Desk Set (1957)

Director:

Walter Lang

Writers:

Phoebe Ephron (screenplay) and
Henry Ephron (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 May 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Make the office a wonderful place to love in!

Plot:

Two extremely strong personalities clash over the computerization of a TV network's research department.

Plot Keywords:

Research | Office | Computer | Christmas | Bathrobe

Cast

Spencer Tracy	...	Richard Sumner
Katharine Hepburn	...	Bunny Watson
Gig Young	...	Mike Cutler
Joan Blondell	...	Peg Costello
Dina Merrill	...	Sylvia Blair
Sue Randall	...	Ruthie Saylor
Neva Patterson	...	Miss Warriner
Harry Ellerbe	...	Smithers
Nicholas Joy	...	Mr. Azae
Diane Jergens	...	Alice
Merry Anders	...	Cathy
Ida Moore	...	Old Lady
Rachel Stephens	...	Receptionist

Also Known As:

His Other Woman (UK)

Runtime:

103 min | Germany:98 min | Argentina:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #18461) | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:S | Argentina:Atp | UK:U

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Dina Merrill's first feature film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Mike Cutler gives Bunny Watson some flowers. As she takes them home at the end of the day, the flowers are a different color when she gets off the elevator than they were when she got on.

Quotes:

Peg Costello: I could tell from the way he was lookin' at me that if I were any other kind of girl, it would've been the start of a beautiful romance.
Bunny Watson: More power to you! You're lonely, but more power to you!

Movie Connections:

References "Lassie" (1954)

Soundtrack:

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

I adore this movie.

It comes as no surprise that the 30-second attention span generation finds this jewel a little dull. There is no quick-cut music video cinematography. The characters are all actually old enough to be believable in their roles. which are not based on clothing or haircuts. It depends on talent rather than hype. And most of all, it is far too intelligent, witty and literate for today's garbage-numbed Philistine.

The story is simple, as all good stories are. Hepburn feels her job, and those of her staff, are threatened by Tracy and his ominous computer. It may not sound like much in this day of computer ubiquity, but substitute dot.com flop or outsourcing for computer and you have a contemporary comedy that still works.

Let's ignore the leads for just a moment. The supporting cast, which includes Joan Blondell as the arch-typical right-hand man, or should I say woman, and Gig Young as the chauvinistic, corporate climbing fiancé, easily outclasses what passes for marquee stars today. Husband and wife team Henry and Phoebe Ephron, parents of Nora Ephron, contribute a brilliantly witty script that, unfortunately for modern moviegoers, isn't peppered with vaudevillian pratfalls to help point out the funny parts. Instead, it relies on the intelligence of the audience and draws on that of the cast to produce a humor that never ages.

Hepburn is almost universally considered the greatest film actress ever. Tracy is utterly magnificent, and the chemistry between the two of them, owing of course in part to their long-standing relationship, is palpable.

I adore this movie, and if there were a Canon of Cinema, this would be in it.