I saw Howard Hawks' 'Bringing Up Baby' (1938) years ago for the first time and didn't like it, just as I didn't like it when it was first released. Afterwards, I have seen it many times and, considering the prestige it has acquired, I have tried to look at it from other perspectives to see if I could get the hang of it, but I have not. So I have tried to analyze the reasons for this rejection. I think the script exceeds all limits of believability. Cary Grant still holds his lines well as a clueless sage, but the comments and actions of Katherine Hepburn's character are insane, endangering anyone near her. And finally, the inclusion of a leopard, to add to the comic nonsense, is beyond the pale. First, leopards cannot be hunted in Brazil, because this feline does not live in America, the only one native to America is the jaguar.
And obviously the first thing the paleontologist played by Grant would do, knowing the danger of the animal, would be to call the fire department or the police to capture it. The most delirious scene is when the leopard walks unleashed down the street next to Cary Grant, who takes some time to notice it. It is clear that in order to avoid immediate alarm among pedestrians, Howard Hawds chose not to let any extra pass through that street along the way, which exposes the traps of the script.
