IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

Register | Log In | What is RT?
It's our 10th birthday, so you get presents!
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | In Theaters | Opening | Upcoming | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
 
MOVIES / ON DVD / THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR
The Major and the Minor

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy DVD
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

The Major and the Minor (1942)

100%
N/A
75%
N/A
N/A
N/A
100 %
Reviews Counted: 13 Fresh: 13  Rotten:0 Average Rating: 7.5/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

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

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

DVD Info

Release:

Apr 22, 2008

[DVD Details]

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

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

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

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

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Ratings Image
4/5

Early Billy Wilder comedy starring Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland.

comment Comment
03/22/08
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com
Ratings Image
N/A

A sparkling and effervescing piece of farce-comedy.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/14/07
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

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

Full Review | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
08/18/05
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/12/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
09/03/04
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ratings Image
4/5

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)
Ratings Image
4.5/5

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

Full Review | comment Comment
07/30/03
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image
3/5

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

Full Review | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Ratings Image
4/5

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 | comment Comment
05/20/03
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
10/25/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image
N/A

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 | 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

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

Around the Network

• The Major and the Minor at Rotten Tomatoes
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter

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


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 1998-2008, 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.