Bringing Up Baby
Mild mannered zoology professor Dr. David Huxley is excited by the news that an intercostal clavicle bone has been found to complete his brontosaurus skeleton, a project four years in the construction. He is equally excited about his imminent marriage to his assistant, the officious Alice Swallow, who is interested in him more for his work than for him as a person. David needs the $1 million endowment of wealthy dowager Mrs. Carleton Random to complete the project. Her lawyer, Alexander Peabody, will make the decision on her behalf, so David needs to get in his favor. However, whenever David tries to make a good impression on Peabody, the same young woman always seems to do something to make him look bad. She is the flighty heiress Susan Vance. The more David wants Susan to go away, the more Susan seems not to want or be able to. But David eventually learns that Alexander Peabody is her good friend, who she calls Boopy, and Susan's Aunt Elizabeth, with whom David has also made a bad impression without her knowing who he is, is Mrs. Carleton Random. However getting in Aunt Elizabeth and Boopy's good graces is not as easy as Susan smoothing the waters with them. Throw into the mix a tame pet leopard named Baby that Susan's brother Mark inexplicably sends her from Brazil, Aunt Elizabeth's big game hunting friend Major Horace Applegate, Aunt Elizabeth's pet terrier George who has a penchant for burying bones and other things, and a traveling circus passing through town and David may never be able to finish his project or make it to his wedding. But David may come to the realization that there is something more important in his life.
Produced on a small-scale budget of $1.1M, the film represents a independent production.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Bringing Up Baby (1938) showcases carefully calibrated narrative architecture, characteristic of Howard Hawks's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 42 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Susan Vance
David Huxley
Alice Swallow
Major Horace Applegate
Aunt Elizabeth
Main Cast & Characters
Susan Vance
Played by Katharine Hepburn
A free-spirited, chaotic heiress who relentlessly pursues paleontologist David Huxley while causing mayhem with her pet leopard.
David Huxley
Played by Cary Grant
A mild-mannered, methodical paleontologist whose orderly life is completely upended by Susan's whirlwind interference.
Alice Swallow
Played by Virginia Walker
David's prim, no-nonsense fiancée who represents order, routine, and a passionless future.
Major Horace Applegate
Played by Charles Ruggles
A wealthy big-game hunter and potential donor to David's museum whom David desperately tries to impress.
Aunt Elizabeth
Played by May Robson
Susan's wealthy aunt who controls her fortune and is the actual target of David's fundraising efforts.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Dr. David Huxley works meticulously on his brontosaurus skeleton at the museum, obsessing over a missing intercostal clavicle bone. His rigid, orderly world is established as he discusses his upcoming marriage to the equally stiff Alice Swallow.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when On the golf course to meet Mr. Peabody about the donation, David encounters Susan Vance, who plays his ball and takes his car. This whirlwind of chaos immediately derails his carefully planned meeting and introduces the disruptive force that will upend his entire existence.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to David agrees to help Susan transport Baby the leopard to her aunt's farm in Connecticut. Though he believes it's a brief detour, this choice to enter Susan's chaotic world marks the point of no return from his orderly life., moving from reaction to action.
At 51 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat Baby escapes into the Connecticut woods. What seemed like a manageable situation has now become genuinely dangerous and urgent. David and Susan must hunt for a wild leopard at night, raising the stakes from social embarrassment to physical peril., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 77 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, David and Susan are arrested and thrown in jail along with the entire eccentric cast of characters. David has lost the bone, lost the donation, scandalized himself, and seemingly destroyed any chance of returning to his respectable life. His old world has completely collapsed., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 82 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Susan captures the dangerous circus leopard, thinking it's Baby, and brings it to the jail. Her brave act—however misguided—demonstrates her genuine devotion to David and forces everyone to recognize the truth of the leopard situation. David sees Susan clearly for the first time., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Bringing Up Baby's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Bringing Up Baby against these established plot points, we can identify how Howard Hawks utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Bringing Up Baby within the comedy genre.
