Desk Set

Play trailer

2:18

Desk Set

1957,

1h 43m,

Romance/

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Desk Set: Trailer 1

Now Playing

View more videos

Watchlist

100%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

24 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Bunny Watson (Katharine Hepburn) is a library reference clerk stuck in a dead-end relationship with a boring television executive (Gig Young). Her life is thrown into turmoil when computer expert Richard Summers (Spencer Tracy) enters it. He has been assigned with automating her department, and she is fearful that Summers' new computers will automate her out of a job. She despises him at first, but eventually each of the two start to fall for the other's charms and strong personalities.

Critics Consensus

Desk Set reunites one of cinema's most well-loved pairings for a solidly crafted romantic comedy that charmingly encapsulates their timeless appeal.

Read Critics Reviews

Mark Chalon Smith

Los Angeles Times

Jan 25, 2019

[I]t's still a witty, often diverting romantic comedy that further demonstrates how well the duo fit.

Go to Full Review

Gwen Ihnat

AV Club

Jan 25, 2019

Drunken Christmas office parties and antiquated technology notwithstanding, the real fun in Desk Set is watching these two pros and longtime loves play off of each other for one of their final cinematic turns together.

Go to Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Mar 25, 2006

3.5/5

[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.

Go to Full Review

Moira Walsh

America Magazine

Jul 14, 2021

It has, however, some notable advantages [over the stage version] in the shape of Miss Katherine Hepburn in the leading role (with Spencer Tracy thrown in for good measure opposite her).

Go to Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Nov 13, 2019

The Broadway comedy of two seasons ago has been turned into a somewhat draggy but pleasant movie.

Go to Full Review

Rachel Wagner

rachelsreviews.net

Feb 6, 2019

7/10

It doesn't have the emotional heft of something like The Apartment but it's a delightful little comedy with a hint of Christmas in it for the holidays.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Jan 31, 2019

The best romance movie ever made!

Albus W

Nov 23, 2018

Great hepburn/tracy movie.

George L

Nov 30, 2017

Charming little rom com with Hepburn being threatened by a gigantic 50s computer. I would 100% like to get drunk with the ladies of this office.

See more

Theodore M

Dec 29, 2014

This falls a little bit on the slap-sticky end of the Tracy / Hepburn spectrum for my liking, but it's still fun to watch their chemistry as they go head-to-head about whether Hepburn's brain as an ace researcher can outsmart a new-fangled computer system. Guess who comes out on top...

See more

Leia S

Mar 4, 2008

I've enjoyed the many pairing of Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. This had been on my "want to see" list for quite a few years since I had gone to grad school for a library degree. A television network's research library is facing the challenges of computerization. Efficiency expert (Tracy) meets stuck librarian (Hepburn). Twentieth Century Fox studio was making some successful musicals, but was already beginning to see declines as they clung to old-fashioned styles and values. This was also based on a stage play, but there is something so studio-produced and fake about everything in this romantic comedy. Of course the two leads still have good chemistry in this eighth out of nine films they made together. There are some goofy laughs to be found, but no thanks are due to the hopelessly dated flashy computer set piece. It plays the comedy broadly in a style that is hard to accept and the company Christmas party like it is a wild time of debauchery when it is really Eisenhower era square.

See more

Read all reviews

Walter Lang

Director

Spencer Tracy

Richard Sumner

Katharine Hepburn

Bunny Watson

Gig Young

Mike Cutler

Joan Blondell

Peg Costello

Dina Merrill

Sylvia Blair

The Girl Can't Help It

84%

69%

The Girl Can't Help It

Watchlist

Cluny Brown

94%

78%

Cluny Brown

Watchlist

The Shop Around the Corner

99%

91%

The Shop Around the Corner

Watchlist

The Clock

100%

83%

The Clock

Watchlist

Shall We Dance?

90%

89%

Shall We Dance?

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

10 Great Movie Christmas Parties

Kim Newman on… The Invisible Boy

Desk Set: Trailer 1

2:18

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Bunny Watson (Katharine Hepburn) is a library reference clerk stuck in a dead-end relationship with a boring television executive (Gig Young). Her life is thrown into turmoil when computer expert Richard Summers (Spencer Tracy) enters it. He has been assigned with automating her department, and she is fearful that Summers' new computers will automate her out of a job. She despises him at first, but eventually each of the two start to fall for the other's charms and strong personalities.

Director: Walter Lang
Producer: Henry Ephron
Screenwriter: Henry Ephron, Phoebe Ephron
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Runtime: 1h 43m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings