Desk Set, 1957
Seen on cable television. Shown in full screen and letterboxed versions; go for the latter.
In the 1990s it is hard to fathom the days of yore when there was job security, or was there? Now, we have downsizing, where it is one against the other; back in the 1950s it was humanity versus the machine.
In a time where Big Blue beats Kasparov at chess, it is interesting to watch *Desk Set* now. If you are not familiar with it, rent it or watch for it on American Movie Classics. Special librarian Bunny Watson (Katherine Hepburn) matches wits with Richard Sumner (Spencer Tracy), who is looking to install a computer to handle research requests. What results in the library is rampant paranoia about people losing jobs to the machine. The machine, by the way, takes up half a room. Laptops were hardly a concept, yet.
What is really wonderful about this film is the dialogue. It is crispy written and a joy to hear. Hepburn and Tracy really shine here, and the supporting cast is not bad either, although they really do take a back seat to the romantic leads. A particularly good scene is when Bunny's love interest, Mike (Gig Young), shows up to find Richard in a bathrobe after having been caught in the rain. The comedy of errors is quite entertaining.
*Desk Set* also represents one of those rare media portrayals of librarians as something interesting and positive and worthwhile. [Compare to its 1990s counterpart *Party Girl*.]
More movie reviews by Seth Bookey can be seen at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html.
Copyright (c) 1997 Seth J. Bookey, New York, NY 10021 USA, sethbook@panix.com.
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