"Reference, Miss Watson." - Desk Set

The mid-century comedy that makes being smart sexy? Yes please! 

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This is my entry for the Third Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn blogathon hosted by In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and Love Letters to Old Hollywood. Make sure you click through to read all the other entries!

Let's dive in!

Desk Set was the eighth of nine movies Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy made throughout their promising partnership. 

Their first film together, Woman of the Year, came out in 1942, and their final film together, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, came out in 1967 (just after Spencer Tracy's death). In between, they crammed several successful movies into their already busy schedules, and fell in love with each other (though that tidbit didn't become public knowledge until much, much later). 

Desk Set is my favourite Hepburn/Tracy pairing. They're both mature in this film, it's not a romantic comedy like one they would've made in the '40s, but I think that maturity helps this story. They're also both so confident in themselves, and the characters. Their love story here is gradual, but you're rooting for them from the start. 

All the action takes place at the Federal Broadcasting Corporation in New York City. It's a large television network, in the vein of NBC, ABC, or CBS. 

Spencer plays Richard Sumner, an engineer and efficiency expert who works with the FBC to introduce new technology in the form of computer systems to the company. He waltzes in all willy nilly...

...a whole day early for his appointment with FBC President Mr. Azae. Try as he might, the secretary can't reschedule her boss's day, so he'll have to come back tomorrow.

Sumner says that's okay, let Mr. Azae know he's there, and in the mean time, he'll go visit the Reference Department. 

Cathy, the secretary, says that's fine. As soon as Sumner leaves, she gets on the horn...

...and calls Peg (played by Joan Blondell) in Reference to let her know that Sumner's on his way.

Meet three of the ladies running the FBC Reference Department. On the right, Sylvia Blair; centre, Peg Costello; and on the left, Ruthie Saylor. Their boss, Bunny Watson, is running late due to some appointments. 

They're all very busy: the telephones are practically ringing off the hook. Peg is trying to find out if the Inuit really rub their noses in greeting; Syvlia is letting a caller know that there are certain poisons that leave no trace behind, but the network forbids her from releasing that information (yikes)...

...Ruthie wants to know the cost of a little black dress she saw in a store's window. 

Sumner enters just as Sylvia has transferred yet another call to the resident baseball expert, Peg. Someone wants to know which player has the highest lifetime batting average (Ty Cobb).

He tells the ladies that he's there to look around. They wait til he goes up the spiral staircase and then convene. 

He's got a measuring tape, but is mum on what it's for.

He goes in to Bunny's office to measure in there, as well. Ruthie asks if they're going to get redecorated, but Peg says no, he doesn't look like an interior decorator. He looks like a man who just switched over to vodka (which is an insult, I think?). 

Then Bunny appears, package under her arm. They'd been trying to cover for her with Sumner, saying she was probably in a meeting with her boss. She had to go to IBM (computers then, computers now) for a demonstration and then stopped at Bonwit Tellers to pick up a dress. 

They tell her about Sumner, and then suddenly, he appears. 

He introduces himself, and she replies that he has a very numerically-pleasing name. I went into a fog during this part, math and me go together like Bette and Joan; if you want to know why his name is so mathematically soothing, you'll have to watch for yourself. 

He asks if they can meet privately in her office, and once they're inside, he reveals that he's a methods engineer (sort of like an efficiency expert, Bunny asks; but apparently that term was outdated by 1957 standards, and he prefers to be called a methods engineer). 

She wants to know what a methods engineer could possibly want with the ladies in reference, and he tells her that there's a lot of great ideas behind a man and a computer working together to make the day more efficient. 

There's much more they need to discuss, but Mr. Azae calls for him, and Bunny directs him to the back elevator that connects to her office. Then, she goes back to the telephone to ask Cathy (Mr. Azae's secretary) who Sumner is.

But he comes back, having left his measuring tape there, so she has to hang up with a quick, "I'll have to call you back with that information." 

Once he leaves, for good, the ladies come in to gossip. What could he possibly want? Bunny is suspicious, and asks for a cigarette from Peg. They note that she only smokes in a crisis; and then they reveal that he'd been in measuring everything. Maybe they're getting air conditioning? It's November, they would've done it earlier in the year if that'd been the case. 

Nobody seems particularly convinced that it's good news, but they ignore it when the phones start ringing again. 

First Bunny checks over Ruthie's memos (the Times index, the Farmer's Almanac, the US Weather Service, and the Bible all have the answers to the questions she didn't know how to find), then her own telephone rings. It's a caller wanting to know a poem, so Bunny begins to recite it from memory. 

