Desk Set (1957)

Bunny Watson (Katherine Hepburn) leads a small office of reference workers that clear facts and information for Federal Broadcasting Company. Enter efficiency expert, Richard Sumner (Spencer Tracy) who is looking to automate the work of Miss Watson’s office. These two strong personalities quickly clash beginning with lunch on a cold balcony. Rainy weathers leads to a nice evening together and Bunny rethinking her long-term relationship with a television executive.

They don’t make movies like this any more. Desk Set is more a vehicle for Hepburn/Tracy then anything else. The plot line, supporting characters, the philodendron are all set dressing to the onscreen chemistry of Hepburn and Tracy. Bunny is a utilitarian soul who feels threatened by Sumner, a methods engineer—who’s good with numbers, but not so much with relationships. Those two sparring onscreen can’t be matched.

Desk Set culminates with an office Christmas party to die for. You don’t see that any more either. Despite their overtly sexist remarks, there is a certain charm about films of this period that I just love. As such, Desk Set is a classic. But Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner still stands as the quintessential Hepburn/Tracy film.