount of context and insight into the film that is very worthwhile. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Audio Commentary: Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich provides a fascinating commentary track in which he shares his personal love for the film while analyzing its comedic brilliance. This track is aided by the fact that Bogdanovich had befriended Howard Hawks and relays many insights into the film from the director. There is nothing like hearing about a classic film from another talented auteur.
- Scott Eyman: A 19-minute video essay from Scott Eyman, author of Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise, in which he delves into the early career of Cary Grant from the period before he changed his name to Cary Grant to his time at Paramount and beyond. It is strange to think there was a time when studios did not know what to do with Cary Grant, and it is only when they stopped trying to make him emulate other performers and gave him good directors that he flourished. This is a great addition to the set.
- John Bailey: A new 11-minute interview with cinematographer John Bailey (In The Line Of Fire) in which he discusses the career of director of photography Russell Metty and how he composes, lights and shoots particular scenes in Bringing Up Baby. This highlights many techniques that you might not notice upon first glance that make the movie what it is.
- Craig Barron: A new 13-minute interview with film historian Craig Barron in which he discusses the career of visual-effects pioneer Linwood Dunn and his work on Bringing Up Baby. Not only does this highlight his accomplishments on the film, but Barron breaks down many of the innovations in visual effects leading up to this production. It is interesting to hear more about working with the leopard, as well.
- Howard Hawks – A Hell Of A Good Life: A 57-minute documentary from filmmaker Hans-Christoph Blumenberg filmed a month before Hawks died in November 1977. This is a really lovely piece where Hawks gets to reflect back upon his career including stories about Gary Cooper, John Wayne, his love of racing, his straightforward camera techniques and so much more. Highly recommended for fans of classic cinema.
- Selected-Scene Commentary: A 22-minute piece in which costume historian Shelly Foote discusses the career of designer Howard Greer while breaking down some of the garments featured in Bringing Up Baby. This piece gives nice notice to how Greer made actor-based decisions to bring the characters more fully to life.
- Cary Grant: A 36-minute archival audio interview with Cary Grant recorded in 1969 after a screening of the film in which he answers questions from the audience. This allows Grant to discuss the differences in styles between directors such as Hawks and Alfred Hitchcock, acting on stage versus on film, bringing up forgotten projects and experiences, have a bit of fun with the audience and more. It warms your heart to get to hear Grant speak at such length in a relaxed manner.
- Howard Hawks and Peter Bogdanovich: A 15-minute audio interview between these two filmmakers recorded in 1972 in which they discuss the origins of the film, the camera work in the film, the performances in the film and more.
- Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Bringing Up Baby is widely considered to be one of the finest comedies to ever be released, and when you watch it you understand why. The rapid-fire dialogue and general sense of gleeful chaos brings an energy to the film that is hard to ignore. The chemistry between Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn is that kind of once-in-a-lifetime dynamic that audiences hope to witness when they go to the cinema. Whether it is the first time or the one-hundredth time you have seen this feature, you will find something with which to fall in love. The Criterion Collection has provided a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and an excellent assortment of special features. Fans of classic screwball comedies know this is one not to be missed. Recommended
The Criterion Collection edition of Bringing Up Baby is available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: The Criterion Collection has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
