Desk Set (1957): Romance at the Dawn of the Computer Age
2018 • Walter Lang • 2.35:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓
Directed by Walter Lang, Desk Set follows the head of a television network’s research department, whose team is at risk of redundancy when a computer systems expert is brought in to modernise operations. As tensions rise between human expertise and technological efficiency, professional and personal dynamics begin to shift.
With its limited number of sets, the open-plan research room being where most of the action takes place, Desk Set is a workplace comedy that feels as though it is based on a stage play. The focus is on group dynamics, with overlapping dialogue and choreographed movement that injects continuous kinetic energy into mostly static scenes. The introduction of Spencer Tracy into this female-dominated world feels like a precursor to the doom that is the introduction of the computer. When the computer finally appears, it changes the workplace in many ways, mostly visually, as 1950s computers were enormous machines.
Blending romantic comedy with workplace satire, Desk Set offers a light-hearted exploration of mid-century anxieties surrounding automation and technological change. The humour stems from misunderstandings and shifting hierarchies in the dialogue, while the Tracy/Hepburn duo adds the charm you would expect from a film of this genre.
Technical Specs:
- The Story: An efficiency expert installs a new computer system at a TV network’s research department, causing tension—and eventually romance—with the head reference librarian. My review of Desk Set.
- Actors: Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Gig Young, Joan Blondell, Dina Merrill, Neva Patterson, Nicholas Joy.
- Director: Walter Lang
- Year: 1957
- Cinematographer: Leon Shamroy
- Origin: American Cinema
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Genre: Romantic Comedy
