The Major and the Minor (1942)

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]