SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Palaest recommended

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

StrictlyConfidential Yes. Indeed. I have certainly seen some pretty stupid Hollywood movies in my days - But, believe me - When it comes to stepping over that line into pure preposterous asininity - I'd say that 1942's "The Major and the Minor" really takes first prize in my books.If you can just imagine for a minute a 30-year-old/full-figured woman trying to pass herself off as being only 11 (Yes! That's right! ELEVEN!!) - Then - I think you get a very clear picture of this film's completely contrived plot that (get this) eventually works its brain-dead story into a frickin' romance. (Spare me!)And, worst of all - This movie makes the males out to be the stupidest ones of all - With Major Philip Kirby being the biggest dumby of the lot - Accepting "Sue Sue" (in make-up and revealing cleavage) as a sweet, little tyke of only 11. (Ho-hum!)Anyway - Due to this whole aspect of age deception by the Susan Applegate character - "The Major and the Minor" clearly told me that it was giving an approving nod towards pedophilia... Tsk. Tsk.

Dan Franzen (dfranzen70) The Major and the Minor is the kind of movie that holds up very, very well – and yet could never be made today. Know why? Because it's about a grown woman who pretends to be 12 years old (!) in order to pay only half fare to get home from NYC to Ohio and falls for a grown man along the way. That may sound innocent enough, but of course the grown man finds himself falling for the grown woman whom he believes is 12 years old. In hindsight, that's a little creepy.But here, it's not. This movie is hilarious. This was Billy Wilder's first movie as a director, and the faith placed in him by the studio – and the movie's stars, Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland – paid off handsomely. It's hard to believe now, but Wilder had already earned three Oscar nominations for writing before directing a single film. He wound up with a pretty decent career.Rogers plays Sue Applegate, a young lady trying to make a living in New York. Frustrated after a year in the big city, she decides to head back home; trouble is, the train fare has gone up by about $5, and our gal Sue doesn't have enough. So she gets this funny idea – she'll dress like a kid, complete with pigtails and a balloon, and pay only half fare. Sue's plans hit a major snag when she's found out by the conductor, and she hides in the compartment of one Major Kirby (Milland). Hilarity ensues when Kirby's fiancé finds Sue – known as Su-Su – with her betrothed, but soon all of that is cleared up and "Su-Su" must spend a few days with her friend the Major.Shenanigans ensue, as you might expect. The movie is witty and delightful, with some zingers zooming almost faster than one can process them. Rogers and Milland are at the top of their comedic game, too. Among the talented supporting cast are Robert Benchley ("My only regret is that I have but one wife to give for my country"), Diana Lynn as the fiancé's sister, and Rogers' own mother Lela, playing, yes, her mother.

