RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Desk Set
Desk Set

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Desk Set (1957)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

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

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 26 2006 03:16 AM

Time Out

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 24 2003 08:13 AM

Channel 4 Film

tomato
B-

Emanuel Levy

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: | comment Comment | Jul., 06 2007 11:17 AM

EmanuelLevy.Com

tomato
2.5/4

Jeffrey M. Anderson

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 26 2006 03:16 AM

Combustible Celluloid

tomato
3.5/5

Bosley Crowther

[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: | comment Comment | Mar., 25 2006 03:41 AM

New York Times

tomato
3/5

Jake Euker

No review available.

comment Comment | Mar., 09 2006 08:39 PM

F5 (Wichita, KS)

tomato
4/5

Carol Cling

The Spence & Kate show starts to show its age.

comment Comment | Nov., 23 2005 12:59 PM

Las Vegas Review-Journal

tomato
B

Dennis Schwartz

So refreshingly smart.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 08 2005 08:39 PM

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

tomato
3/5

Robin Clifford

No review available.

comment Comment | Nov., 19 2004 07:53 AM

Reeling Reviews

tomato
3/5

Daniel M. Kimmel

No review available.

comment Comment | Nov., 12 2004 04:37 PM

Worcester Telegram & Gazette

tomato
3/5

Christopher Null

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: | comment Comment | Apr., 29 2004 08:19 AM

Filmcritic.com

tomato
2.5/4

Bill Chambers

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 16 2004 02:51 AM

Film Freak Central

tomato
3/5

Walter Chaw

No review available.

comment Comment | Jun., 04 2003 03:27 AM

Film Freak Central

tomato

Marjorie Baumgarten

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: | comment Comment | Mar., 10 2003 08:48 AM

Austin Chronicle

tomato
3/5

Philip Martin

No review available.

comment Comment | Nov., 22 2002 11:24 AM

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

tomato
5/5

Robert Roten

One of the better Tracy-Hepburn screen pairings.

comment Comment | Oct., 28 2002 04:35 PM

Laramie Movie Scope

tomato
4/5

Ken Hanke

Stagey, but pleasant star vehicle

comment Comment | Aug., 07 2002 12:26 PM

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

tomato

Dave Kehr

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: | comment Comment | Jan., 01 2000 12:00 AM

Chicago Reader

 
 
1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Bubble View
all

Latest News for Desk Set

March 24, 2008: Kim Newman on... The Invisible Boy
RT Obscura, the exclusive column by renowned critic Kim Newman, sees the writer plumbing the depths of the RT archive in search of some forgotten gems. In his 14th column, Kim... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
1
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
24
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
26
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
22
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
42
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
156
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
56
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
65
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
42
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
40
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
39
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
33
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
33
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
28
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
21
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
15
  • 2010 Sundance Film Festival Lineup Announced
10
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
1
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Desk Set at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.