Honestly, I'm always so impressed with how the older generations were taught memorization and recitation skills. I can't even hold nine digits of a telephone number in my head if I don't already know it. 

For the record: she's reciting 'The Song of Hiawatha' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

Meanwhile, Sumner is explaining to Mr. Azae just how the computer system will work. It's all said in vague terms though, enough that even Mr. Azae doesn't truly understand what's being said, but he gives Sumner carte blanche to do whatever he'd like. 

This is a classic case of if the characters talked to each other or spoke in clearer terms the movie would've ended by now. But this is such a fun movie, it doesn't bug me in this case. 

Bunny's downstairs showing Peg the derss she bought at Bonwit Tellers, and it's a stunning green number. She bought it because her boss and boyfriend, Mike Cutler, may ask her to a dance and she wants to be ready. 

He shows up shortly after. Bunny's all atwitter, thinking that he's going to ask her to the dance. He really just wants to chat about the budget for upcoming talks during the annual general meeting. Bunny somehow shoehorns in a reference to it being a war dance and then successfully transitions to asking about the dance she'd bought a dress for. 

In a very uninterested way, Mike asks her to the dance, but only after prodding, and tells her to remind him about it. So, you know, he's definitely attentive to that kind of thing. 

The ladies are getting ready for a coffee break when Bunny bursts out of her office to talk to Peg. 

Bunny says that Mike "finally asked me," and Peg thinks she means a wedding. But then when she realizes that Mike only asked her to the dance (and did he even really do that?) she deflates. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have just listened to another episode...in the life of Bunny Watson, spare tire."

Sumner makes his way back to the Reference Department, and while the place is empty, he answers the phone. A little old lady makes her way in, but Sumner can't stop to ask who she is; he's on Ruthie's phoen and he's taking notes about the little black dress she'd called a store about earlier. 

The little old lady leaves just as Bunny reappears, and Sumner asks who she was. Turns out she's been with the company since it first opened: she's the model for their mascot. It's understandable that he didn't recognize her, Bunny says. She had her hair colour changed. 

Sumner then invites her to lunch. 

Over lunch, they talk about many things. Well, Sumner practically interviews her, quizzes her. She answers every question with aplomb. She went to university and attended a library course at Columbia; her parents are both teachers; she reads every New York newspaper; she lives alone; her hair is still its natural colour; and she knows he lives alone based on the fact that his socks don't match.

He then recites three telephone numbers (using the old exchange system: PLaza, MUrray Hill, and PLaza) and asks her to recite them back. She does, associating the numbers with specific references. Honestly, it's impressive. 

And after that, Sumner sticks around the Reference Department. The ladies find out from the grapevine that he's pulling personnel files (Kenny the gofer simply drops a note on Ruthie's desk when he stops by one time. It says 'Yours' on it) and they're tiptoeing around him. 

Here's Sylvia turning down a chance to gossip because Sumner's sitting at her desk. 

Mike's waiting for Bunny; he's there to break a date with her because he has to fly to Chicago with Mr. Azae, and it's all because he was impressed with Mike's financial report (which Bunny helped to write). He wants her to drive to the airport with him, but she declines, and all she has left are the flowers he bought to sooth the blow of having their date cancelled.

Later that evening, Bunny's locking up. She didn't realize that Sumner was still lurking around, and she accidentally locked him in. 

They chat on the way downstairs, and when they get outside, they realize that it's pouring down rain. They run into Smithers, a colleague...

...and he offers to drop them off at their homes to save them from having to wait for a taxi in this weather. Only catch is that the car is stuffed to the brim, like a clown car, full of relatives as his mother-in-law just arrived for a visit. 

They stuff themselves in anyways, grateful for the ride. 

Sumner gets out at Bunny's house, at her urging, because it's likely they've already been caught out by gossip rags (who knew that a methods engineer and a reference librarian were gossip fodder!). They're positively soaked, so she pulls out clothes for him to wear from the Christmas presents she'd already wrapped. 

They're eating fried chicken and chatting about the computer system.

Then Mike shows up, and it turns into a small pissing match. 

Then Peg shows up!

Sumner decides to leave, but his clothes are still sopping wet. No bother, it's a comedic exit for Spence!

Next thing we know, it's Christmas! I love Christmas. 

The ladies are decorating the Reference Department...

...making merry, and answering callers' questions about Christmas. Peg tells one caller to get a pencil and write down her answer, because they call every year: the eight reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen.

I love that little Christmas tree. Mid-century Christmas decorations were so chic.

