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Movies / On DVD / The Major and the Minor
The Major and the Minor

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The Major and the Minor (1942)

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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]

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Release:

Apr 22, 2008

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Major and the Minor

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1 - 14 (sorted by date)
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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
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 Critics
Urban Cinefile

Early Billy Wilder comedy starring Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland.

comment Comment
03/22/08
Steve Crum
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 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
Derek Adams
Time Out

No review available.

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

No review available.

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

No review available.

comment Comment
09/03/04
Carol Cling
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
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
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
10/25/02
Philip Martin
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
Don Druker
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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