Pretty irresistible, nevertheless, with Rogers doing a beautiful job of dovetailing sexual provocation and demure innocence.
The Major and the Minor (1942)
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Synopsis: One wonders how greatly Billy Wilder's farce about an older man's unusual interest in a teenaged girl would have to be altered to be remade now. It stars Ginger Rogers as Susan Applegate, a young woman forced to disguise herself as a 12-year-old girl to get a half-price ticket while traveling... One wonders how greatly Billy Wilder's farce about an older man's unusual interest in a teenaged girl would have to be altered to be remade now. It stars Ginger Rogers as Susan Applegate, a young woman forced to disguise herself as a 12-year-old girl to get a half-price ticket while traveling from New York to her home town. En route, she meets Major Kirby (Ray Milland), an instructor at a military school who is unable to figure out the mysterious quality which draws him to the seemingly innocent young girl. Flooding on the tracks on the outskirts of town brings Kirby's fiancee Pamela (Rita Johnson) to the train, where she finds that he allowed Susan to spend the night in the lower berth of his compartment. To prove his story he brings her back to the school, until she can be taken home, housing her with Pamela. Although her younger sister Lucy (Diana Lynn) sees through the ruse, her hatred for her sister creates a bond with Susan. The light romantic comedy, Wilder's first American film as a director, features his favorite motif of disguise and deception. Despite the genre, the scenes between Roges and wised-up child prodigy Diana Lynn are the best in the film. [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson, Robert Benchley, Diana Lynn
Producer: Arthur Hornblow
Screenwriter: Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett
Composer: Robert Emmett Dolan
DVD Info
Release:
Oct 4, 2009
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Snap Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono - English
- Subtitles - English (SDH), French - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Introduction - Exclusive Introduction by Turner Classic Movies Host and Film Historian Robert Osborne
- Trailer - Original Theatrical Trailer
Reviews
A fine entertainment and proof that Billy Wilder had what it took from the very start of his career.
If anybody could manage a fizzy romantic comedy of sexual repression in 1942, it was Billy Wilder, already with three screenwriting Oscar nominations under his belt and making his American directorial debut, with The Major and the Minor.
The Major and the Minor sails along breezily from its very first scenes until its romantic ending.
Miss Rogers and Mr. Milland have played it with spirit and taste. Never once does either permit the suggestion of a leer to creep in.
The Wilder ironies and favorite themes--sexual deception, innuendo, the power of words to slice up and serve a character -- are all present in abundance.


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