Bunny shows up with her arms full of gifts, and Kenny trailing with even more behind him. 

They crack open the champagne and give Kenny his bonus (then tell him to make the rounds with other departments to weasel more money out of them; Bunny tells him to stick a $5 in with the card to sweeten the pot). 

Upstairs, Sumner is telling the secretary that Miss Warriner from his office will be on her way shortly, and to send her to the Reference Department when she gets there. 

Then he joins the party, but not before answering the phone and taking a call from someone else wanting to know the names of all Santa's reindeer. He replies: "Dopey, Sneezy, Grouchy, Happy, Sleepy, uh, Rudolph and Blitzen."

Bunny and Sumner convene, he's reading over the budget she prepped. She wants to read his report, but he already sent it away.

Mike shows up, I roll my eyes. He has Harvey with him, as Bunny calls the rabbit. 

They exchange gifts in private, and he gives her a nice pair of earrings. She didn't realize he'd buy something so extravagant, so she feels embarrassed about what she bought him...

...a set of bongo drums.

Back in the main Reference room, the party is picking up as other departments come to join the merriment. 

Bunny and Sumner break away from the party and have their own chat. It's mild flirting, with Bunny wanting to know why Sumner never married; and more word puzzles for her to solve. Bunny says she knows why he never married, it's because he's in love with EMERAC, the computer he works with. 

The telephone interrupts their conversation: it's Cathy from Mr. Azae's office letting Bunny know that Mike has just been made a vice president and he's on his way down to Reference. 

He comes to share the good news: he's been made Vice President of West Coast Operations, and he's going to buy two plane tickets for them to move out there. He proposes to her, says he'll transfer her to the West Coast office to take care of him (eye roll), and that Peg can look after closing up her apartment. 

Bunny's concerned about the girls, the job (which she loves), and doesn't like that it took him this long to propose to her. He thinks she's hesitating for another reason: Sumner. Then he leaves.

As the ladies are getting ready to leave with Sumner for a drink outside the office, Miss Warriner shows up. He tells Miss Warriner that she should leave, and they'll start their work after Christmas, but she's not deterred. She says she's there to look at the physical layout: where her desk will be, where the punch cards will go, etc.

Then Sumner reveals the truth: that Miss Warriner is there to oversee EMERAC, which will be installed on Monday. She'll operate it and make the place more efficient. It thoroughly deflates the mood, because the ladies know what it means: they're about to be made redundant.

"Say something funny," one asks. Nobody speaks. Then the telephone rings and Bunny answers it. She starts to recite 'T'Was the Night Before Christmas' for the caller as we fade to black.

Say hello to EMERAC: the Electromagnetic Memory and Research Arithmetical Calculator. It knows everything once the information has been fed into its systems. It's quicker than the ladies could ever dream of being. 

Miss Warriner's running the office now like a drill sergeant. The ladies aren't allowed to open the doors or leave them open, as sudden temperature changes can affect the computer. 

And now the ladies spend most of their time compiling note cards for EMERAC so that they can feed the information into the system. 

Bunny wants to know what the little red lever does, and Miss Warriner basically tells her to keep her mitts to herself, that it'd cause EMERAC to malfunction and it's too complicated to explain to the layman. She's charming!

Sumner brings the executives around to show them how EMERAC works, and they're naturally impressed. They feed it a question, and Miss Warriner says it took weeks to get the answer; Bunny, who spouted out the answer as well, said it took minutes for her to find the same information.

After the executives leave, they finally get their pay stubs. They've been worried about it, because they came in later than usual today. Peg even brings up the idea that maybe they're stuffing pink slips (termination notifications) into their envelopes. Bunny tells them to be a little optimistic...

...until she opens her own pay envelope and pulls out a pretty pink slip. 

They've all received them. Now Peg doesn't have to worry about the what if, it's definite. Ruthie asks how long before they can start collecting unemployment. Sylvia already looked it up: two weeks. 

And, I mean, what do you do when you've just been fired? You stop caring. The reference desk phones start ringing, and they don't bother to answer. Miss Warriner asks if anyone's going to get the phone.

"Yes dear, go right ahead," Bunny says. 

So Miss Warriner answers the phone. "Does the King of the what drive an automobile? The Watusis. Can you spell that?" She doesn't know who the Watusis are, or where she'd even go about finding that information. 

The ladies jump in: they're the Tutsi people of Africa (formerly called the Watusi) and there was a dance craze named after them. They were also featured in King Solomon's Mines, the film. The answer Miss Warriner needs is in the Chicago Herald Tribune. 

