Cary Grant Retrospective – Bringing Up Baby Review

Hi, this is Dan Gilbazan and you're listening

to the GeekCast Radio Network. Hello and welcome

to episode 222 of The Cinema Geeks. I am one

of your Cinema Geeks, Optimus Solo, and joining

me today, as usual, is the Comic Concierge. Hello,

Dan. Hey, how's it going? It's going well. We

are on the verge of a new series here, like we

kind of talked about a few times towards the

end of our Alfred Hitchcock series, which by

the way, if you were not following along for

those, we encourage you to go back and watch

some Alfred Hitchcock movies and listen to us

ramble on about them. We covered 15 films. And

then last episode, we did do a wrap party, which

was all kinds of fun, giving out different awards

and our rankings of our Alfred Hitchcock film.

So if you missed out on that, you can go back

and watch or listen to those episodes. And then

today, based on some interactions we had with

one of the actors throughout the Hitchcock filmography,

we decided to get a little bit more into the

world and life of Cary Grant. So we've already

covered four films throughout the Hitchcock series

that Cary Grant appeared in. And now we wanted

to start looking at some of the ones that were

non -Hitchcock films. So we got about... Roughly

eight films that we're gonna look at but as you

saw with the Hitchcock film sometime or Hitchcock

series Sometimes that can mean more maybe we'll

cut it short You never know but we got eight

that we're kind of tossing around to add to the

four that we've already Seen before we get into

what's first Dan just any thoughts or kind of

feelings as far as starting this new series and

what you're looking forward to or why you just

Why you were on board with it? We as much as

we are doing the Hitchcock retrospective just

you know When we got to a lot of the Cary Grant

movies, he was just, he was a fascinating figure

to watch. There are so many of his films that

I have yet to see or have only seen once. And

considering he's such a huge name in the world

of moviemaking and things like that, it felt

like a good opportunity. And plus just watching

the Hitchcock films, I just got in the mood to

watch more movies of that era. So it seemed like

a good way to pivot and keep it going. Absolutely.

I agree. He was a highlight of a lot of the films

that we covered that he appeared in. I was drawn

to him and I watched a biography on him. There's

a couple different ones out there, but I've at

least watched one of them because I was just

kind of fascinated by his life in general and

his journey through Hollywood. I think akin to

like a Grace Kelly, they have very interesting

stories out of the folks that we talked about

during that retrospective. So I thought it was

fitting to catch up on a few of these. A couple

that I have seen beforehand and there was a couple

that Dan had seen beforehand and then there's

going to be a good amount of first time watches

as well throughout these films. Is there any

film in particular that you're looking forward

to the most or is it all kind of a even slate

here? Looking to see some more of the movies

that he was. Nominated for an Oscar for because

maybe some of his more dramatic work because

we haven't seen We've seen hits of that with

us on the Hitchcock films, but I'm curious to

see like What else he can do beyond you know

when he's in kind of a different mode? Which

he is kind of bit of a different mode here, but

what we we can get to that Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, we definitely saw some James Bond esque

roles in the Hitchcock series and a tiny Bit

of comedy, obviously, as well in North by Northwest.

But yeah, I'm interested to see that you mentioned

a couple of his award nominations. So that would

be like none but the Lonely Hearts and Penny

Serenade, I believe, were the two that he was

nominated for. And then we have some classics

that will bring up that maybe a lot of people

have seen or maybe it's a blind spot and it'll

give you an excuse to to watch another film.

I'm kind of like you, Dan, right now, if if I

have an excuse to watch more. Old films i'm kind

of down for right now like i'm going through

that phase and both of us have continued to watch

a. A handful of hitchcock films that we didn't

cover how many of you watch now since out of

the ones that we didn't cover. I have watched

i think to where we watched i watched the man

who knew too much as well as the the the lady

vanishes i've seen. The man who knew too much

was like leaving Netflix. I think it might be

gone now and then Lady Vanishes is on like to

be or one of those like one of the free One of

the free sites. So yeah I watched those two and

then I decided that with that box set that I

referenced a few times during the series if there

was one that I had the disc for That I didn't

even have to worry about searching and seeing

if it was really that I would I would watch those

as well So I've watched the two that you watched

I've also watched the most recent one was the

torn curtain. I just finished that yesterday.

And then the trouble with Harry. I watched that

one as well. I think it's just those four. I

might be missing one, but definitely have been

catching up with a few more of those. And I'm

interested in what this series will lead me to

watch after it as well as I try to fill in some

blind spots, because I definitely have a ton

of blind spots from the 1930s through the 1960s.

