It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

"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."

Richard Sumner (Spencer Tracy) is the inventor of a computer called EMERAC. Federal Broadcasting Network ordered one for the reference department which is led by Bunny Watson (Katharine Hepburn).I'm sure that an audience of its times would work much better. They would automatically root for Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as a couple. That may account for the lack of setup for a romance. But that's not really a mortal wound for this movie. An eye flutter here, a knowing smile there, sometimes that's all the setup a movie requires. The mortal sin here is making Spencer Tracy a computer science expert, and that over the top idea of what a computer is or does. There is no role playing here. It's simply Spencer Tracy playing Spencer Tracy. None of the jokes worked that well. Katharine Hepburn does a good job as a librarian supercomputer. Overall a minor disappointment.

There was Eniac, UNIVAC, the 486, the 386, the 286, and 8086 computer architecture in general. Before them were teletypes, the kind of which I used to play with in the 70s. "Desk Set" looks at a romantic theme revolving around the introduction of the electronic "mind" into the work place, and the ramifications thereof of a machine attempting to replace the human spirit.At least that's the unspoken rhetoric of the film. How are the personal lives of folks altered when a device is introduced that replaces a labor means once provided by human beings. At the FBC, four ladies of traditional American backgrounds dawning from the button down 1950s man and run the information center for a company that broadcasts some form of entertainment. They peruse books, scrounge through documents, answer and make phone calls of all sorts, trying to sort and file through mounds of information for the various segments of the company interested in trivia for a variety of applications.Enter "EMERAC", Hollywood's take on the Univac and other early computers whose size and scope filled entire floors of offices, if not warehouses worth of space. Emerac, by comparison is a "personal computer", so to speak. Huge reels of magnetic storage tape, lots of flashing lights, all attached to a Royal typewriter keyboard. Emerac is the data storage and regurgitation device "of the future", but will it's abilities put Katherine Hepburn and her cadre of femme-researchers out of a job? Enter Spencer Tracy, efficiency expert, who evaluates the office before introducing the much vaunted machine of tomorrow. As can be expected from a Tracy-Hepburn rom-com, fireworks fly, but not always the good kind. Hearts and mind are challenged as we see the early pitfalls of computer operations in the office environment of yesteryear. The early question of "what is intelligence" are introduced and examined in this fairly basic piece of Golden Era commecial film making.As can be expected there's more to this romantic triangle than a man, woman and computer. Another rival or two are introduced, as well as various support character to add to the usual milieu and spice up "the office".Will romance flourish? Will Emerac put the girls and company out of a job? Can early algorithms of post WW2 and early Cold War electronic minds show us the future? Is Emerac the all in one do-all computer cum search engine of a pre PC America? There actually is a hard answer to all those questions, but you need to watch the film to find out.Technical Corner; this is basic classic Golden Era 1950s commercial film making. There aren't a lot of dramatic shots, everything is well lit, and the humor is kept toned down for the social sensibilities of the time. Colors are vibrant but also basic, and in essence we're getting a set stage piece of 1952 as it was and might have been. The art direction is spot on, and as with all speculative fiction, the impressionism of what a "computer of tomorrow" might look like, sound like, and how big it might be, should bring a knowing smile.All in all it's a decent film. The mothers and grandmothers might grin at it, younger ladies might dismiss it. Males, particularly us computer tech types, might smile on it with fondness; remembering an old friend, so to speak from years gone by.Give it a chance.

This is arguably one of the last Hollywood movies to represent value for a buck; as if Tracey and Hepburn weren't enough in the leads they threw in Joan Blondell and Gig Young to make a solid quartet. They also resisted the temptation to 'open out' what is essentially a stage play; apart from a token ride from the office to Hepburn's apartment most of the action takes place in the Research department of a large company and/or the aforesaid apartment of Bunny Watson (Hepburn) both of which could have been portrayed easily on stage. Hepburn and Tracey would only make one further film together about ten years later but they did have a solid backlog under their collective belts including the mistake Sea Of Grass so they had nothing to learn about effortless co-starring. The plot represented the Broadway twilight of big business satire, misunderstandings and Beatrice and Benedek holding it all together until the feel-good fade out. It's none the worse for any of this and the Ephron's weigh in with a literate script for civilized players. See, Enjoy.