The Major and the Minor (1942)

I have to admit, when I first read the synopsis for this movie, it sounded so ridiculous I almost didn't watch it. I want to urge others not to make this mistake. This is one terrific film. Ginger Rogers is absolutely perfect. No, she doesn't really LOOK like she is 12, but who cares, it's a comedy. There are many humorous moments, and Rogers' character is quite well developed. Ray Milland also comes off well. This is one of Billy Wilder's finest efforts!

Fmovies: The enjoyable performances do a lot to help this film rise above average, and they are what initially made me love this movie. And even though the basic plot seemed to be mere fluff to me when I first saw it, I'm now persuaded that this movie definitely runs deeper. After reading other comments here that delved into the themes, I thought of a particular scene that struck me as odd when I first watched this. At the station, when Ginger first gets the idea to pose as a child, a mother is looking at magazines with her two children- a boy and a girl. The young daughter insists on buying a movie magazine and reads aloud from the cover, "Why I hit women, by Charles Boyer." The way the child says this and the very fact that this particular line is included just stayed in my mind as I watched this film. Others commented on how Ginger's character is always suffering predatory advances- both as an adult and as an eleven year old. Now I see it differently when I think of the scene where Ray Milland is looking at her with one eye closed and telling her what a knock-out he can tell she'll be in a few years. Well of course, he's really looking at a 30 year old, but he believes she's a child and I think this really brings up issues of how sexualized (and maybe preyed upon ?)women are at any age, whether they are adults or children. Well, that really makes this an odd and interesting movie, mixing some risqué topics with highly enjoyable, light-hearted fluff!

"The Major and The Minor" is director, Billy Wilder's, first directorial movie, and it was a hit. About 90% of Billy Wilder's comedies were hits. It's an adorable story about a New York City working girl (Ginger Rogers) wanting to go home to Iowa, but not having enough money for the train fare so she goes as a minor (12 years old). Along the way, she meets a Major from a boys military school (Ray Milland) and gets involved with his life unintentionly and falls in love.

It is an unusual story, but it works. The chemistry between Rogers and Milland is perfection. They made a great team. In 1944, they made another terrific movie, "Lady in the Dark", which was a comedy with musical numbers. This was Ginger Rogers' best movie and Ray Milland was her best leading man. They complimented each other. Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland had something in common, they could do comedy and drama easily. Not many actors can do that.

My favorite thing about this movie is the romance, but the next thing I liked is the supporting actress, Rita Johnson, who was a superb villain in comedies. She was always fighting to get the guy.

I won't say the movie is dated but you do notice the movie represents the 1940's during the war years; it shows how the people looked and acted differently than they do today.

The Major and the Minor fmovies. Susan Applegate (Ginger Rogers) gives up on pursuing her dreams in New York, and decides to return home on the next train. Not being able to afford an adult ticket, she pretends to be 11 (12 next week). This plan is rough to start with, and gets more difficult when she meets a handsome military man (Ray Milland) on the train...

Billy Wilder had gotten sick of his writing being taken by directors and butchered from his original vision. This marks his directorial debut, and it is a brilliant piece of film. Is it his masterpiece? Probably not. But I'd say it is better than many other of Wilder's works.

Can Ginger Rogers pull off being 12? On one hand, clearly not. But, at the same time, any actress that could would probably not be able to be the woman that is hidden underneath the child disguise. For the most part, the transformation is impressive, even if not completely believable.

I absolutely loved this film, and have not found myself more engrossed by a classic film in a long time (and I do watch plenty of classics). If you love Billy Wilder or Ginger Rogers, or want to get acquainted with either one, I would say this is the film for you.

This Billy Wilder film stars Ginger Rogers as a grown thirty year old woman passing herself off as a twelve year old kid, PLEASE!! The storyline is unbelievable BUT....made very funny and watchable by its stars.

Susan is a woman who is fed up with New York. She left her little hometown to find happiness in the big city, only to find it filled with disappointment. So she decides to head back home on the train. When she gets there she finds that she is short funds. Not knowing what to do she gets a hairbrained idea that she could simply pass herself off as a kid to pay less!! When the conductor on the train gets wise, she runs and hides in the compartment of Ray Milland. Ginger makes little SuSu(Susan) so cute and delightful and Milland is funny and sweet as the(obviously blind) military school teacher.

It sounds stupid but it isn't really. Give it a chance and you'll love it. ENJOY!!

Billy Wilder scores an early winner with this wonderful film. The story, characters, and dialogue combine to make this a classic romantic comedy from the early 1940s, and the legendary writing combination of Wilder and Charles Bracket is as witty as ever. At a Chicago screening in June 2002, the audience was delighted by the comedy and laughed constantly -- the timelessness of this film is just one of its great qualities.

Billy Wilder was a genius, and this film is but one chapter of his saga...