Surprise surprise So alright, so we're starting

off today with In crime, we're gonna go through

chronological order for these first eight ish

films And then if we want to cover more we'll

have to break that rule a little bit But starting

in chronological order would take us to bringing

up baby first. So I just want to get your What

you knew about the film beforehand and then we'll

go to some facts about the film and then we'll

break it down so any Prior knowledge to bring

it up baby had you seen it had you heard anything

about it or how are you going into this one.

I'm going into this one relatively blind like

i've heard of it of course and i've heard it

when you see less like the greatest comedies

of all time. Often see it on list like that as

well as like some of the best performances by

cary grant but i couldn't really. Name you like

a scene that is it's notorious for anything like

that so this was. As blind of a watch for me

as you know, any of the retrospective we did

for Hitchcock. Yeah, same with me. I knew of

the film like it's one that the title, you know,

because you've heard it on a lot of different

lists like that or you've heard other critics

bring it up in different fashion. So like I knew

the title and I knew it was one that we probably

should be watching if we're talking about Cary

Grant. Other than that, I just knew Cary Grant

was in it and that was it. So like totally blind

going into this one as well. So Dan's going to

give us a breakdown of the film and then we will

break into our thoughts on it right after that.

Before the guys from Hangover were hanging out

with a tiger, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn

were chasing down a baby leopard in the screwball

comedy, Bringing Up Baby, directed by Howard

Hawks. Released in 1938, Bringing Up Baby was

actually a financial flop, despite its massive

star power. Maybe regular audiences weren't used

to seeing Cary Grant as the cheapest nerd wearing

glasses. Those glasses the studio requested to

be removed, but Hawks refused. So were they right?

considering the lack of success in the box office?

Well, maybe, Bringing a Baby was playing the

long game, as it gained more and more notoriety

throughout the years and is often considered

one of the greatest comedic films of all time.

For example, it ranks 88th on AFI's 100 years,

100 movie list. Also, it is included in the U

.S. National Register by the Library of Congress

for being culturally and historically significant.

In the film, Cary Grant plays David Huxley. a

mild -mannered paleontologist on the brink of

securing both a major museum donation and a marriage.

His ordinary life is thrown into cosmic disarray

when he meets Susan Vance, played by Hepburn.

She is an impulsive socialite who drags him into

a whirlwind of absurd events, including the care

of a tame leopard named Baby. Breaking Up Baby

is a classic screwball comedy that showcases

the chaotic charm of the 1930s. It pairs two

of the era's biggest stars Carrie Grant and Katharine

Hepburn and the zany tale of misunderstandings.

misplaced leopards and romantic hijinks. This

was Hepburn's first real attempt at a school

ball comedy. She previously had been seen more

as a serious actress. The Leopard Baby was a

real animal. To manage safety, scenes with Cary

Grant and the Leopard were filmed separately

using a double or composite shot. The film even

fell into public domain in the 1960s due to a

copyright lapse but was later restored and that

copyright regained. So this film has gone on

quite a journey. by itself. How does it hold

up all these years later and how does it fit

into the larger career of Cary Grant as we look

to kick off our newest retrospective, sending

it back to Kevin and myself to discuss just that.

All right, so those are the facts for bringing

up Baby from 1938. Dan, we've had a chance to

watch the film now. What was your first impression?

