Desk Set [1957]

In terms of pairing Tracy and Hepburn "Desk Set" is certainly unique because it is the only film where she gets the upper hand at the end and he gets the comeuppance. Tracy is really nothing more than a misunderstood villain; his new toy is suppose to help the girls in the reference library not replace them. But none of this really matters because in the end it is clear than the women are a lot smarter than the machine (although they do get the baseball trivia answer wrong). The one priceless scene in the film is a roof top lunch between Tracy and Hepburn. He just has a few simple questions for her that turn out to be brainteasers, and Hepburn's character disposes of each and every challenge with an ease grace and guileless naivete that is quite charming, while Tracy sinks lower and lower as she beats him at every turn. The rest of the film is fairly pedestrian as we wait for the expected happy endings for the computer and romantic plot lines.

After receiving Academy Award nominations for her work in "Summertime" and "The Rainmaker," Hepburn had made a film with Bob Hope that was totally butchered, the astonishingly unfunny film "The Iron Petticoat," and "Desk Set." It would be another two years before she made another film, although Spencer Tracy's failing health was as much if not more of a contributing factor as the sudden drop off in the quality of her films. Hepburn would turn to the stage and perform Shakespeare and then return to the screen with four consecutive Oscar nominated roles. Consequently, in retrospect, "Desk Set" clearly defines the end of a period in Hepburn's career. You can not help but look at the next two decades of her film career, where virtually every film is based on a play by a great dramatist (Tennessee Williams's "Suddenly Last Summer," Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night," Euripides's "Trojan Women," Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance") and not think that this was very much a conscious effort by Hepburn in the wake of this particular fluff piece.


Is something burning?"   January 18, 2006
B. Chandler (Arlington, Texas)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is an extremely well done screen adaptation of a unique play. You expect nothing less from the team of Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. However they do not distract from the performances of the other actors who are well-known in their own right. Harry Ellerbe, who plays Smithers, played the main role of Richard Sumner in the play.
Bunny and her staff and the research department are all preparing for Christmas season. But who should appear on a seen but the mysterious Richard Sumner, with a tape measure, 24 questions, and mysterious past in electronic brains. The conversation between Richard Sumner and Bunny are worth with film its self; yet it only gets better from there.
Like many plays the real worth and interest is in the dialog and interaction of the characters more than the action or the overall story. You will get wrapped up in the fun and wince once in a while.


A Tracy/Hepburn rarity   September 30, 2006
David Benson (London United Kingdom)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Slick, beautifully mounted comedy-drama featuring the always priceless, highly versatile team of Tracy and Hepburn. It is rather stagey and lacks the wit and zest of the pair's finest work, but it's a prime example of classy, Cinemascope late-1950s film-making. An additional plus is the performance of the wonderful Joan Blondell, familiar from so many of the Warner Brothers classics from the 1930s. Perhaps the highlight of the film is a brief but delightful scene which looks genuinely improvised, in which Tracy cracks up Hepburn and Blondell with some goofy horseplay, leaving them doubled up and snorting with laughter.