In the 1938 screwball comedy *Bringing Up Baby*, tension is primarily derived from three sources: the physical danger of the leopards, the social anxiety of a "straight-laced" man losing his dignity, and the repressed sexual energy between the leads.
The following scenes represent the peaks of this tension, often built on a foundation of escalating absurdity.
### 1. The "Walk of Shame" at the Ritz Plaza Hotel
This scene is a masterclass in social and sexual tension. It is often cited by critics as one of the most subversive moments in 1930s cinema due to its proximity to the strict Production Code.
* **Preceding Events:** After their chaotic first meeting on the golf course, David (Cary Grant) meets Susan (Katharine Hepburn) again at a high-end restaurant. Through a series of mishaps involving a dropped olive and a misplaced purse, David accidentally steps on the hem of Susan’s evening gown, ripping the back of it clean off.
* **The Tense Moment:** Realizing Susan’s "derriere" is exposed, David quickly moves behind her, pressing his body flush against hers to hide the tear. They are forced to walk out of the crowded, upscale dining room in a synchronized lock-step.
* **Why it’s Tense:** The tension is twofold: there is the **social horror** for David, who is terrified of being seen in a compromising position by his potential museum benefactor, Mr. Peabody. Simultaneously, there is an **undeniable sexual intimacy** as they are physically forced into a "mating dance" to escape the room. The tension peaks when they pass Mr. Peabody, and David has to use his top hat to mask the rip while Susan remains blithely unaware of the full scale of the disaster.
### 2. The First Encounter with Baby (Bathroom Scene)
This scene introduces the physical threat of the leopard and establishes David’s recurring state of near-collapse.
* **Preceding Events:** Susan calls David, pretending to be in mortal danger to lure him to her apartment. When he arrives, she reveals she has a "tame" leopard named Baby, sent by her brother.
* **The Tense Moment:** David, a paleontologist who knows the literal "teeth and claws" of nature, is horrified to find a live leopard roaming a New York apartment. The tension spikes when Susan plays the song "I Can't Give You Anything but Love, Baby," and the leopard begins to rub against her like a housecat.
* **Why it’s Tense:** The scene relies on the **visual contrast** between David’s paralyzed terror and Susan’s reckless comfort. The tension is real—Cary Grant was notoriously terrified of the leopard in real life, and many of these shots were filmed with a screen between them. When the leopard begins to "nuzzle" Hepburn, the audience feels David’s visceral fear that at any second, the predator’s instincts will take over.
### 3. The Dinner Party at Aunt Elizabeth’s
This is a high-anxiety scene of social "plate-spinning" where David attempts to hide a mounting series of disasters from his potential donor.
* **Preceding Events:** David has arrived at Susan’s aunt's house in Connecticut. He is wearing a frilly marabou-trimmed negligee because Susan hid his clothes. He then loses the "intercostal clavicle"—the final bone for his brontosaurus—to George, a Wire Fox Terrier who buries it.
* **The Tense Moment:** During a formal dinner with Aunt Elizabeth and the big-game hunter Major Applegate, David is constantly jumping up from the table to chase George the dog through the garden.
* **Why it’s Tense:** The tension comes from the **competing priorities**. David must maintain a "sane" appearance to secure a million-dollar donation, but he is mentally fraying as he realizes the leopard is loose and his life's work (the bone) is literally underground. The tension is punctuated by Major Applegate's "leopard calls" (vocalizations), which David and Susan fear will attract the actual leopard lurking just outside the window.
### 4. The Jailhouse Climax (The Two Leopards)
The film’s climax is its most dangerous moment, as the "tame" leopard and a "killer" circus leopard are finally brought together.
* **Preceding Events:** After a night of chasing animals through the woods, David and Susan have been arrested by a confused local constable. Susan escapes and heads back into the night to prove she was telling the truth about the leopard.
* **The Tense Moment:** Susan walks into the jailhouse dragging a snarling leopard by a thin rope, believing it is her tame "Baby." In reality, it is the escaped, man-eating leopard from a local circus.
* **Why it’s Tense:** This is the most **physically dangerous** moment in the film. The characters (and the audience) realize the mistake long before Susan does. The tension breaks when David, finally discarding his "ossified shell of dignity," steps in to protect Susan. He grabs a chair and maneuvers the wild beast into a cell, an act of heroism that causes him to promptly faint once the danger has passed.
### 5. The Collapse of the Brontosaurus
The final scene represents the ultimate emotional and professional tension for David.
* **Preceding Events:** Back at the museum, Susan finds David atop a high scaffold as he completes his four-year project: the Brontosaurus skeleton.
* **The Tense Moment:** Susan climbs up a swaying ladder to return his lost bone and declare her love. As she reaches the top, the ladder begins to wobble uncontrollably.
* **Why it’s Tense:** The tension is **structural and symbolic**. As Susan teeters, David is forced to choose between his "child" (the skeleton/his work) and the woman who destroyed it. The tension reaches a literal breaking point when Susan falls, causing the entire skeleton to collapse in a thunderous heap. The tension here is a relief of sorts—the destruction of his old, sterile life in exchange for the chaotic love Susan offers.