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Bringing Up Baby

Play trailer 2:18 Poster for Bringing Up Baby 1938 1h 42m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
97% Tomatometer 72 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Harried paleontologist David Huxley (Cary Grant) has to make a good impression on society matron Mrs. Random (May Robson), who is considering donating one million dollars to his museum. On the day before his wedding, Huxley meets Mrs. Random's high-spirited young niece, Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn), a madcap adventuress who immediately falls for the straitlaced scientist. The ever-growing chaos -- including a missing dinosaur bone and a pet leopard -- threatens to swallow him whole.
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Bringing Up Baby

Bringing Up Baby

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Critics Consensus

With Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant at their effervescent best, Bringing Up Baby is a seamlessly assembled comedy with enduring appeal.

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Critics Reviews

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Kat Sachs Chicago Reader Feb 13
It’s a wild ride, with Cary Grant as a paleontologist, Hepburn as a zany heiress—and a leopard, the baby of the film’s title. Does it necessarily make sense? No. Is it brilliant in spite of that? Indeed. Go to Full Review
Otis Ferguson The New Republic 12/26/2023
I am happy to report that Bringing Up Baby is funny from the word go, that it has no other meaning to recommend it, nor therapeutic qualities, and that I wouldn’t swap it for practically any three things of the current season. Go to Full Review
SMH Staff Sydney Morning Herald 07/26/2023
Unfortunately the narrative is too heavy with action. Movement and dialogue are so incessantly rapid that they occasionally become overwhelming. But the clean, fast fun of the film cannot be denied. Go to Full Review
Rachel Wagner Hallmarkies Podcast Apr 7
The funniest movie I've ever seen Go to Full Review
Calum Baker Radio Times 06/07/2024
5/5
Howard Hawks directs with his usual zip, leading us effortlessly through every silly set piece. Go to Full Review
David Pountain Vague Visages 12/12/2023
Bringing Up Baby delves joyfully beyond the stiff pretences of modern life to reveal the wild and lustful animal that still lies beneath the surface. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Patrick S @PatrickStruik Dec 13 Hilarious screwball comedy. See more aya t @ayaueta Dec 8 Great over the top screwball comedy. Script written for kat hepburn's personality who plays wacky heiress. Cary grant as nerdy dr bones. 2nd out of 4 teamups for the actors. Asta the cute smart fox terrior from the thin man series as george who steals the very last brontosaurus bone that dr bones needs who has been putting together the skeleton for years. plus stressed over upcoming wedding the next da y with kat trying to stall. Bombed at box office 1938 disliked by critics. Finally made money re-released 40's. Reputation gained on tv 50's. Now considered greatest film ever with 97% rt score & 100 best in 100 years AFI. See more Patrick C Nov 27 An odd one, this. I found myself continually thinking, "I bet I'd have enjoyed 'Bringing Up Baby' far more had I been an audience member in 1938." More often than not (the 'not' being Laurel and Hardy), comedies from decades past don't age well. Styles change, audiences change, tastes change. There is so much to love here - the talent on show, the sheer lunacy on display, the wittiness of much of the dialogue. But even though it has a relatively short running time, the action is so fast paced and incessant that I felt drained by the end. How many mistaken identities, misread situations and farcical episodes can one take in 90-or-so minutes? I hesitate to be critical of the film as I can imagine it absolutely delighting cinema goers 87 years ago, but in 2025 I'd prefer the mania to be dialled down a notch or two. See more Jason R Oct 6 a fun film to watch as we see the great chemistry bounce off both Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, a very good story and mishaps as Susan and David interact. one of my favorites from this era of film See more Wayne K Oct 2 Screwball comedies had their day, and when I look back on the trend now, I can understand why it was so popular, but I can also see why it went out of fashion. What was funny and zany back then now comes across as irritating, drawn out and nonsensical now. I like Katherine Hepburn as an actress, but damn she’s overbearing in this one, so much so that her iconic voice soon becomes enough to make your ears bleed. Cary Grant does his typical screwball schtick, with lots of bumbling, tripping over things and asking questions and giving explanations in the most cumbersome fashion. This is a common trait of screwball comedies, and this film manages to demonstrate how needless that is when a character shuts the others up and says what needs to be said, and everyone understands. It’s a bad sign when a single moment undermines the mechanics of the entire genre! As funny as it can be, most of Bringing Up Baby is just draw out arguments, discussions and conversations which could be half the time if people just remembered the existence of the words ‘shut up’. A well-made movie with a lot of talent and passion involved, but the experience of watching it was like being stuck in a lift with a bickering couple: Awkward, uncomfortable and very, very annoying. See more David H @DigitalDavid Sep 27 Dumb. Silly. Hepburn acting excellent. See more Read all reviews
Bringing Up Baby

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Movie Info

Synopsis Harried paleontologist David Huxley (Cary Grant) has to make a good impression on society matron Mrs. Random (May Robson), who is considering donating one million dollars to his museum. On the day before his wedding, Huxley meets Mrs. Random's high-spirited young niece, Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn), a madcap adventuress who immediately falls for the straitlaced scientist. The ever-growing chaos -- including a missing dinosaur bone and a pet leopard -- threatens to swallow him whole.
Director
Howard Hawks
Producer
Howard Hawks
Screenwriter
Hagar Wilde, Dudley Nichols, Hagar Wilde
Distributor
RKO Radio Pictures
Production Co
RKO Radio Pictures Inc.
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 18, 1938, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2008
Runtime
1h 42m
Sound Mix
Mono
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