Bunny Watson (Katharine Hepburn) heads up the research department at the Federal Broadcasting Company, a major TV network. And she does her job very well, thank you very much. Assigned by the network president to introduce computers into some of the department?s functions, Richard Sumner (Spencer Tracy) arrives at Bunny?s well-run division to observe daily activities. Unfortunately, however, Sumner is ordered to keep his mission secret. As a result, the whole staff believes they are being replaced. To make matters worse, there appears to be more than a little electricity between Bunny and Sumner, which upsets Bunny?s boyfriend Mike (Gig Young). As the tension mounts in the office, so do the laughs in this classic romantic comedy.One of the later Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn matchups, this time pitting efficiency expert–sorry, that’s “methods engineer”–Richard Sumner (Tracy) against TV-network research whiz Bunny Watson (Hepburn) over adding a new-fangled computer–again, sorry, that’s “electronic brain”–to her department, thereby threatening her and her colleagues’ livelihoods. Gig Young appears as Bunny’s beau, an ambitious network executive who strings her along and becomes apoplectic at the idea that she doesn’t need him. But as always, it’s Hepburn and Tracy’s bickering-flirting that makes this such a winning enterprise–a lunch date that turns into an interrogation and their sly repartee during a Christmas party are a couple of the movie’s hilarious highlights. Interestingly, what starts out as something of a technophobic exercise–Hepburn fears for her job, and a computer goes haywire–takes an abrupt turn (perhaps the IBM product placement had something to do with that). Briskly scripted by Henry and Phoebe Ephron (Nora and Delia’s parents) from a play by William Marchant. –David Kronke
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April 15, 2010
#1
What a disappointment! This is one of the famous pair’s worst film together – only the leaden and preposterous Keeper of the Flame is worse. Strange as it may seem, Tracy and Hepburn display almost no onscreen chemistry in this film. Instead of a sharp, witty spoof of the dawning computer age, we get a flat-footed film with almost no laughs. Stay away from this one!
April 15, 2010
#2
This is one of Kate and Spencer’s later efforts – post MGM, pre-”Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” and it generally lacks in the chemistry that most of thier work at MGM had in spades. Tracy’s a method’s engineer who’s assigned to make the daily operation of a television station more efficient. Of course he’s bound to butt heads with researcher, Bunny Watson (Hepburn). Unlike most Tracy/Hepburn movies, in which their love for one another is never in question, on this occasion,Gig Young is inexplicably and needlessly thrown into the mix as Bunny’s boyfriend. But it’s the old Hepburn/Tracy’s stardust and magic that keeps this otherwise deadly boring film afloat.
TRANSFER: Desk Set is at last presented in its original Cinemascope 2:35:1 aspect ratio and it is anamorphically enhanced to take full advantage of 16:9 displays. Although colors can be rich, vibrant and bold, flesh tones have an uncanny pasty look in certain scenes and a reddish/pinkish overcast in others. There are instances where dirt, film grain and age related artifacts crop up throughout this print. Also, black levels tend to be weak in certain scenes. There’s a hint of edge enhancement and some pixelization but the print is generally smooth looking. The audio, as with all Cinemascope films of the period, is vintage stereo and presented at a reasonable listening level.
Extras: Fox is genuinely inconsistent in the extra content they provide for their “Studio Series” titles. If you recall, “The Day The Earth Stood Still” contained a 70 min. documentary while “The Inn of The Sixth Happiness” contained only an audio commentary track. On this occasion we get an audio commentary and some truncated movietones junk that is short, boring and generally slapped together as an afterthought. Not what I would expect from any series dubbed, “Studio Series”.
BOTTOM LINE: If you’re a die hard Tracy/Hepburn fan than this is a must have. But it’s not one of their best or even one of their mediocre. It’s just big on…well, being big and short, unfortunately, on entertainment!
April 15, 2010
#3
I’m sure this is a cute movie, but the DVD seemed to be poor quality. It is very difficult to watch. I’m going to try and return it. I’d like to exchange it and try again, as I’m sure this is a good classic movie worth watching and adding to my collection.
April 15, 2010
#4
But do try to catch the W-I-D-E-S-C-R-E-E-N version that airs from time to time on AMC (AMCTV.com). The composition of most of the shots is poor on this videocassette. the original film has the aspect ratio of 2.35:1, which means that all shots with 4-5 characters have half the characters speaking from off camera.
April 15, 2010
#5
as per time setting, perfect christmas gift, as seen on amc, beautiful color and letterbox (unsure if available on vhs), truly delightful, production design and costumes are magnificent