One of the most famous gags in Bringing Up Baby—the moment when Susan’s dress gets ripped—was inspired by a real-life incident involving Cary Grant. One evening at the Roxy Theater, Grant’s pants zipper accidentally got caught on the back of a woman’s dress. Acting on impulse and panic, he followed her, unable to free himself right away. When Grant later told this embarrassing but hilarious story to director Howard Hawks, Hawks loved it so much that he decided to recreate a version of it in the film. The result became one of the movie’s most memorable comedic moments.
Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant had a warm and playful relationship both on and off the set. During the filming of Bringing Up Baby, they often spent time together socially, going on double dates with their respective partners at the time—Howard Hughes for Hepburn and actress Phyllis Brooks for Grant. The two stars genuinely enjoyed working together and had great chemistry, which translated directly onto the screen.
They were so enthusiastic about the project that they often arrived on set early. Director Howard Hawks, however, was known for arriving late. Instead of wasting time, Hepburn and Grant used those quiet moments to brainstorm new jokes, bits of physical comedy, and dialogue ideas. Many of these spontaneous ideas ended up shaping the film’s fast-paced, screwball humor.
One of the most challenging aspects of the production was working with Nissa, the young leopard who played “Baby” in the film. Katharine Hepburn was completely fearless around the animal—she even petted it without hesitation. Cary Grant, on the other hand, was much more nervous around the leopard. Because of this, a stunt double was used in several scenes where his character had close contact with the animal.
Hepburn, known for her mischievous sense of humor, once played a prank on Grant by placing a stuffed leopard into the air vent of his dressing room. When Grant saw it, he was so terrified that he ran out immediately. Hepburn later recalled the incident in her autobiography, Me: Stories of My Life, writing that Grant was out of the room “like lightning.”
Despite his comedic brilliance in the film, Cary Grant was worried about his career at the time. Before Bringing Up Baby was released, he feared he might never become a major movie star. He was nearly 34 years old, while younger actors like Errol Flynn and James Stewart were already well-established Hollywood stars. Ironically, although the film was not an immediate box-office success, it later became a classic and helped solidify Grant’s reputation as one of cinema’s greatest leading men.
Finally, while many people mistakenly believe Cary Grant often said the line “Judy, Judy, Judy,” he never actually spoke it in any of his films. However, in Bringing Up Baby, he does repeatedly say “Susan, Susan, Susan”—a line that perfectly captures the film’s frantic, romantic chaos.
In the end, Bringing Up Baby stands not just as a classic screwball comedy, but also as a testament to the creativity, friendship, and playful spontaneity of its stars and filmmakers.
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