The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/21494
But all’s well that ends well with everyone keeping their jobs and Sumner asking Emmy whether he and Bunny should get married. Misinterpreting the question, the computer goes haywire, and the movie ends with Sumner trying to fix Emmy with one of Bunny’s hairpins — a subtle but lovely indication that the brilliant computer expert and the brilliant library researcher are a perfect match. As in many of their movies together, Hepburn and Tracy’s bickering-flirting is what makes DESK SET still entertaining after all these years. Extremely funny scenes include one on the rooftop of the FBN building in which Sumner shares a bagged lunch with Bunny and quizzes her with a list of mind teasers, all of which she solves (much to Sumner’s chagrin); and a largely improvised one in Bunny’s apartment in which Tracy exits and then immediately returns with his hat pulled down over his ears, his shirt dangling out of his pants, talking crazy and staggering as though plastered. (This moment, including the women’s hysterical laughter and Hepburn’s literally falling out of her chair, was not in the script — and you can tell by how real the laugher is). More than half a century since the film was released, its portrayal of computers will seem absurd to IT folks; and it’s easy to poke holes in the film’s logic and its representation of what computers can do. Yet in the ‘50s, the capacities of computers still seemed infinite, and it was perfectly logical in those years for people like Bunny to fear they could and would be replaced by machines. To empathize with her anxieties, you need to suspend your disbelief that a gigantic contraption with blinking lights, dinging bells and punch cards — and without monitor, hard drive, wireless connection or Internet access — could take over their jobs. As you watch and laugh at the wonderful Spence and Kate as they struggle to teach and learn from each other, you’ll be glad you did. ILTA Joel (Andy) Spiegel is a creative director for a business software company based in Austin, Texas, and a freelance writer. An ardent movie watcher, he maintains a blog called “My Private Screening Room,” which spotlights movie reviews of films from the ‘30s to today. But for the “p” in his surname, he might have been the late Joel Siegel, reviewing movies professionally rather than as a hobby. He can be reached at andy_spiegel@att.net. BRIEF INTERCHANGES BETWEEN BUNNY AND SUMNER SUCH AS THIS ONE ARE NOT ONLY FUNNY, THEY NEATLY ENCAPSULATE THEIR EXTREMELY STRONG PERSONALITIES. Bunny: I’ve read every New York newspaper backward and forward for the past 15 years. I don’t smoke. I only drink champagne when I’m lucky enough to get it. My hair is naturally natural. I live alone and so do you. Sumner: How do you know that? Bunny: Because you’re wearing one brown sock and one black one. If you lived with anyone, they would’ve told you. Sumner: That’s one of the advantages of living alone, no one tells you anything. Peer to Peer the quarterly magazine of ILTA 105