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Movies / On DVD / Desk Set
Desk Set

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Desk Set (1957)

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Reviews Counted:16

Fresh:16

Rotten:0

Average Rating:6.8/10

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: The legendary screen duo of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn bring their keen comic timing and elegant, palpable chemistry to Walter Lang's DESK SET. Hepburn is cast as Bunny Watson, an... The legendary screen duo of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn bring their keen comic timing and elegant, palpable chemistry to Walter Lang's DESK SET. Hepburn is cast as Bunny Watson, an exceedingly feminine reference librarian in a longtime lukewarm relationship with TV executive Mike Cutler (Gig Young). Tracy plays Richard Sumner, a hardheaded computer whiz who has designed a system named Miss Emmy to replace Bunny and the rest of her staff. Bunny and Richard clash at first, but their fiery encounters soon begin to take on an unmistakably romantic glow. Lang's film features an excellent script by Henry and Phoebe Ephron, adapted from the play by William Marchant. The sharp, hilarious dialogue is delivered with flair by Tracy and Hepburn, who had played opposite each other seven times before filming began. Fine work from supporting actors Young and Joan Blondell, as well as some unintentionally amusing 1950s conceptions of a computerized world, round out DESK SET's overflowing collection of buoyant charms. [More]

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Blondell, Gig Young

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Blondell, Gig Young, Dina Merrill, Neva Patterson

Director: Walter Lang

Director: Walter Lang
Screenwriter: Henry Ephron, Phoebe Ephron
Producer: Henry Ephron
Composer: Cyril Mockridge

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Desk Set

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1 - 18 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

You'd never find a backer for a rom-com with this little relationship anxiety now

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
04/16/04
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

[Miss Hepburn and Mr. Tracy] can tote phone books on their heads or balance feathers on their chins and be amusing -- which is about the size of what they do here.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/25/06
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Spence & Kate show starts to show its age.

comment Comment
11/23/05
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Desk Set is quaintly funny and has a few memorable moments...it's ultimately harmless fun with a gossamer message about technology and gender roles.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/29/04
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
11/12/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

The least, perhaps, of the Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn collaborations...this 1957 comedy is nevertheless a bright and witty vehicle for its stars, directed well and anonymously by that fine old hack Walter Lang.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

So refreshingly smart.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/08/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Mildly amusing but not great comedy, penned by the Ephrons from a stage play, this eighth teaming of Tracy and Hepburn places the battle of the sexes in the workplace against the threat of new technology.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
07/06/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/09/06
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

Desk Set is a big, shiny, doohickey coasting on the warm offerings of earlier triumphs.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Stagey, but pleasant star vehicle

comment Comment
08/07/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

One of the great Tracy-Hepburn pairings, this adaptation from the Broadway stage focuses on the love that grows from the contentious relationship...

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

No review available.

comment Comment
11/22/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

One of the better Tracy-Hepburn screen pairings.

comment Comment
10/28/02
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

No review available.

comment Comment
11/19/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
06/04/03
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
 
 
1 - 18 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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