Desk Set
Directed by Walter Lang
Written by Phoebe and Henry Ephron from a play by William Marchant
1957/USA
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
[box] [Richard gives Bunny a personality test] Richard Sumner: Now what is the first thing you notice in a person?
Bunny Watson: Whether the person is male or female.[/box]
It is 1957 and Katharine Hepburn once again plays a desperate old maid. Fortunately, Spencer Tracy is one of the men in her life in this romantic comedy.
Richard Sumner’s (Tracy) baby is an “electronic brain” named EMERAC. Sumner’s friend, the CEO of a television network has brought Sumner in to install EMERAC as part of a top-secret plan that Sumner is forbidden to discuss. Sumner heads to the research department where he finds department head Bunny (!!!) Watson (Hepburn) has a brain as impressive as his machine’s.
In the meantime, Bunny spends much of her time agonizing about whether her long-time boyfriend Mike Cutler (Gig Young) will ask her to a dance and waiting impatiently for a marriage proposal.
Naturally, it is Richard and Bunny who are made for each other and the rest of the movie details their comic courtship and Mike’s growing jealousy. The entire time the research librarians are positive they will be out of a job once the machine is up and running. They try to prove that they are irreplaceable. With Joan Blondell and Dina Merrill as Hepburn’s subordinates.
I felt embarrassed for Hepburn for much of the film. She is required to act really silly and to play below her age. Once the romance with Tracy properly gets going, things are much better. The computer angle is interesting. I couldn’t help thinking about how computers and the Internet did end up winning the research game after all.
Trailer
DESK SET is a sentimental favorite of mine. I was tempted to become a reference librarian, no doubt due to this film. Over the years, I’ve worked with many librarians and archivists. The ladies in DESK SET determined the standard for chic and smart!
I seem to be alone on this one. I just can’t get past Hepburn being a woman called Bunny who pines for Gig Young to propose to her. I liked the librarian part too, though.
You are right, Bunny and Gig are not believable. We just over look all that embarrassing gushes. Let’s not forget that I first saw DESK SET at about age 13….
It’s been a while since I saw Desk Set but I remember liking it a lot. It’s not as good as Pat and Mike but I think it’s still among the Top Four or Five of the Tracy/Hepburn collaborations.
The main thing I remember is that Joan Blondell is pretty awesome. And also that it was nice to see Beaver Cleaver’s elementary school teacher.
Joan Blondell was always pretty awesome. I think I may be one of the four or five people that isn’t a fan of this movie. My cross to bear.
I think Woman of the Year is really dumb, and it’s supposed to be such a classic. The way they treated the war refugee orphan was just unconscionable.
I sort of remember having a few little problems with some of the elements of Desk Set, but it seemed so minor to me that I just shrugged it off. And it’s been such a long time, I can’t specifically remember what it was. It might have had something to do with Gig Young as I had completely forgotten he was in Desk Set.