I think, you know, going in the comedy, if any

genre I feel tends to be the age of the worst

because comedy is often about context, you know,

and context changes over, especially, you know,

looking at how long it's been since this came

out. But a lot of the comedy here definitely

is more, I think, universal, broad comedy for

sure that is not necessarily tied to a certain

time or place. It certainly has a style to it

that is maybe you would call No absent clearly

of the time and i was worried about that like

will it hold up will be really funny and i think

this is a good example of a movie that is. very

much empowered by its stars like Katherine Hepburn

and Cary Grant. They are great. They work really

well together. This being Katherine Hepburn's

like really first time at comedy. Could not tell

that you know it's hard to go from dramedy from

dramedy from drama to comedy. People not talking

about you know those the when you have someone

who's a comedic actor doing drama like a Robin

Williams like how impressive that can be. I think

it can be just as impressive if not more impressive

to More dramatic actor then do comedy and do

it well because it's a very different skill set

and i thought she did a really good job i know

she had a lot of help and training along those

lines i think it is a movie that it goes at a

breakneck speed like this has a pacing that would

be like. No even faster today like it just it

does not slow down i think partially because

if it did it may start thinking about what is

happening and how warm world is this because

becoming it's like i don't like. Does this really

make sense is does this really you have to buy

into it like if you don't. Buy into it there

so many holes to poke in the sense of like this

is really make sense like will what do you really

make this is it so there's a lot of that going

on for sure i have to say that have a good time

with it i would does it rank as one of the greatest

comics of all time. That's a hard thing to put

on anything i think the fact that i still after

the movie all these years later is a good sign

and i can mention the performances are strong

but. I do think it is a movie that is, I would

say lightweight in the sense of it's not, it's

a bit, it's a fun romp, but it is a fun romp

that is a bit overtly ludicrous at times, I think

purposely so. I think that's a good way to put

it. For me, my first reaction was this film is

unhinged. Yes, this film like remember when we

were talking about the Hitchcock series and we

had the the stranger on a train and we had the

the Carousel go bananas and go like fly off of

track like to me this movie is doing that like

this movie is off the tracks it's spinning out

of control and it's completely unhinged but not

necessarily in a negative way I think it really

depends on what your bandwidth is for the breakneck

pace that you're talking about and the absolute

crazy antics that ensue. To me, this film is

either going to work for you or it's going to

be like nails on a chalkboard for you. It's not

going to be anywhere in the middle to me. It

might work at different levels, but if it's not

working for you because of the pace or because

of some of the sound and some of the different

things. I anticipate you're shutting it off,

or you're walking out, or at some point you're

gonna be like, I can't take it anymore, and you're

just gonna shut it off. I don't know, I feel

like those are some of the reactions you're gonna

get. For me, it's interesting, because you talk

about comedies and how they hold up, and I agree

that a lot of times comedies don't necessarily

hold up as well. I think that's true, though,

way more for comedies of our lifetime. and slightly

before, because I feel like those comedies from,

especially like the late 80s through, I don't

know, probably still today, I guess, but at least,

you know, 90s and 2000s, they rely a lot on references

and things that are tying back to pop culture

or society or things in that nature in a way

that makes them age. less gracefully than I think

some of the classic like comedies from like silent

film era like a lot of those comedies work, right

because It's not referencing stuff that you had

to be alive during that time It's just funny

things like it's just yeah funny reactions funny

ways to do things funny ways to interact with

people and I think it works better like I think

there's a higher chance of a early Comedy holding

up than there is more of a modern comedy. Do

you agree? Think for the most part. I don't necessarily

think it's always just about references. I think

it can be someone somewhat about style and a

sense of like it I do agree like when it's more

of Almost like clowning in a way like it's when

it's that fit looks because a lot of sign -filled

comedy is all about the physical Performance

and things like that. Certainly those hold up

more But when it is more situational, it can

have some struggles in how it kind of develops.

And especially in the sense of what it's making

fun of. Sometimes comedy, I think, doesn't hold

up well because of who makes the butt of the

joke. And sometimes that can be problematic in

that sense. Where it doesn't necessarily have

that. But I do think it's a good point where

if you look at a lot of comedies, tends to be

especially like you mentioned a lot of A lot

about you know, it's all about what you bring

into it not necessarily What the movie is doing

and I think that's probably why a lot We don't

see a lot as many great comedies where with this

everything is there for you there may be some

other jokes that we're not getting that are certain

references the certain times and things like

that, but It's really about the characters. That's

where the comedy is coming from and that situations

and that is easy to keep up with or understand

way down the line. Yeah, I agree with that. I

know before we get into some of the actual story,

not that we're going to get in a lot into the

story in this one, but before we go into like

some of the sequences, I guess, and some of the

gags and things of that nature, I want to spend

a little bit of time on Hepburn and Grant, especially

obviously since this is a grant retrospective.

Now Katherine Hepburn comes into this film as

the one that hasn't really done comedy right

or you know especially not this type of comedy

and you mentioned or you reference the fact that

she has People helping like I know they mentioned

one of the vaudeville veterans Walter Catlett

that comes in and tries to work with her and

get her to Understand her role in this but this

is more out of her wheel box, right and Carrie

Grant Comes from a vaudeville background which

makes it seem like this should be right up his

alley. My initial reaction in the first, maybe

call it 20 % of this film. I thought Catherine

Hepburn was way more natural in her character

and in her role than Cary Grant was in the beginning.

I'm not saying that Cary Grant didn't find his

feet and kind of get in the rhythm at one point.

And maybe he's doing it intentionally because

of the ludicrousness of the character he's playing.

But I felt like he was almost not quite clicking

at the beginning. And I felt like Kath or Katherine

Hepburn just like somehow came across as completely

natural in her role. What was your take on on

those two and their performances either at the

beginning or throughout the film? I think in

character is very over the top for certainly.

I think he is leaning into the the nerd type

of character. I don't know if. It was ever truly

that convincing, you know, because he's always

still Cary Grant, but I do think he is. It was

interesting reading that Christopher Reeve, like

took a lot of inspiration of his performance

of of Superman and Clark Kent from this movie.

You kind of see that because he really is playing

up like the nerd angle with the glasses and the

way he behaves. Things like that. But as the

movie goes on I think that facades Begins to

I think go away and it's better for it because

it never never feels very natural for him That

isn't certainly not his strength. I don't he

never comes. He's just like too tall and like

into like Manding or of the screen to really

pull off that type of like Schlubby like being

bossed around like it wasn't it felt very forced

begin with and I think the I feel like he's the

hardest person in Hollywood to play a nerd. Yeah.

