Desk Set

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2:18

Desk Set

1957

1h 43m

Romance

Comedy

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Tomatometer

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.

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Mark Chalon Smith

Los Angeles Times

01/25/2019

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

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Gwen Ihnat

AV Club

01/25/2019

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.

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Bosley Crowther

New York Times

03/25/2006

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.

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Moira Walsh

America Magazine

07/14/2021

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).

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

11/13/2019

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

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Rachel Wagner

rachelsreviews.net

02/06/2019

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.

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Steve M.

@Steve32819 05/18/2025

Great movie and prescient with today’s AI. Great comedy and beautiful.

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David F

@dfulmer 12/14/2024

This film about an efficiency expert sent into a corporate library to replace the librarians with a computer is a classic romcom with timely themes.

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daveybaby1961 T

@RT25197178 09/20/2024

It's a bit of a snoozer. The characters good with distinct personalities but it's a little too much like actual office life to keep my attention. Look, I'm playing with my phone right now!

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01/05/2022

What film are people watching? There is not much of a story and you know the depth of each character within seconds of meeting them. Basically, Hepburn is a walking and talking human computer and Tracy is a bumbling older man who is supposed to be the world’s top computer innovator. Looking for some laughs and romance - check out the pair’s many other films. You won’t find it here.

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deke p

@RT96675217 01/05/2022

CLASSIC, cuz STARS, & who can remember they actual had COMPUTERS in 1957!! Like UNIVAC! WALL size, with flashing lights, beep bop boops, & spinning tape reels. 1/4/2022 on the MOVIE CHANEL. Note to sef, really shd to watch a once agin star to fin

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ionut m

@The_Last_Movie_I_Saw 12/27/2020

A perfect movie for Christmas time.

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Walter Lang

Director

Spencer Tracy

Richard Sumner

Katharine Hepburn

Bunny Watson

Gig Young

Mike Cutler

Joan Blondell

Peg Costello

Dina Merrill

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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