"Desk Set" is one of several movies that Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn made. Half a dozen of nine films were comedies or part comedy. Most of their pairings are of the type in "Desk Set." The two stars are antagonists, though not hostile, in whatever setting the film has. The comedy is mostly of the general feel-good humorous type.Theirs generally is not the rollicking laughter comedy of the type that Cary Grant and Irene Dunne evoked. They have occasional witty or funny lines, but not on the scale of William Powell and Myrna Loy. And, their antics are sparse and tame compared to others. The one film in which they seem to give more of all the above is "Adam's Rib" of 1949. Still, audiences of their day enjoyed their often laid-back and sophisticated comedy. That's what we have in "Desk Set." Audiences of the 21st century may get a laugh out of the size of the huge mechanical brain (aka, computer) in this film. With information and communication at present-day fingertips in hand-held devices, it may seem strange for younger generations to realize that the first computers were such behemoths. Or, to know that it took four decades for the technology to evolve to that of modern times. IBM made the first commercial computer, UNIVAC. The U.S. Census Bureau got the first one on June 14, 1951. In this film, Tracy plays Richard Sumner, who is sizing up the research department of a broadcast network. Hepburn's Bunny Watson is the head of the group. She has a crew of three other women and all are whizzes at finding the answers to the myriad questions people in and outside the network have. But they fear that Sumner's presence bodes ill for the future of their jobs. This reflects a legitimate widespread concern in employment fields all across the country in the mid-20th century. The bulk of the comedy comes from Watson's crew, especially peg Costello, played by Joan Blondell. The film has romance, but it's not between Tracy and Hepburn. It's a seven-year courtship of Hepburn and Gig Young. He plays Mike Cutler, her boss. That may be the comedy of the romance - that it amounts to little more than occasional dates. This piece of the plot doesn't seem believable. There's no passion or chemistry between Bunny and Mike. Nor do their lines reflect any kind of real closeness, let alone love. This is far from a great comedy, or even a very funny film. It is humorous in places and otherwise interesting and enjoyable. Modern audiences may find it too slow or tame. It is a good look at a couple of the biggest stars of the early to mid-decades of the 20th century. Here are some favorite lines from the film. For more humorous dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page on the movie. Ruthie Saylor "Maybe we're getting that air conditioning, finally." Sylvia Blair, "Hmmm, that figures. This is November."Peg Costello, "You only smoke when there's a crisis. Who is he?"Bunny Watson, "Well, kids, whataya say we give the company a little of our time?" Bunny Watson, "On the Shores of Gitche Gumee." Ruthie Saylor, "James Whitcomb Riley." Bunny Watson, "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, bless him."Bunny Watson, "Mike, for the 500th time, there's a glass wall behind you." Mike Cutler, "Bunny, who do you think you're kidding? Everybody knows you haven't got a brain in your head. The only way you keep your job is by being nice to me."Mike Cutler, "Bye girls. Always a pleasure to see your freshly scrubbed, smiling faces. Remember our motto: Be on time, do your work, be down in the bar at 5:30."Ruthie Saylor, "What is the company policy here for Christmas?" Sylvia Blair, "Anything goes, as long as you don't lock the door."Richard Sumner, answering the phone, "Hello! Uh, Santa Clause's reindeer? Uh, uh, why yes, I can. Uh, uh, let me see now. There's Dopey, uh, Sneezy, Grouchy, Happy, Sleepy, uh, Rudolph and Blitzen. You're welcome."Richard Sumner, "This office of yours is bigger than the whole research department." Mr. Azae, "Well, it's supposed to be. If the office of the president isn't big enough to impress the sponsors, then there's nothing for the girls down in Research to research."

They're at it again! In their eighth screen pairing, real-life sweethearts Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy team up in a fast-paced battle of the sexes comedy. As usual, they both have forceful personalities, and as usual, they bicker and try to prove their points for an hour or two while falling in love.In Desk Set, their workplace is dominated by the introduction of computer technology. There's a hilarious line in the film Blast from the Past in which Brendan Fraser asks incredulously, "You have a computer? In your house?" In the 1950s, computers were new, humongous, and scary, so you're going to have to wrap your head around that nostalgic trivia before settling down to watch this flick. While lots of Tracy-Hepburn movies are still applicable today, this isn't really one of them. If you love their pairings, feel free to add this one to your list, but it's not really their best. It's a little more dated than Woman of the Year and isn't as endearing as Adam's Rib, so you might be better off sticking to your favorites.

Two extremely strong personalities clash over the computerization of a TV network's research department.Let me get this out in the open right away: I typically dislike Katharine Hepburn. I do not like her voice or her overrated acting (her range is quite minimal). Aside from a handful of films, she is not deserving of the immortal status she has obtained. This film, however, ought to be on her list of great films. And yet, it seems to have been largely forgotten.Spencer Tracy really carries this film (he is a national treasure), and it has an interesting theme: man versus machine when it comes to useless knowledge. Who knew that fifty years later man and machine would square off on "Jeopardy!" to test this very thing?

First off, I'm updating my review based on the new Blu Ray edition of the film. Is it worth upgrading? A definite yes. It looks the best I've ever seen it. Beautiful colors, although I wish it had been just a little sharper. Great transfer.This is not the strongest, nor the weakest, of the Tracy-Hepburn films. In a few spots it suffers...seems to drag, but mostly it moves along fine. I was interested to note that the not very successful film (in terms of box office revenue), gets a decent 7+ rating here on IMDb. That is particularly interesting because is some ways the topic -- incoming technology -- seems a tad outdated now.Particularly fine moments in the film include Tracy and Hepburn in bathrobes after being caught in the rain...and then being caught by Hepburn's initial romantic interest (Gig Young). Watching Tracy here, it seemed as if he was enjoying this sequence very much At the end of this segment, watch for the apparently ad-libbed Spencer Tracy imitating a drunk Red Skelton! Tracy and Hepburn shine here...as they almost always did. Both with characters who seemed businesslike with love creeping up on them. Hepburn seems just right as the researcher whose personal life seems stalled out. Tracy seems just right in terms of personality for the slightly different kind of efficiency expert, but maybe a tad too old to be a computer expert? Joan Blondell steals a number of scenes...definitely one of her best appearances in film. Gig Young has a better role in this film than he did in similar roles where he is the runner-up romantic interest. Here he at least maintains his dignity and acted like a normal man, just on the wrong track for a successful romance. Dina Merrill may be the only other actor of note here, and she plays an assistant in the research office very pleasantly. Poor Neva Patterson seemed to have copyrighted the somewhat cold personality that we also saw in "An Affair To Remember". Tracy and/or Hepburn fans will want this on their DVD shelf, others will enjoy watching it at least once.