He's Gary Grant, like he's somehow incapable

of not looking like James Bond, like, you know,

attractive and like all this other stuff. And

then they're like, well, just play the nerd.

I'm like, I'm not buying it. Sorry. You know

what I was reminded of watching it and as a weird

reference, but that when The Rock hosted Saturday

Night Live, he did it. He did a skit where he

was like Superman and Clark Kent. And it was.

Everyone knew that he was actually Superman because

like trying to be Clark Kent, but just, you know,

he had the cape on. He was just so big and so

obvious. It was like everyone knew it was just

kind of running joke that people weren't fooled.

And that's what I was reminded of. That's like

it just like, yeah, I can. I know that you got

the glasses, but I can still see the S through

the through the right through that. So did you

think Catherine Hepburn came across as like someone

who didn't have as many as much problem like

actually Filling out this comedic role definitely

she struggled Yeah, I didn't get any struggle

from her whatsoever her her character was like

is an oddball in a lot of ways like she's very

like They do make a good pairing they do think

they bought the bounce off one another and it

was you know intriguing seeing the kind of the

general roles flopped for especially for maybe

this old but Yeah, I think she really like watching

this if this you told me this was I never would

have thought this was her first performance like

in a role like this because she came off really

natural uh and her comedic timing is really well

done some of the physicality I don't think she

was maybe as strong with like when it was like

she had the had like fake fall and the and near

the end and stuff like that where it's like that

that maybe like that type of comedy wasn't her

uh strength but more the dialogue driven the

more character work She, I think she really went

for it. I want to talk about two other kind of

two other characters before we get into some

more of the plot. But I want to see if I'm alone

and I was the dumb one of the group or not. At

what point, like, did you know that baby and

the bringing up baby was going to be a tiger

before you watch this? I had no idea. I had no

idea there was a leopard in this movie. Or a

leopard, excuse me. Yeah, OK. I was like, well,

I was today years old when I learned that bringing

up baby is about a leopard. Yeah, I feel like

that should be a bigger because like some of

the stuff they do with this the leopard I know

like they used Yeah, it wasn't always where you

know, they did some camera tricks So it seemed

like he was it was in the back of the car when

really wasn't everyone not but yeah I had no

idea was looking at the poster I should have

realized it cuz they're with a leopard but I

never put two and two together No, not at all.

And then the other thing I want to do is kind

of more of a not a specific character but if

we're looking at all of the rest of the characters.

So all the supporting characters. I know Howard

Hawks, who is the director. This movie gets panned

like right away, just to kind of put that out

there like it does not go over well. There's

a lot of people that are saying it's going to

be a flop. It gets very negative reviews out

of the gate. And and Howard Hawks, I don't know

if this is an interview or a quote or if it's

just a summary of things that have been gathered

around what he said. But I know one thing that

he came to the conclusion that in his mind. I

say like at the time it was banned because now

it's it's Received pretty well like it's on a

lot of lists of like funniest movies of all time

And it's got a nice rotten tomato score. I think

I want to say it's in the upper 90s You know,

so it's got a lot of acclaimed sense then but

in that moment He was only the impression that

it was, you know not received well and it was

a critical failure and one thing that he Attributed

that to is he said that he had made a mistake

by not putting a normal person in the film and

and his idea was because everybody was crazy

and everybody was zany and screwbally and all

this other stuff that it wasn't gonna work as

well like he thought he needed somebody that

was like normal for the audience either to relate

to or to ground things or whatever and I guess

that he did he takes that in like has that effect

a film that he does later by Inserting some people

that are more quote -unquote normal What was

your take on this of the whole entire supporting

cast that we get and everybody that kind of comes

and goes in this fast paced crazy film that we're

talking about. I want to see you it's worth it's

interesting saying that because i didn't think

about it watching it like that there wasn't a

normal character i guess i saw you know her aunt

is pretty normal i know she's not in the movie

a lot or you know the lawyer and things like

that i guess i felt like they. and although they

had their moments were pretty normal I mean he

did he did have like the sheriff who was to me

was like he was playing that role. Yeah, because

even though he is very over the top at the beginning

and not necessarily believable as the nerd, when

it comes to his actual actions and dialogues,

like he's the one that seems sane while the world

is going crazy around him. Like he's the one

trying to keep up with what's what is. Is it

Elizabeth? Is that Katherine Hepburn's name?

