Staff Book and Media Recommendations

Bringing Up Baby

Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant do some of their best comedic timing in this "screwball" comedy. Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn) is a debutante who wreaks havoc in the straight laced, world of paleontologist Dr. David Huxley (Cary Grant). The characters also include a big game hunter, Major Horace Applegate (Charles Ruggles), Huxley's fiance, Alice Swallow (Virginia Walker), and Baby (Nissa - the leopard).

Susan is sent a tame, Brazilian leopard from her brother Mark. The antics begin when she gets David to come to her country home in Connecticut. Pandemonium continues as Susan tries to keep David from his wedding plans. A dog buries a dinosaur bone, a wild leopard is thought to be Baby, and a large portion of the characters are in the local jail before the night is over.

The lighthearted show was the basis for the 1987 movie Who's That Girl? starring Madonna, as well as the 1972 Barbra Streisand classic. This classic is worth the trouble of finding a VCR. ~ Anita Hill

Reviewed October 2009