The ladies then decide to jump in and show that they're faster and smarter than the EMERAC, while Miss Warriner and now Mr. Sumner answer the phones. They need information on Corfu and what car the King of the Watusi drives (a specially commissioned Pontiac that he bought with money from the movie). 

Miss Warriner accidentally misspelled (or misheard) Corfu and instead typed in 'curfew.' Now the EMERAC is reciting the history of the curfew (it was introduced to England by William the Conqueror, we learn). Then it starts printing off the stanzas of the poem 'Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight,' which has 80 stanzas. 

Bunny is all of us, enjoying the moment so thoroughly you can feel it.

She begins to recite the poem alongside the EMERAC...it's only halfway through. Miss Warriner is about to have a hissy fit, and Sumner just doesn't understand why everything's gone to hell in a handbasket since morning. 

"Curfew shall not ring tonight!" Bunny says into the phone. 

"They hung up." 

Then the EMERAC goes haywire. Miss Warriner has pressed a button, but she doesn't know which one. Sumner yells that he can't fix it if she doesn't know what she did. 

"Is this supposed to be smoldering?" Bunny asks. 

"Don't you touch that machine!" Miss Warriner cries.

Then she takes off. "You all hate me! I've been forced to work in an atmosphere of hatred and suspicion!"

Sumner then gets to work to fix the EMERAC, using one of Bunny's hairpins to get in and fine tune it. It stops humming and smoking, and everything's back to normal. 

Until Kenny comes with a letter for Sumner. He tells the ladies that this will be his last gofer job for them: he received a pink slip that morning, too. And it's because of the merger with Atlantic Network, he says. 

Sumner opens his envelope. He got a pink slip, too! "I'm not even on the payroll," he says. 

He tells the ladies and Kenny that the merger wasn't meant to cause firings, it was supposed to increase the staff. He calls Mr. Azae to straighten it out. "You broke a promise to me!" He yells into the phone. "Do you know everybody down here in Research has been fired?"

"The whole darn building's been fired!" Mr. Azae yells back, holding up his own pink slip. 

The EMERAC in payroll messed up and gave everyone a pink slip with their pay. 

So they're not fired? No! But what about now that EMERAC has taken over? 

"EMERAC is not going to take over. It was never intended to take over. It was never intended to replace you. It's here to free your time for research. It's here to help you," Sumner tells them. In fact, they're going to hire more ladies to work with them. 

The only reason that Mr. Azae and Sumner never let on is because of the grapevine within the office: they didn't want rumours spreading and Atlantic Network's stock to go up and compromise the merger. 

So now they're in a celebratory mood again, and they all rush out to spread the news. Only Bunny and Sumner remain. While they're talking, the telephone rings again. What is the weight of the earth, the caller wants to know. 

Bunny tries out the EMERAC because it's an answer that could take weeks to source from her books. She types in her question and Sumner says that it's asking her a question back: with people, or without? "Good girl," Bunny says to the machine. 

Mike shows up again, to woo Bunny back. Sumner sees him in the hallway, and decides to go back in himself. Smithers watches it all from the water fountain. 

They're talking privately in Bunny's office when Sumner walks in. 

He interrupts to ask if Bunny can help him with a reference question he's typing in to EMERAC. Now? Mike asks. Now, Sumner replies.

Sumner tells her that EMERAC is trying to answer his question: should Bunny marry Mike?

"Wait a minute. I thought you said this machine can't evaluate," Bunny says. 

It can't, Sumner agrees. It only knows the information it has been fed. 

He wants to know what the answer is. "You know what the answer is," Bunny says. He agrees, saying that it gave him the same answer earlier, too.

So he says he's going to ask it another question: should Bunny marry Sumner?

EMERAC says no, shocking Sumner. He says he did tell her that EMERAC doesn't have all the answers. Bunny says that she does. The answer is no, because he'll always prize EMERAC above her.

Sumner disagrees: it'd be very easy to walk away from EMERAC. Bunny wants to prove it, so she makes the machine go haywire again. He says it doesn't matter to him. In the time their backs are turned, Mike walks out of the room, knowing that Bunny's made her choice. He leaves the flowers on EMERAC's counter. 

But then...it starts to eat at him, and he has to rush over to fix the machine again. "It'll only take a second," he says.

"I'll wait," Bunny replies.

THE END!

___

I love it. Such a smart concept, and smart actors behind it. The pairing of Hepburn and Tracy was always so natural. It's fun to watch them together. I also love them in State of the Union, Woman of the Year, and Adam's Rib. 

What did you think of Desk Set? Let me know in the comments!