Yes. No, Susan. He's the one trying to keep up

with Susan. um and and all of the other things

and you know obviously we we kind of i guess

i buried the lead with the whole bone thing like

he's a paleontologist who's trying to put this

massive brontosaurus together and he's missing

one bone and that's kind of this whole thing

is is him trying to get a hold of that bone find

the bone once he loses it and then secure you

know a million dollars to fund his work and things

of that nature but i agree with you i think he

definitely is i related more to him the only

difference was is I don't know if I would have

had the patience he had. Yeah, everything that's

like you're hitting my car. Like what are you

doing right now? Like you're destroying my car

and those types of things. So I do. I think I

related to him in some ways, even though I wouldn't

have reacted probably the way he did to a lot

of he was definitely, I guess. Enough of I don't

know, it's weird because you're also like. trying

to buy him as this. I know it's a comedy. We're

not supposed to think this serious about it,

but he's like this paleontologist, intelligent

doctor, but he's coming across almost as someone

who's not intelligent throughout the rest of

it in like what he's putting up with and all

the other stuff. And obviously at one point he

becomes smitten by her or there's a love trial.

She comes across as crazy. Yeah, like she's insane.

Yeah. There's moments where you're like, oh she's

but I remember there was like a certain moment

where I kind of thought to myself I'm oh, she's

like actually not okay in the head like she's

not just acting She's not just like playing like

a trick on him. She's actually insane Yeah, cuz

she was like ready to marry him right away. It

was interesting. Like she certainly And at first

like I was when I first started I was wondering

if she was more more of a trickster than you

know when you have a moment with a purse i'm

like is she purposely doing this to try to get

him in trouble like is there the because like

i said i didn't going into this i didn't watch

anything i just watched it cold i'm like oh is

it going to be like she you know is is really

like this and i guess maybe i had a The last

movie we watched for the Alfred H Scott retrospective

in my head with the Joel thief and whatnot. It's

like, oh, is that going to be where it goes?

And it's like, oh, no, it's just she's just she's

really scattered brained on it. Like, I feel

like her character feels very modern in that

way. Like, you know, if you ever heard the term

like the Manny pixie dream girl, she's not quite

like that, but she a sense of like. She is very

in the moment, like she's very like. She is doing

the role you would expect Cary Grant to do, or

what Cary Grant would be known for in the way

that she's pursuing him. And she's kind of coming

up all these crazy schemes that keep them together

and everything like that, which is interesting.

Like when he calls about the leopard attacking

her, it's like, ow. So I can understand the,

yeah, she's crazy, crazy. And maybe she is, but

maybe he is too. And maybe that's. that they

both need You used to get the slap like I didn't

realize leopard was going to be such a key key

part of this entire movie like oh we get a leopard.

We're staying with this leopard like this is

gonna be this is gonna be the story is and then

we get another leopard that's where it's like

okay again I'm trying you're just like we're

just gonna have another leopard escape from the

circus. It's basically live action Looney Tunes

and not two leopards. We got two leopards. We

got a dog and a bunch of crazy people. And did

you know that the leopard was the same leopard?

