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Why is Bringing Up Baby considered a major screwball comedy?
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Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks (right) directing (from left to right) John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo (1959).
Bringing Up Baby (1938) is widely recognized as the definitive screwball comedy of the 1930s and a masterpiece of American cinema. It serves as the ultimate expression of director Howard Hawks’s mastery of the "zany"—a hallmark of the genre.1
The film is considered a major example of the genre for several reasons:
- Zany Narrative and Farcical Situations: The plot features a series of wildly improbable and chaotic events, including a paleontologist (played by Cary Grant) forced to wear a woman’s dressing gown, a dog that buries a rare dinosaur bone, and a pet leopard named Baby that is confused with a dangerous circus animal.12
- Electric Performances: The chemistry between Grant and Katharine Hepburn—who plays a dotty heiress—is central to the film's success. Their nonsensical banter and reactions to the escalating absurdity provide some of the most memorable moments in film comedy history.1
- Giddily Frenetic Pace: The film is noted for its fast-paced, frivolous tone, which has influenced countless subsequent movie comedies.2
Though it performed poorly at the box office upon its release, it is now hailed as a classic that perfectly captures the screwball spirit.2