Nichols' crowning achievement, though, was probably the screenplay for Bringing Up Baby, considered one of the funniest of the 1930s screwball comedies. This movie, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, was underappreciated on first release but later recognized as a unique classic.
Dudley Nichols served as president of the Screen Writers Guild during 1937 and 1938.
Nichols has the interesting distinction of being the first artist to refuse an Academy Award, an act followed by George C. Scott and Marlon Brando.