Leoparden küßt man nicht

Those people who don't like this movie seem to miss the point; IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE RIDICULOUS AND MAKE NO SENSE AT ALL! THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT FUNNY! Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I want to say that I really did have a laugh a minute. Both Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn are very adapt at this kind of comedy, in top form here, and work very well together. They have a great, very funny supporting cast, as well; though most are long dead and forgotten, many were well-known character actors in the 30's. They knew their craft, and are great at it here. Howard Hawks must have been some director to be able to fashion such a great movie out of a madcap pace and a script in which everyone talks at the same time and is always ad-libbing. (I've heard those were his trademarks, though.) One scene after another at breakneck pace, but never a dull moment. As soon as one laugh stops, another one begins. In case you haven't gotten the point, I highly suggest you see this movie. It may be 60 years old, but it's still hilarious.

Maybe the prototypical example of the breed, in fact. Zoologist Grant (we'd call him a paleontologist nowadays) goes to a golf course to try to wrangle money out of a potential donor: along the way he meets up with Katherine Hepburn, and they have all sorts of wacky misadventures.

Grant's great, though it's not a typical role for him -- he's uptight, buttoned down, smothered. He's clearly the superego character, straitlaced and repressed and anti-life (it's no accident he works with bones). Hepburn was never lovelier than she was here -- she's the id character, all action and movement. There's a dedicated minority of people who hate this movie, mostly I think because they see the things Hepburn's character does as cruel. That's the point. Hepburn's not supposed to be nice -- she's id. We laugh partly because Grant needs to be loosened up, but partly because some of Hepburn's actions are shocking. Ideally, we should be in the same position as Grant in the movie: half-attracted, half-afraid.

Great "rat-a-tat" dialog in the classic Hollywood tradition. I can't think of many screenwriters today who could deliver such dialog. Highly recommended, one of the great Hollywood comedies.

An excellent and wacky rom com inspired by the movies of Laurel and Hardy, during which we follow the adventures of Susan and David from a golf driving range until the destruction of a dinosaur skeleton, not to mention the songs needed to calm down a leopard. Certainly, the scenario is far-fetched but that's exactly the global idea! Indeed, we regularly flirt with the absurd through dialogues of the deaf, misunderstandings and tutti quanti. The manifold gags reinforce the endearing side of Susan and David. Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant excel in these atypical roles, and Walter Catlett is so hilarious. This black and white film of another era, between the Great Depression of 1929 and the Second World War, is a delight to be enjoyed with your sweetheart or with family.

Those without a sense of humor in 1938, must have been insane, panning this film.

Since I was a little kid this was my favorite movie, seeing it when it first came on TV. I loved other Cary Grant screwball comedies, like "Monkey Business" but this this one tops my list, not only a list of comedies, but of all motion pictures entirely.

Move over Stanley Kubrick, David Lean or William Wyler. This film is at the top of cultural significance and hilarity. This makes me wonder about those in 1938 who hated this film. Why? How? It has to be broken, defective humans that would pan this film. What a shame that some have no concept of funny,

Brilliant comedic timing, timeless jokes, a perfect Hollywood pairing, farfetched situations, oh, and a pet leopard... what more could you ask for in a comedy?

Usually, most reviews begin with a brief summary of the movie's plot, but with this, I won't bother. Just watch it! The movie's nonsensical narrative and random happenings are enough to keep you laughing and begging for more. It doesn't matter that the plot's a bit mad; if you're after a laugh - and with everything going on, who isn't? - this is the one for you!

Stand out moments for me are when Susan (Hepburn) annoyingly repeats (and echoes) David's (Grant) cries for pet pooch George who's got a very important bone before the pair follow George aimlessly around the garden as he takes the pair on a wild goose chase digging up things he's buried. The scenes where the couple are in a restaurant and get into a few wardrobe mishaps and misunderstandings with fellow diners are really funny too.

Grant, as usual, is the quintessential leading man for a '30s screwball comedy - easily flipping between being confused, flustered, cynical and at his wits' end in the hair-brained schemes his character (willingly) gets himself into.

Hepburn is superb. It's amazing how she was able to, in her early career, portray wealthy and spoiled New England girls brought down to earth following a chance meeting with a charming guy - usually played by Hollywood's cream of the crop (Grant, Tracy, Stewart, etc.). On the surface, these characters aren't the ones you typically root for, yet she makes them likable and entertaining. A class act!