Bringing Up Baby

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1h 42m

Comedy

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Bringing Up Baby: Trailer 1

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97%

Tomatometer

69 Reviews

89%

Audience Score

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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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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Otis Ferguson

The New Republic

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.

Dec 26, 2023

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SMH Staff

Sydney Morning Herald

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.

Jul 26, 2023

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Age Staff

The Age (Australia)

It is Cary Grant's film chiefly, with Charlie Ruggles all too briefly amusing in his jungle calls.

Jul 25, 2023

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David Pountain

Vague Visages

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.

Dec 12, 2023

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Jorge Hermida

Cine-Mundial

One of the funnest films of the season that is worth a watch. [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 26, 2023

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NZ Herald Staff

New Zealand Herald

The story is clever, with witty dialogue and a wealth of hilarious sequences that provide for the best of entertainment.

Jul 26, 2023

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Rick M

An absolute classic. This movie is in my top 20 list. 200 mile an hour comedy, every line a laugh, it never lets up. One of the best movies ever made.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/14/24

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Jeff M

Timeless perfection! The only regret I have in watching classic movies such as this one as that I waited so long and wasted so many years when I could have been enjoying them over and over again. The amazing thing about this madcap comedy is that so little feels dated over 80 years later. This is proof positive that a well done movie will always feel relevant. I am quickly and madly falling in love with young Katharine Hepburn during this period of cinema - I am understanding her reputation as one of the great actresses ever. Her comic skills are basically unparalleled. And Grant may be one of the great movie stars ever - not necessarily an immersive or chameleonic actor but someone who can run the gamut from screwball comedy to melodrama to Hitchcock thriller with equal ease and success. I laughed out loud A LOT, not only at the broad physical comedy but also the little little gestures by the actors and tiny nuances in the screenplay that are easy to miss. This may be my favorite film of the 1930s so far. And it joins my list of favorite movie comedies along with WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, TOOTSIE and THE NAKED GUN. This is the perfect movie for someone wanting to start becoming acquainted with movies of the bygone era. And it's a film I think most if not all of the family can appreciate on one level or another.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

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John S

I believe this movie qualifies for the term "madcap". Genuinely, timelessly, cacklingly, funny in some places and disturbingly, exhaustingly, pathological on a few levels. But as a product of its time, this movie is impossible to look away from and very cheeky. (Even if you're rooting for Susan to be eaten by a leopard.)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/23/23

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Alex B

Absolutely bizarre. Came in with no knowledge whatsoever and thoroughly enjoyed, definitely a few 'laugh out loud' moments.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/28/23

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Shadowman4710

One of the best of the "Screwball Comedy" era, Bringing Up Baby is a blast from start to finish. Katherine Hepburn and Carey Grant are both fantastic in this, and are well supported by Charles Ruggles and Barry FitzGerald. Easily Hepburn's best film from the 1930's.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/25/23

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Petros T

It starts off as an appealing comedy yet degenerates real fast. Yes, the animal action is really well done and the final stunt is cool, but the rest is an obnoxious train wreck of forced slapstick, endless hysteria and no dynamics - it's nonsensical mayhem all the time: no laughter comes out of that, just a fucking headache. And after 100 minutes of the most batshit crazy mishaps, we're supposed to believe that all loose ends get tied up like that and there are no hurt feelings? I call bullshit.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/28/23

Full Review

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Howard Hawks

Director

Katharine Hepburn

Susan Vance

Cary Grant

Dr. David Huxley

Charlie Ruggles

Major Horace Applegate

May Robson

Aunt Elizabeth Random

Barry Fitzgerald

Mr. Gogarty

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Bringing Up Baby: Trailer 1

2:18

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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
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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