zardoz-13 Susan Applegate (Ginger Rogers of "Top Hat") has had enough of New York. She tried a little of everything, even massaging scalps. An older man, Mr. Osburne (Robert Benchley) tried to get her to have a drink with him so she cracked an egg on his noggin and left in a hurry. Unfortunately, luck eluded her in the Big Apple. Finally, she decides to return to her hometown of Stevenson, Iowa. She has been saving ticket fare for the trip. Indeed, she has kept $27.5o, and she aims to use it for her fare back. Imagine Susan's surprise when the railway clerk informs her that the fare has gone up. Now, she has to fork over $32.50, but she doesn't have it. Stepping aside to let a mother with her daughter and son purchase tickets, Susan feels beaten down by this setback. She gets an idea when the mother buys tickets for her children. As it turns out, children ride for half-price. Susan changes her apparel and hair to more closely resemble a child. She enlists the aid of a shifty, but respectable looking gentleman. He is checking the phone coin returns for spare change. She persuades him to buy her a ticket. Shrewdly, the panhandler keeps the change and puts Susan aboard her train. Although she has gotten aboard the train posing as a child, the suspicious conductors are not entirely taken in by Susan's subterfuge as a twelve-year old. They make her stand up for inspection. Miraculously, she makes a narrow escape, but she is living on borrowed time. Eventually, they catch Susan on the rear observation platform smoking a cigarette. Susan manages to tuck the cigarette into her mouth before they can catch her. They interrogate our heroine, but she says nothing until she cannot withstand the smoke backed up in her mouth. She blows smoke, conceals the butt in a napkin, slings the napkin aside and scrambles out of their reach. They pursue her through the train and she gives the two conductors the slip when she enters a sleeping berth. Little does she know she has entered the cabin of Major Kirby (Ray Milland of "The Lost Weekend") and he allows her to remain in his compartment. Of course, Kirby doesn't realize that Susan is masquerading as an adolescent. He falls hook, line, and sinker for her act, and later all the cadets at the Wallace Military Institute where he returning are captivated by Susan. Initially, however, Kirby's fiancée believes that he entertained a woman in his compartment. Naturally, everybody is considerably relieved when they learn Susan is only twelve.Major Kirby, it seems, has been trying to get into the armed forces before war breaks out, but his fiancée, Pamela Hill (Rita Johnson of "Broadway Serenade") wants to keep him safe at home for herself. Pamela invites Susan—she is called Su-Su by everybody—to share a room with younger sister, Lucy Hill (Diana Lynn of "The Kentuckian"), who hates her older sister. No sooner have Lucy and Susan met than Lucy sees through Susan's disguise. Such is her animosity toward her sister that she refuses to divulge Susan's secret and they become closely-knit gals. Kirby presents the cadets to Su-Su and they flock to her. These uniformed brats are beside themselves with her. Each has the same line when it comes to necking and kissing her. They explain the strategy the Nazis used when they refused to attack the Maginot Line with their infamous blitzkrieg and brought about the collapse of France. Before long Susan is realizes that she has gotten herself into something bigger than she imagined. She also comes to detest Pamela and does everything she can to help Kirby get into the war. One amusing scene occurs at the institute's telephone switchboard. Finally, Pamela catches on and threatens to expose Susan if she doesn't leave the school. Susan caves in and lets Pamela win. She returns home to Stevenson to live with her mother. In this case, Ginger Rogers' real-life mother Lela Rogers plays her mom. When she least expects it, Major Kirby calls her up and reveals that he is passing through Stevenson on his way to the West Coast. He wants to come out and visit Su-Su. When he arrives as Mrs. Applegate's home, Kirby is sad that he doesn't get to see Su-Su. Susan learns that Kirby didn't marry Pamela. Pamela married a cadet who is the son of a wealthy man. Kirby leaves without realizing the stunt that Susan has played on him. While he is waiting for the train to arrive at the depot, Kirby spots a hot dish at the other end of the platform. Of course, it turns out to be Susan. We fade out to happily ever after as the couple are heading for Nevada to get married.Writer & director Billy Wilder of "Some Like It Hot" made his Hollywood debut as a helmer on this polished comedy. Charles Brackett co-wrote the screenplay, and Wilder and Brackett shared screen credit as the scribes on a number of Hollywood classics, such as "Ninotchka," "Ball of Fire," "Five Graves to Cairo," "The Lost Weekend," and "Sunset Boulevard." The dialogue is swift and snappy and often conceals multiple meanings. The idea that a fully grown woman would deceive people into believing she is twelve years old must have seem rather risqué back in those days when the Hollywood censorship office, the Production Code Administration, was charged with protecting the morals of middle-age America from profligate filmmakers. Today, "The Major and the Minor" seems hopelessly innocent. Wilder makes certain that the action advances at a breezy pace with both Ray Milland and Ginger Rogers generating a little charisma along the way.

nomoons11 This was one funny film. Ginger Rogers is just a delight as a comedienne. Her films of the 40's were fantastically funny.The supporting cast, especially the Cadet's at the military academy, really compliment this little gem of a film. Ray Milland is sorta ho-hum but he plays his role well.What's a lot of fun about this film is when Ginger Rogers transforms herself into a 12 year old girl. You get to see, shockingly, Ms. Rogers without any makeup throughout most of the film. She does such a great job in this one I was smiling from ear to ear at the end of this.Just a sweet/fun little romantic comedy. It will certainly brighten your day. It did mine.