Is there a reason Bringing Up Baby has never made it to Blu-ray?

Howard Hawks' Bringing Up Baby is considered by many to be the best screwball comedy ever made. Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, contrary to expectations, are a perfect comedy team.

As I was watching my old DVD yesterday, I was wondering why this movie hasn't been given the restoration treatment and released on Blu-ray. It seems to fit in with the other B&W screwball comedies Criterion has released.

Does anyone know why? Problems with or damage to the sources? Difficulties getting the rights? There must be a reason.

 

Warner Bros owns all the rights to most of RKO in the MGM/UA library. Since this is considered one of the 100 greatest films ever made, plus it's been in the National Film Registry since 1990, you'd think they'd make more effort to get it released.

Wikipedia indicates that this is one of six films whose copyrights were specifically retained by Howard Hughes' estate, so it could well be possible there's a legal cloud over the rights. You'd think nobody would give a crap after 82 years. I think it's going to go public domain pretty soon. It was released on a TCM DVD some years ago:

https://www.amazon.com/TCM-Greatest...d=1543292987&sr=8-2&keywords=bringing+up+baby

I think for a lot of films that are more than 60 years old, the typical reaction of most studio execs these days is: "nobody gives a ****," meaning there's just no appreciable market for these films in terms of revenue. If they spend $40,000-$50,000 on a complete photochemical and digital restoration, there's no chance the video release will ever recover those costs. (I was told that the digital restorations on Citizen Kane and King Kong were over $500,000 each and took more than 12 months. Those films were deemed important enough for )

This would be an ideal title for a company like Criterion or Kino-Lorber to release on Blu-ray, maybe with a Howard Hawks documentary or something. Hawks is one of those great directors who's kind of gotten lost over the years, where everybody pays attention to Ford, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Capra, Chaplin, Welles, Wilder, Fellini, Leone, and so on, but I think his films are still very important and very influential and absolutely worth saving.

 

I don't think there's an existing Hawks documentary. The Criterion releases of Hawks films on my shelf (Red River, Only Angels Have Wings, His Girl Friday) have excerpts of the Bogdanovich interviews, and one contemporary interview, but that's it. Doing a new one would add to the costs, but I agree there's a need for one. He was apparently an interesting man as well as a great director.

 

Years ago Richard Schickel did a series for PBS called The Men Who Made the Movies. One episode focused om Hawks. Criterion should see if they could include that in a future Hawks release, or maybe put out the series.

 

I wish they would put it out on Blu-Ray, but I'd love to not have to hear another Peter Bogdanovich commentary filled with bad impressions.

 

BUB has been rumored/expected to be a forthcoming Criterion title for a while now, but nothing yet.

Nope. One of my absolutely most-wanted releases, though.

 

At least you can’t see the kerchief tied around his neck.

 

Criterion has released "His Girl Friday" and "Only Angels Have Wings" on Blu-Ray/DVD format so maybe they will get it out at some point in time...

 

BUB and Roman Holiday I think are the last big two I really want on Blu Ray that haven't come out. Where the hell is Roman Holiday?!

 

It may be coming soon. TCM is advertising a restored version to be shown at their Film Festival in April 2019.