<sod>''[[The Film Daily]]'' gave the film a positive review, calling it "well done", and saying it "seizes the audience's attention at the outset and maintains it until the very end and getting off en route a few dozen compassionate, comic, slick and at various times intense moments of drama." They praised O'Brien's performance, as well as both the direction by Tetzlaff and Phil Ryan's production. The magazine felt that Rackin and Davis had done a fine job of adapting the story by Rankin.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=The Film Daily | title=Reviews: "Fighting Father Dunne" | date=May 12, 1948 | page=6 | url=http://archive.org/stream/filmdail93wids#page/n247/mode/2up/search/%22Father+Dunne%22 | accessdate=April 7, 2016}}{{Open access}}</ref> The picture also received a good review from ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'', which called it a "fine drama, with strong emotional appeal". They compared it favorably to ''[[Boys Town (film)|Boys Town]]'', which had been released a decade earlier. Calling O'Brien's performance excellent, they applauded the way the film blended pathos and comedy.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=Harrison's Reports | title="Fighting Father Dunne" with Pat O'Brien and Darryl Hickman | date=May 15, 1948 | page=78 | url=http://www.archive.org/stream/harrisonsreports30psha#page/78/mode/2up/search/%22Father+Dunne%22 | accessdate=April 7, 2016}}{{Open access}}</ref><eod>
<sod>''[[The Film Daily]]'' gave the film a positive review, calling it "well done", and saying it "seizes the audience's attention at the outset and maintains it until the very end and getting off en route a few dozen compassionate, comic, slick and at various times intense moments of drama." They praised O'Brien's performance, as well as both the direction by Tetzlaff and Phil Ryan's production. The magazine felt that Rackin and Davis had done a fine job of adapting the story by Rankin.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=The Film Daily | title=Reviews: "Fighting Father Dunne" | date=May 12, 1948 | page=6 | url=http://archive.org/stream/filmdail93wids#page/n247/mode/2up/search/%22Father+Dunne%22 | accessdate=April 7, 2016}}{{Open access}}</ref> The picture also received a good review from ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'', which called it a "fine drama, with strong emotional appeal". They compared it favorably to ''[[Boys Town (film)|Boys Town]]'', which had been released a decade earlier. Calling O'Brien's performance excellent, they applauded the way the film blended pathos and comedy.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=Harrison's Reports | title="Fighting Father Dunne" with Pat O'Brien and Darryl Hickman | date=May 15, 1948 | page=78 | url=http://www.archive.org/stream/harrisonsreports30psha#page/78/mode/2up/search/%22Father+Dunne%22 | accessdate=April 7, 2016}}{{Open access}}</ref> ''[[Modern Screen]]'' was less kind. Although they had an overall positive review, they felt that O'Brien's performance was simply adequate, and the script was mediocre. They did enjoy Una O'Connor's performance, and felt Hickman was brilliant as the young murderer.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=Modern Screen | title=Fighting Father Dunne | date=July 1948 | pages=21-22 | url=http://archive.org/stream/modernscreen3637unse#page/n717/mode/2up/search/%22Father+Dunne%22 | accessdate=April 7, 2016}}{{Open access}}</ref><eod>