Like the two leopards are played by the same

leopard. I assume so, because they didn't they

seem the same size like they didn't like the

one didn't seem bigger. So I don't know if they're

ever in a scene together. I guess maybe they're

not or they did some tricks with it. But yeah,

I guess it's played by the same. Leopard and

interesting to also to see that apparently Katherine

Hepburn Hepburn was totally cool with the leopard

being on set Cary Grant not so much I guess they

had to use a double in every scene that his character

had contact with a leopard Like he was having

no part of it. I don't I don't disagree with

them I was not made today. This could not be

made today like like it was well the one scene

with the dog in the leopard like What does that

seem like they were really like that seemed pretty

violent like the way they were interacting like

fighting and like yeah, I wasn't sure if the

I don't know dogs sometimes when they're when

they're playing they look like they're fighting

but it looked pretty like this seems a little

brutal. So yeah, that was interesting. But it

would be made today but it would be made it could

be made today but it would be very different

like there could be some CGI or CGI for the most

part maybe they have. that's obvious yes that

that that than that out of control and I assume

he was needing to be would have taken him to

a zoo where they they weren't putting him down

right they were taking him to a zoo. I think

so yeah something like they were he was not going

to be allowed in the circus anymore obviously

and then they let the bad leopard or the disobedient

leopard out of the back of a car because I think

it's the. Good leopard so we have a whole confusion

with that we have a dog that sometimes is being

chased by leopards we have the dog who took the

bone from the dinosaur and buried in the yard

somewhere and we're digging up hundreds of holes

to try to find that. Obviously we have a whole

sequence with jail cells where some people are

being locked in and some people are being let

out what did you think of once they're in the

jail cell and then Catherine Hepburn turns on

this like we're part of a gang. And starts talking

like a gangster like what did you think of that

whole sequence and then kind of how this movie

plays out in the end? That that finale is just

like the way keeps building and I think it actually

did a pretty good job of like. Setting that up

throughout. So like it all kind of makes sense,

you know, you stealing of the card all builds

upon itself So it doesn't all come out of nowhere

But the room the one would be though oddly was

thinking of during that was crazy stupid love

and how you had all these different plot threads

kind of come in together that all started the

kind of And it got crazier and crazier. This

one's different because it's not like a big surprise

reveal, but it's just these bets building upon

one another. And certainly you could see the

vaudeville type of comedy going into it. But

that to me was just the fighting this movie was

just all, all a bit ludicrous all the time. And

when she went with the, you know, she was being

a gangster and things like that. It just was

like, okay, like this is, it was a bit of a left

turn and it was just, this felt. If you told

me this entire movie was improv'd, I would be

like, OK, that all makes sense. Because it does

have that feeling where it's just yes and, everyone

is just yes anding and going from one thing to

another. And it doesn't necessarily always have

the most logical reasoning for that. Because

it's like, did she know there was a window there?

Was that her plan all along? It was just, I don't

know. you know it's one of those things like

you said i think you'll know very quickly if

you like this movie by that point i was i was

bought in even if i could recognize just how

ludicrous everything was getting how about yourself

i do appreciate the deep cover uh reference by

the way um the yes and i like it um yeah i i

was a little like when she started doing the

the leopard gang stuff i was like okay like we've

gone a little too far at this point like jerry

the nipper and swing indoor suzy and everything

But I did, I was invested on like, how is this

actually going to play out? Like. How are they

going to get everything back to where it needs

to be? You know, he needs the bone. We need the

right leopard wrapped up. We need, and then I

was like, well, we still are completely ignoring

the fact that, you know, he's engaged to be married

and already I think missed his wedding or missed

something like important. What did you think

of that whole angle with Alice, who is his fiance,

who clearly is not into him that much. It doesn't

seem like in the beginning because it's like,

yeah, I want to get married, but you just need

to keep working and I don't want a honeymoon

and I don't want to be romantic with you at all.

What did you think of that angle and then how

she's just so easily discarded in this whole

movie and we end up with Cary Grant and Katherine

Hepburn together? Definitely did everything they

good to make us hate her as quickly as possible.

It's like, oh, she's just she's just a horrible

horrible person and the way it like in that way

it was like a surprise just in how like mentioned

earlier like how gender roles are swapped in

this because I can't think of a movie at this

time where Would you see an actor like Cary Grant

basically be that like the cheapest man that

is just being told what to do It didn't but it's

it's fitting of the film when the sense of like

everything is over -the -top But yeah, I think

like again like that's the one thing I would

say is like all these decisions are very transparent

like, you know why they're doing it and Again,

but I think it's just trying to keep going as

quickly as possible. So you don't think about

it too much. So yeah that And that's the thing

is like the moment you start to think it stopped

the question of like, well, does he shouldn't

he be more concerned about his wedding? But then

you're like, OK, but she was a horrible person

to me. He doesn't want to get married anyway.

So, yeah, yeah, I was just thinking trying to

it was trying to cover all the spaces. Then,

of course, we have the actual like, I guess,

climactic ending or whatever of the dinosaur

bones being toppled. Yeah, only spent like four

years of his life. Assembly I think I think that's

how they figured out that Brontosaurus is aren't

actually a real dinosaur Like you're not a very

good paleontologist That's what was when they

opened up on that I'm like, oh man, he's gonna

be really sad when he finds out that the you

know Or did they go back with that? Cuz I thought

they discovered no, it's not I don't I think

it's Brachiosaurus and like some other things.

I don't I haven't yeah, I don't I don't think

it's real, but someone could correct us. I should

call my cousin. He's actually isn't a paleontologist,

so he can scream at the at the recorder right

now. So one thing I have a question about, like.

And I don't know, you you may have watched more.

Classic films than I have, maybe if we were to

like Adam up, you probably have more in the 1930s

and 40s than I do. We always hear. in modern

times that people have different sounds based

on where they come from. Right. Like you have

the Boston accent or whatever. You have somebody

that you can tell is from New York or someone

from New Orleans or like you have like geographic

accents and ways you talk. Right. Because my

mind's blanking and I can't think of real words

that describe those things. But one thing that

was dawning on me as I'm watching this and I

don't know if it's a factor of the recording

equipment and the microphones, but is there also,

I mean, I know there's lexicon that comes and

goes. Like I know there's words that were used

in the 30s that are not used in the 70s that

are not used in the 2000s. Like I'm not talking

about just like words that come and go, but is

it the way they recorded vocals in this time

period? Or do you feel like people just literally

sounded different when they talked in the 1930s?

