The Major and the Minor

Media:	VHS Tape
Directed by:	Billy Wilder
Starring:	Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson
Release date:	26 May, 1998
List price:	~~$14.98~~
Our price:	that is 100% off!

The Major and the Minor

Average rating: Stars

See this "lost" movie.

Some of the best movies are being lost with all the hype focused on "Citizen Kane" and "Gone with the Wind" (which are very good)and other "big" movies. Although probably not alot of people have seen this movie, you should! In this movie Ginger Rogers stared as a woman who pretends to be a twelve-year little girl to afford a cheaper train fare and ends up falling for a handsome Major (Ray Millano). This movie is directed by the amazing Billy Wilder who also directed "Sabrina". The only drawback I can find in this movie is that it is highly unbelievable. The ending is probably the most unbelievable part, but from what I've heard lots of soldiers did that, so maybe I could be wrong. The comedy in the movie is hilarious and you even get to see Ginger tap dance for a little while in this movie. Although known most for being paired with Fred Astaire, Ginger can certainly prove she can stand on her own!

The Major and the Minor - Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland and more

A marvelous directorial debut for Billy Wilder

Although this film saw Billy Wilder's debut as a director, he was hardly a neophyte to American cinema. He had already established himself as one of the most brilliant screenwriters in Hollywood, being the idea half of a writing team with Charles Brackett (Brackett's primary job was to smooth Wilder's heavily Germanic English into polished Americanized prose). Between 1938 and 1941 working at Paramount, Wilder turned out a host of great scripts for such A-level directors as Ernst Lubitsch (NINOTCHKA, BLUEBEARD'S EIGHTH WIFE), Mitchell Leisen (HOLD BACK THE DAWN, ARISE MY LOVE, and MIDNIGHT), and Howard Hawks, (BALL OF FIRE). Along with Preston Sturges, he had established himself as Paramount's top comic screenwriter, and after Sturges was given a shot at directing in 1940, Wilder was rewarded for his efforts by being allowed to direct his script for THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR.

Even in contrast with Preston Sturges, Wilder was a pretty twisted fellow. Both scripts he directed and ones he wrote for others show his very odd slant on things. For instance, in BLUEBEARD'S EIGHTH WIFE, Claudette Colbert literally drives her husband (played by Gary Cooper) insane by refusing to have sex with him. HOLD BACK THE DAWN has Charles Boyer, trapped in Mexico without a way to enter the U.S., pretending to love school marm Olivia de Havilland in order to marry her to become a U.S. resident. SUNSET BOULEVARD begins with the leading character dead in a swimming pool. SOME LIKE IT HOT has a man fall in love with a man pretending to be a woman, and refusing to retract his marriage proposal even after discovering his true gender. In other words, Wilder was a tad perverse. So, it isn't surprising that his first directorial effort is about a grown woman pretending to be a young girl, and having an adult male fall in love with her. This would be an unusual situation for any other director, but it is merely typical Wilder.

After the ending of her extraordinary string of films with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers emerged as one of the great comediennes in Hollywood. Here she gets to play an adult on the run from a man she is trying to avoid, and finding herself trapped on a train with him, dresses herself up as a small girl and pretends to be a pre-teen called Su-Su. Is she convincing? Of course not! There isn't a moment n the film when she doesn't seem to be a grown woman, but this is the kind of film where there is supposed to be a compact between the viewer and the film that they will believe the unbelievable for the pay off that will come later. Once this small point is conceded, the film and Rogers's performance are equally delightful. There are many very, very funny moments, and many great comic moments. There is some debate among the previous reviewers as to whether this is a classic or not. I'm not sure that clear criteria for a "classic" exist, but I think there are a couple of fair things to say. First, this is a thoroughly enjoyable film with a great central performance and several supporting ones. However, it is also fair to say that the film in no way represents the very best work of any of the major participants. Rogers made many much better films, as did Ray Milland and Robert Benchley, and Wilder wrote many stronger scripts and he definitely grew as a director. Whether a film can be a classic despite those limitations is of no concern to me. What is of concern that this is a marvelously entertaining film, and that is all that I think that matters.

Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland and more - The Major and the Minor

A Sober Review of "The Major and the Minor"

I wasn't quite as impressed with this film as others seem to be. It's highly watchable, and I recommend a viewing to fans of 1940s comedy. However, it's definitely not a "classic" and I don't think it should be rated as such. I've read the 5-star reviews here, and it seems these people are either big fans of Billy Wilder (director) or Ginger Rogers, or both. If you don't categorize yourself as such, I'd recommend renting this one (or catching it on TCM, like I did) instead of buying.

As others have mentioned, this is Billy Wilder's American directorial debut. He would go on to make the best film I've ever seen, "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), but 1942's "The Major and the Minor" is far from his pinnacle. It starts off great, with Ginger Rogers playing a young 20-year-old, Susan Applegate, who's trying to make a living in the big city. She's on job #28 or so, and her customer has more on his mind than a scalp massage. Fed up, she gives him what for, throws in the towel and makes for home. Only she doesn't have enough for a return ticket, at least not at the adult fare, so she disguises herself as a 12-year-old.

The disguise is funny at first because beautiful, classy Ginger Rogers (who was around 30 in real life) in no way looks 12. The wiseguy who buys her ticket was hilarious, and gets a much-deserved kick in the shin. The jerk she sits next to her on the train pops her balloon, and a furious Ginger quickly remembers to fake-cry.

Up to now the quick pace and humor were wonderfully entertaining, but I feel that it goes a little sour when she meets Major Phillip Kirby (Ray Milland). As I said, Ginger is far too womanly for 12, so it's really only funny when she's fooling jerk-type characters you're not supposed to care about.

So therein lies the fatal flaw. We're expected to care about this man who's too dimwitted to see through Ginger's ruse. Wilder pulls the same trick in "Some Like it Hot," but in that film it works because Marilyn Monroe's character is supposed to be dumb (but adorable). But "The Major and the Minor" sets up Kirby as an intelligent person, both mentally and emotionally. At least, we're supposed to believe this so that Susan's love for him makes sense. But I feel that the Major's failure to see beneath the surface instead makes him empty-headed and shallow, at least it should, and a 5-star film would accept and explore this.

So this film is enjoyable if you not only suspend disbelief but also forgive fatal story flaws. Once you do, it's a fun romp, and it definitely keeps you glued until the inevitable conclusion. Though you know what's coming, the film has you on the edge of your seat waiting to see how it plays out. There's little that's laugh-out-loud funny after the first 15-20 minutes, but the film is charming and keeps you smiling inwardly, especially Ginger Rogers, who's wonderful as Susan Applegate.

So to conclude, "The Major and the Minor" is a thoroughly enjoyable but flawed film with some wonderful acting by Ginger Rogers. Fans of hers and of Billy Wilder, this is worth a purchase. For others, I suggest a rental or catching it on TV. I don't think the VHS is worth what it's going for used as of the time of this writing, but hey, it's your money.