Review of Desk Set (1957) by Jennifer S — 24 Apr 2010

I love Katherine Hepburn. She was such a modern gal before her time. And Spencer Tracy is pretty damn awesome too. In Desk Set, Hepburn plays Bunny Watson, head of the reference department of a large TV network. In other words, a librarian! And, in the grand tradition of librarians, Bunny is over 30 and still single--and being courted by her jackass of a boss.

Tracy plays Richard Sumner, a man hired to investigate the reference department in preparation for an "electronic brain" (a computer) to be installed that will possibly put Bunny's job in jeopardy. As Bunny and Richard banter charmingly, Richard sees Bunny for what she is: a whip smart gal whom no machine could replace; and Bunny sees Richard as a man very different than her suitor, Mike. Do you think the two fall in love at the end? Gee whiz, of course they do!

Desk Set isn't the best Hepburn-Tracy movie, but it's one of the few movies with a librarian as the main character. And, as usual, the chemistry between Hepburn and Tracy is like something you just don't see in the movies much these days. They play off of each other as if they're two halves of the same whole. The result is hilarious and charming.