And the reason I'm saying this is because I feel

like some people are turned off to classic movies

because of how especially females sound when

their voices are recorded from this time period,

because I can totally see somebody thinking that

number one, Catherine Hepburn doesn't stop talking

in this film. Like she she talks a ton in this

film. Like if you had to count up the lines,

I'm guessing that like Her the lines per minute

like sure her ratio would be pretty good and

I feel like some people in today's audience would

be hearing the the non -stop aspect of her lines,

but also there's like a I don't want to call

it grating this like I talked a little I use

the word like nails on a chalkboard earlier like

Amanda had to leave the room when I was watching

this because she couldn't take the sound anymore

of hearing Catherine Hepburn talking and I don't

think I'm not saying like there's anything wrong

with Catherine Hepburn I'm not trying to say

that but there's something about like some of

these classic films and how the audio is done

or maybe it's just how people spoke back then

that comes across Different to me. Do you think

that or what is your take on that? I think certainly

there's a certain cadence and certain style certain,

you know that people when they think about that

time that implore I guess I didn't find it as

much with Kevin Kevin Hepburn. She just I didn't

find like her We're talking all that different.

She certainly is very fast -paced and I mean,

there's a certain like Quotation to like the

way she speaks, but I didn't I didn't notice

the tin like the tininess of like the way they

recorded it that makes it like Accentuated maybe

perhaps I know like it's interesting mention

that because I just recently watched some like

it hot and one of the characters in that basically

Doesn't a person impersonates another character

and he creates a voice for it That sounds a lot

like Cary Grant and there's a Joe and then another

character jokes is like no one really talks like

that Why are you talking like that? Which which

made me think of like that's just you know, this

is maybe that was a dig at Cary Grant in the

way he speaks Uh, but yeah, I think I mean I

didn't notice as much with this I feel like you've

seen it much more with a lot of like classic

noir and things like that where you know when

heparin was putting on that uh show of pretending

to be part of the gang where she was Keeping

that type of style and I certainly saw it there

but when she was just being her normal self,

which was abnormal to begin with And I didn't

really notice it as much. Yeah This film gets

credit with for a couple things as well. Um,

I know that there was other Screwball comedies

before this but a lot of people kind of point

to this as like one of the Like I guess godfathers

of of this Zany like I don't think any film has

ever been quite like this one from a pace standpoint

and from like how long it is But do you feel

like this one kind of had an impact on? Comedies

that came afterwards in this style or do you

think it's kind of a one -of -a -kind? I think

I certainly could certainly see like a lot of

romantic comedies that of like that came after

that I have a lot of, you know, certain elements

of this one for sure. You know, especially you

think of like the zininess, like even like something

like I love Lucy, which like in the way, like

you had so many hijinks and things like that.

I certainly could see a lot of that compared

to here. And it's very similar in the sense of

you have Lucy, who's the one where he's doing

all the craziness where, you know, similar to

this. So I think you can see a lot. I can't.

Like you mentioned, my experience with 1930s

comedy isn't huge, so I can't tell you if there

was one before this. But even knowing what comes

next for Cary Grant, something like His Girl

Friday, other movies we're going to do, I do

think I could see a lot of films that certainly

had to go back to this type of style or try to

Ate this but I'm thinking of like it happened

one night, which I think came out before this

trying to think if 1934 that was 1934 so for

a few years before but even that wasn't as Fast

-paced or insane. I think this went a certain

direction with it and then this like up the ante

Tenfold and I'm guessing you saw a lot more of

that with the 40s and 50s Certainly with the

type of comedy that came Yeah, absolutely Did

you have any? Trivia bits that you wanted to

give or final thoughts on this one as we kind

of start wrapping up our thoughts on bringing

up, baby Well, then we talked I mentioned I wanted

to talk about the one when we we mentioned already

we're cutting the the connections of Superman

which feels apt compared since just recently

came out also Apparently this might be the first

time In this film where gay is used as a term

meaning like what we consider gay now as like

not like something carefree because there's a

scene where he's dressed up in this nightgown

and yells I'm gay which I was not expecting that

whatsoever. I tell you that I'm like well that

was of all the words I did that was crazy which.

the the the Those I thought there's some interesting

techniques they use for using the leopard which

was cool like the one scene where he walks into

the bathroom and You know utilizing stained glass

and stuff like that Which they said if you look

you can see it or like and I didn't notice it

as much but you know, right? Who knows if it

there's another one I said that they made a giant

cage that we don't apparently see yeah that they're

inside or that the he's in the the leopards inside

and they were like capturing the the film and

the sound and everything by sticking things through

the bars so that you couldn't see the bars or

something around those lines. I think I read.

And I thought it was kind of crazy that there

was no musical score for this whatsoever, which

again, I didn't even notice because of just like

how it wasn't any time for it. Yeah, there wasn't

any time where there was dialogue the entire

time there was. Yeah, there was not like no one

kept, you know, had to have their breath whatsoever.

