--- title: "Bringing Up Baby: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/bringing-up-baby/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/bringing-up-baby" critics_score: 89 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Bringing Up Baby (1938): what the critics said Critics' score 89 from 12 reviews: 12 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are unanimously positive, with praise concentrated on Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn’s chemistry and Howard Hawks’s control of the farce. Most critics find the mismatched leads equally adept at physical mishaps, sexual innuendo and overlapping dialogue. Hawks’s pacing draws repeated admiration: the absurd situations accumulate quickly, but the comic timing remains precise. Across the reviews, Bringing Up Baby stands as a defining screwball comedy whose speed and eccentricity retain their appeal. The differences concern emphasis more than approval, though enthusiasm ranges from warm appreciation to full marks. Variety notes some slackening of pace amid its praise for both leads. The New Yorker stresses the romance’s aggression and unequal desire, finding something troubling beneath the comedy. Time Out likewise sees the couple’s unsettling dynamic as part of the film’s enduring attraction. These darker readings complicate the broader celebration rather than amounting to a rejection. ## Radio Times — Calum Baker Rating 5/5. Despite flopping on release, this deft comedy has become a definitive screwball. Grant plays nicely against type as a mild-mannered scientist while Hepburn excels as the scatty heiress whose leopard sparks farce and romance; Hawks directs with zip through every silly set piece. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ouye7c/bringing-up-baby/) ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 5/5. 14 June 2011. The film is a perfect example of why directors can be wrong about what works; its nuttiness and shadowy cinematography make it risk-taking and romantic in ways modern Hollywood ignores. The couple’s dynamic is scary and unresolved, which is why it endures. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/bringing-up-baby) ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic calls it the definitive screwball comedy, with perfect eccentric characters, slapstick mishaps, sexual chemistry and rapid-fire dialogue from Hawks, Grant and Hepburn. She highlights the leopard antics, overlapping talk and comic timing as peerless, noting its later acclaim despite a poor initial box office. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/bringing-baby-review/) ## Little White Lies — Adam Scovell Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 June 2018. Hawks’s screwball is one of the first truly great sound comedies, filled with surreal madness and risqué double entendres. The two leads are its strongest element, perfectly matched in bringing out the innuendos and overlapping dialogue. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/bringing-up-baby-classic-hollywood-comedy) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 February 2010. Hawks directs the quintessential screwball comedy with casual brilliance and underplayed absurdity. The critic singles out the gender role subversion and the iconic 'gay' line delivery for praise. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/bringing-up-baby-1798219053) ## The Guardian — Philip French Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 October 2006. The critic calls it Hawks's finest comedy and praises its beautifully shaped screwball farce with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn as the perfect mismatched pair. He singles out the inventive physical comedy, sexual innuendo and ensemble of eccentric characters for particular note. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/oct/29/romance.comedy) ## The New York Times — A. O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 23 March 2010. A.O. Scott calls it the screwiest screwball comedy of them all. He highlights its frantic, farcical energy as unmatched by later romantic comedies. [Read the review](https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/critics-picks-video-bringing-up-baby/) ## Variety — Wear Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 February 1938. The review calls it a harum-scarum farce comedy that is hilarious under Hawks’ pacing and definite box office. It praises Hepburn’s invigorating madcap performance and Grant’s farcical turn, while noting some drag in the jail sequence. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1938/film/reviews/bringing-up-baby-1200411825/) ## Slant Magazine — Derek Smith Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 15 July 2021. Hawks’s screwball classic is astounding in its verbosity and breakneck pacing, with a gleeful disregard for realism that pushes comedy toward the anarchic. The review praises the rapid-fire dialogue, warped humor, and the Criterion restoration’s clarity. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/bringing-up-baby-blu-ray-review-howard-hawks-criterion/) ## IndieWire — Max O'Connell Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 4 March 2015. The piece celebrates the film as a quintessential screwball comedy from Howard Hawks. It highlights the madcap energy and the chemistry between Hepburn and Grant as standout elements. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/criticwire-classic-of-the-week-howard-hawks-bringing-up-baby-131317/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 June 2011. Brody praises its supreme symbolic exuberance and asymmetry of desire. He singles out the brutal, blood-sport quality of the romance and the terrifying happily-ever-after. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/bringing-up-baby-its-fatal) ## The Skinny — Michael Lawson Rating ★★★★. 18 February 2010. Festival review. The critic calls it one of the best comedies ever made and a film that has aged exceptionally well. They single out its sparkling script and Hawks’ finely tuned direction for making it hilarious with modern speed and energy. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/cineskinny/gff-2010-bringing-up-baby) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/bringing-up-baby.md