Monkey Business

(Howard Hawks, US 1952, 97 min., 35mm)

Reunited with Bringing Up Baby director Hawks, Cary Grant plays another nerdy type who invents a rejuvenating serum. When a monkey slips the potion into a water cooler, it has a decidedly screwball effect on both Grant and his wife (Ginger Rogers), who both revert to childlike antics. Charles Coburn plays Grant’s boss who is most invested in the formulation of the serum so that he can pursue his curvaceous secretary, Marilyn Monroe, who was not hired for her typing skills.  Hawks would reunite with Monroe the following year for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.