I can only can you imagine this with like also

like a almost like a silent film soundtrack?

Playing at the same time like I don't know if

I would have been able to take that Yeah, yeah,

that would be a little much. Uh, so yeah that's

that that I found kind of fascinating because

I feel like often with score like I don't notice

it like when I first watch a movie like I don't

really notice it until like the second time and

this and when I saw that I'm like, oh, yeah,

there wasn't any score and I guess I could certainly

see why but yeah, that's all I had The only other

one I had I think was the fact that that whole

segment of the dress being torn and Carrie Grant

walking in front of it and trying to help her

hide it was from an actual experience that Cary

Grant had in real life. So apparently he was

talking to one of the people in the film about

it and then they decided to put it in the film

as well. So definitely interesting there. And

this is not the last time that we are going to

see a couple of these different team ups. So

first of all, Howard Hawks, who directed this

one, also directed Only Angels Have Wings, which

I don't think we're covering, but at least not

in this first section, but he also does His Girl

Friday. Which will i believe be the next one

we're going to cover so we're going to get to

see howard hawks with carrie grant twice right

out of the gate and then catherine hepburn. Did

four films i believe with carrie grant and we're

going to be talking about we talked about bringing

up baby and then we will talk about the philadelphia

story for sure she also was in a holiday from

nineteen thirty eight with carrie grant. As well.

So we're going to get to see a couple more of

these team ups happen again as we go through

this journey. Last thing I kind of wanted to

ask you, Dan, since this is a Cary Grant specific

like series and we're not just looking at the

films, we're kind of also taking a special look

at him and his performances. Obviously, we saw

four different times where he's teaming up with

Hitchcock. We had notorious suspicion North by

Northwest and the what's it? What's the thief?

the How did this one add to what you view Cary

Grant as and like, what are you looking forward

from the rest of this retrospective? Do you think

we're going to see a lot of other different sides

like we did with this one or kind of like, how

did this one fit into that, like your vision

of who Cary Grant was? This, of course, I think

obviously is the most that's pure comedy. This

is getting to see him, I think, in his most natural

state, even if in the beginning he's playing

the little schlubby type of guy. So that was

fun. It definitely you get it was good to see

him like kind of utilize like some of his greatest

talents as a comedian because You got a little

bit of that with the Hitchcock film. So I I'm

intrigued to see like you always those people

who get Prizes they play the same character in

every role and here you get a little bit of a

different character, but I'm Looking to see like

do we get more variations? Like, you know, is

he just always carry grant Kenny kind of escaped

that, you know, just the star power that he's

known for And so far like, you know, I still

feel like we've always every role we've gotten.

He's always carry grant I enjoy carry grant so

I'm not gonna say that's a bad thing But I think

I'm just intrigued to see like how that is moving

forward Yeah, it's gonna be interesting too because

the next one that we're talking about which is

his girl Friday from 1940 is also classified

as an American screwball comedy and it's the

same director and this is also the one that apparently

he tries to put he being Howard Hawks tries to

put some more one or two more regular folks in

there to balance out all the screwball so I'm

interested to see like where how much these two

that we're covering first like mirror each other

or how his curl Friday tones it down or how that

goes because Those are gonna be an interesting

comparison between the two of them Obviously

Philadelphia story is a romantic comedy as far

as how it's labeled So we get a little bit more

comedy our arsenic and old lace is a black screwball

black comedy So we're definitely gonna get some

more comedy and then it looks like the ones that

he was Nominated for penny serenade is listed

as a melodrama and none but the lonely hearts

is a drama slash romance. So that may be interesting

ones because we're going to get to see a different

side of him in those two. Plus he was nominated

for awards in those two. So I'm very interested

to kind of see where those go. And then I think

the ones the last two were rounding up is ones

just listed as a romance. And then the last one

is listed as a screwball comedy. So we're going

to end with a screwball comedy as well. So I'm

intrigued as to what these are all going to bring

Dan final thoughts as we wrap this up and also

let people know how they can stay in touch with

all the stuff you do. Yeah, so far, you know,

like I said, it was I started off with a strong

comedy and I think. I mean, I would be interested

to see what some like what our audience thinks

of as considering like it's it's style and pacing

and how well it would hold up, but looking forward

to seeing more. Absolutely, and how can people

stay in touch with you? Oh, yeah, of course.

And you can just search for Comic Concierge on

all the different social media platforms. Absolutely.

You can get in touch with me at Optimus Solo.

You can search this show out at the Cinema Geeks

or you can keep track of everything that happens

at the website at the Geekcast Radio Network.

So that does it for this episode. Tune in next

time for another chance to listen to more of

the Cinema Geeks as we talk about the 1940 Cary

Grant film, His Girl Friday.