In the '40s, romantic comedies were filled with rat-a-tat dialogue between headstrong heroines and the hapless men they loved. Cary Grant ruled the screwball comedy, starring with Katherine Hepburn (and a leopard) in Bringing Up Baby and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday, arguably the two best examples of the form.

Bringing Up Baby, Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, 1938. Photo courtesy of the Everett Collection.