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DVD Desk Set
One of the later Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn matchups, this time pitting efficiency expert--sorry, that's "methods engineer"--Richard Sumner (Tracy) against TV-network research whiz Bunny Watson (Hepburn) over adding a new-fangled computer--again, sorry, that's "electronic brain"--to her department, thereby threatening her and her colleagues' livelihoods. Gig Young appears as Bunny's beau, an ambitious network executive who strings her along and becomes apoplectic at the idea that she doesn't need him. But as always, it's Hepburn and Tracy's bickering-flirting that makes this such a winning enterprise--a lunch date that turns into an interrogation and their sly repartee during a Christmas party are a couple of the movie's hilarious highlights. Interestingly, what starts out as something of a technophobic exercise--Hepburn fears for her job, and a computer goes haywire--takes an abrupt turn (perhaps the IBM product placement had something to do with that). Briskly scripted by Henry and Phoebe Ephron (Nora and Delia's parents) from a play by William Marchant. --David Kronke
Breezy, undemanding comedy with Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and a fine support-cast.
DESK SET, based on the acclaimed Broadway play by William Marchant, concerns hectic TV research department head Bunny Watson (Hepburn). When auto-efficiency expert Richard Sumner (Tracy) is called in, Bunny believes her entire department is in jeopardy of becoming unemployed. Tensions run riot as Bunny and Richard fall in love.
This was Hepburn and Tracy's 8th onscreen pairing (their first in CinemaScope) and they are fabulous as always. The well-cast film also features Dina Merrill (THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER), Gig Young (TEACHER'S PET) and Joan Blondell.
Desk Set - gotta have widescreen
This old Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn movie appears on TV on regular intervals. Problem is, it's always full screen. Back when this film was made directors didn't worry about how the feature would translate to small screen, and this director used the entire widescreen to perfection. The watercooler scene alone makes the purchase of this movie in widescreen format worthwhile.
Improved viewing on DVD
I own the VCR tape of this movie, and the widescreen format makes the movie more enjoyable. It must have been made shortly after Cinemasope became popular as the movie studios attempt to make television viewing of movies less enjoyable, Many scenes deliberately have two parties at the extreme edges of the widescreen image, which forces video editing in the full screen format. The movie is a clasic Tracy-Hepburn with Gig Young failing to get the girl once again.
Look, the one reviewer says it right: "Woman of the Year" and "Adam's Rib" as this screen duos best. Not a clue where one reviewer got "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" After all, any respectable cinephile knows that this was an overrated piece of hogwash, brought to the screen by the "great" Stanley Kramer, the director of sappy 50s social commentary-and sadly at the helm of many of Tracy's last works. The only thing that film has going for it is the strong cast-totally wasted on this script, though. A better third installment would be "Desk Set" or "Without Love". If you like "Pat and Mike" enough, though, this price is nearly the same as buying the three separately-so you get the documentary for free. Go for it! More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Katharine Hepburn DVD Release Date: Released the 12 October 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Recreating the role she originated in Philip Barry's wickedly witty Broadway play, Katharine Hepburn stars as the spoiled and snobby socialite Tracy Lord in this sparkling 1940 screen adaptation of The Philadelphia Story, one of the great romantic comedies from the golden age of MGM studios. Applying her impossibly high ideals to everyone but herself, Tracy is about to marry a stuffy executive when her congenial ex-husband (Cary Grant), arrives to protect his former father-in-law from a potentially scandalous tabloid exposé. In an Oscar-winning role, James Stewart is the scandal reporter who falls for Tracy as her wedding day arrives, throwing her into a dizzying state of premarital jitters. Who will join Tracy at the altar? Snappy dialogue flows like sparkling wine under... More Info about this DVD Director(s): George Cukor DVD Release Date: Released the 02 May 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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There are two great husband-wife teams (one on-screen, the other off) involved in this classic 1949 comedy. Not only do Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy throw comedic sparks as a married team of lawyers on opposing sides of a high-profile case, but their exquisite verbal jousting was scripted by the outstanding team of Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon. Leading all of this stellar talent was director George Cukor at the prime of his career. The result is one of Hollywood's greatest comedy classics, still packing a punch with its sophisticated gender politics. Arguably the best of the Tracy-Hepburn vehicles, Adam's Rib shows the stars at their finest in roles that not only made their off-screen love so entertainingly obvious, but also defined their timeless screen personas--she the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Spencer Tracy - Katharine Hepburn Director(s): George Cukor DVD Release Date: Released the 19 September 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This silky smooth film noir pits gruff police detective Dana Andrews, stiff and blunt in his street-bred manners, against a cultured columnist and acidic wit (Clifton Webb at his prissiest) in a battle of wits during a murder investigation. The cop is a romantic hiding under a hard-boiled exterior who falls in love with the beautiful victim through the portrait that hangs in her apartment. Gene Tierney, whose heart-shaped face mixes the exotic with the girl next door, brings the poise and calm of a model to her role as the object of every man's gaze and the target of a killer. Laura, handsomely shot in dreamy black and white, is the first and best of Otto Preminger's cool, controlled murder mysteries. In the gritty world of film noir it remains the most refined and elegant example... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gene Tierney - Dana Andrews Director(s): Rouben Mamoulian - Otto Preminger DVD Release Date: Released the 15 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Audrey Hepburn was never more sleek and glamorous than in this delightful romantic caper costarring Peter O'Toole and directed by William Wyler. She's the chic daughter of a renowned art collector and covert forger (the always eccentric Hugh Griffith) who's deposited his best work, a famous statue, in a Paris museum. Trouble is, technology can now detect such forgery, so Hepburn plots to steal the statue with the help of O'Toole, an amateur thief and covert inspector. Of course, neither of them knows the whole truth about the other. They make an utterly charming couple, with O'Toole stealing the show in an uncharacteristically lighthearted turn. --Bill DesowitzMore Info about this DVD Director(s): William Wyler DVD Release Date: Released the 07 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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