Howard Hawks's Structural Approach
Among the 7 Howard Hawks films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.0, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Bringing Up Baby represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Howard Hawks filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Bad Guys, Ella Enchanted and The Evening Star. For more Howard Hawks analyses, see Man's Favorite Sport?, Rio Bravo and El Dorado.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Dr. David Huxley works meticulously on his brontosaurus skeleton at the museum, obsessing over a missing intercostal clavicle bone. His rigid, orderly world is established as he discusses his upcoming marriage to the equally stiff Alice Swallow.
Theme
Alice tells David that their marriage will mean "no domestic entanglements of any kind" and that his work must come first. This sterile vision of marriage implicitly poses the question: is a life without passion truly worth living?
Worldbuilding
David's world of scientific precision is established: the museum, his dinosaur obsession, his passionless engagement to Alice, and his need to secure a million-dollar donation from Mrs. Random through her lawyer Mr. Peabody. Everything is ordered, controlled, and utterly joyless.
Disruption
On the golf course to meet Mr. Peabody about the donation, David encounters Susan Vance, who plays his ball and takes his car. This whirlwind of chaos immediately derails his carefully planned meeting and introduces the disruptive force that will upend his entire existence.
Resistance
David repeatedly tries to escape Susan's orbit but keeps getting pulled back in. At the nightclub, she tears his coat and he tears her dress; she continues to mistake his frustration for attraction. He debates whether to abandon his obligations and learns Susan's brother has sent her a leopard named Baby.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
David agrees to help Susan transport Baby the leopard to her aunt's farm in Connecticut. Though he believes it's a brief detour, this choice to enter Susan's chaotic world marks the point of no return from his orderly life.
Mirror World
David and Susan arrive at Aunt Elizabeth's Connecticut estate with Baby. Susan's affection for David becomes clear as she plots to keep him there, and we meet the eccentric household including George the dog. This world of wealthy eccentricity mirrors and inverts David's sterile museum existence.
Premise
The screwball comedy premise delivers on its promise: David is forced to wear a woman's negligee, George buries the precious intercostal clavicle bone, Susan hides David's clothes to prevent his escape, and both must deal with the leopard while trying to impress Aunt Elizabeth—who happens to be the very Mrs. Random whose donation David needs.
Midpoint
Baby escapes into the Connecticut woods. What seemed like a manageable situation has now become genuinely dangerous and urgent. David and Susan must hunt for a wild leopard at night, raising the stakes from social embarrassment to physical peril.
Opposition
Everything falls apart simultaneously. David and Susan traipse through the woods singing to lure Baby. A second, actually dangerous leopard escapes from a circus. Major Applegate, Constable Slocum, and various townspeople get involved in the chaos. David's attempts to explain himself only make things worse, and the bone remains lost.
Collapse
David and Susan are arrested and thrown in jail along with the entire eccentric cast of characters. David has lost the bone, lost the donation, scandalized himself, and seemingly destroyed any chance of returning to his respectable life. His old world has completely collapsed.
Crisis
In jail, David must confront the absurdity of his situation. Susan escapes to prove their innocence, leaving David to stew in the wreckage of his former life. The constable and townspeople remain convinced they're dealing with dangerous criminals and lunatics.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Susan captures the dangerous circus leopard, thinking it's Baby, and brings it to the jail. Her brave act—however misguided—demonstrates her genuine devotion to David and forces everyone to recognize the truth of the leopard situation. David sees Susan clearly for the first time.
Synthesis
The chaos resolves: Aunt Elizabeth is revealed as Mrs. Random and agrees to give the museum the million dollars. George is found with the buried bone, restoring David's scientific achievement. Alice breaks off the engagement, recognizing David has changed. All external obstacles are cleared.
Transformation
Susan arrives at the museum with the recovered bone. As she climbs the scaffolding to reach David, she accidentally destroys his carefully constructed brontosaurus skeleton—and David doesn't care. He declares his love for Susan, embracing chaos over order, spontaneity over rigidity, and genuine passion over his former sterile existence.