RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Major and the Minor
The Major and the Minor

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

The Major and the Minor (1942)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 13

Fresh: 13

Rotten:0

Average Rating: 7.5/10

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Comedies

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... 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]

Starring: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson, Robert Benchley

Starring: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson, Robert Benchley, Diana Lynn, Edward Fielding, Frankie Thomas, Charles Smith

Director: Billy Wilder

Director: Billy Wilder
Producer: Arthur Hornblow
Screenwriter: Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett
Composer: Robert Emmett Dolan

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Apr 22, 2008

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Major and the Minor

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 14 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

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.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
04/16/08
Jonathan Kiefer
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
03/28/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Early Billy Wilder comedy starring Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland.

comment Comment
03/22/08
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com

A sparkling and effervescing piece of farce-comedy.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/14/07
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pretty irresistible, nevertheless, with Rogers doing a beautiful job of dovetailing sexual provocation and demure innocence.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
08/18/05
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
06/12/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
09/03/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Wilder's first film isn't his best, but it's an auspicious debut.

comment Comment
12/04/03
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The Major and the Minor sails along breezily from its very first scenes until its romantic ending.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/30/03
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A fine entertainment and proof that Billy Wilder had what it took from the very start of his career.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film

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.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
10/25/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Don Druker
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 14 (sorted by date)
Text View
See More Topics...

Related Forums for The Major and the Minor

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
79%
79%
Gran Torino
30%
30%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
—
The Code
39%
39%
Inkheart

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
22%
22%
Push
12%
12%
The Unborn

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

Deconstructing Harry

Deconstructing Harry

Pt. 3: Cuaron's darker Prisoner of Azkaban

Best Mockumentaries

Best Mockumentaries

From Borat to Spinal Tap, this one goes to 11

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

Half-Blood Prince

Half-Blood Prince

How good is the 6th Harry Potter?

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: T.J. Hooker Film in Development
40
  • Warners Shortens Green Lantern Wishlist Source: Hollywood Reporter
150
  • Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: MakingOf.com
50
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
60
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
20
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
111
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
67
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
54
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
53
  • Tomatometer Watch: How Good is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
53
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
44
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
28
  • Five Favourite Films with Jaime Winstone
20
  • Weekly Ketchup: T.J. Hooker Film in Development
20
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Major and the Minor at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.