dougdoepke No need to recap the familiar plot.Thanks to a winning Ginger Rogers, the difficult impersonation of a 12-year old is brought off in charming fashion. Never mind that the actress is actually 30; we're willing to suspend disbelief because of Roger's skill at girlish innocence. The first part is a real hoot, especially with a randy Robert Benchley getting a scrambled egg along with a scalp rub. The train ride too amounts to a sparkly farce as Rogers has to manage sleeping arrangements with Milland in a single compartment. Also, shouldn't overlook Milland's avuncular charm as the good Samaritan "uncle". Any slip on his part with a presumed adolescent and the comedic aspect collapses. But once events reach the military school where Milland instructs, the narrative settles into a more conventional type comedy. It's still amusing but not up to the inspired first part. After all, it's hard to get chuckles from a disciplined cadet corps. I guess my only complaint is that the deliciously droll Benchley doesn't get more screen time. Just his presence is enough to get me chuckling.Anyway, it's tricky subject matter that could have spoiled at many points. Fortunately, Wilder and company manage to keep the amusement rolling in tasteful fashion despite the risks. All in all, the Paramount production amounts to one of the better comedies of the period.

berrie-j Being entirely unfamiliar with Billy Wilder's work (indeed, I haven't seen any of his classics), this is his first film that I watched since I started reading Cahiers Du Cinema's excellent Masters Of Cinema introduction to Billy Wilder. The film's plot is deceptively simple. What appears to be a light hearted comedy is in fact a very effective way to evoke moments of uneasiness about norms and cultural conditions of age (difference) that still resonates with today's audience. Some of the humor is rather vulgar (although this makes sense in the context of Wilder's upbringing and oeuvre as I have read), but the film still provides a few laugh out loud moments.Cinematographically this film might verge a little on the plain, but it does have a few beautifully glamorous shots of Ginger Rogers. Rogers is an absolute charm here and her chemistry with Ray Milland is wonderful. I also thought Rita Johnson as the antagonist managed to bring great screen presence to her rather shallow role.

SimonJack For those who can't see the humor in this film, it might help to recall the Hans Christian Andersen tale, "The Emperor's New Clothes." Of course the 31-year-old Ginger Rogers, playing an early 20s Susan Applegate, couldn't pass herself off as a 12-year-old – even a taller, more mature looking 12-year-old. That is part of the hilarity of "The Major and the Minor." The obvious charade to viewers was shared by most of the characters in the film who first met Su-Su. When Susan scrubs the makeup off her face, and changes her hair, clothes, walking and talking, she does appear younger. But certainly not 12. And who really believed she was 12? Or, more to the point, if anyone didn't believe her, what would or could they do about it? The train conductors didn't believe she was 12. But were they going to search her for her real ID? Were they going to toss her off the train? It's a little different take on "The Emperor's New Clothes," but one can see the pickle people were in who refused to believe Su-Su (the young Ginger/Susan) when she said she was 12. So, the conclusion of most was suspension of their disbelief and just acceptance that she was an older 12-year-old than any other they had known. And, with that quandary understood, viewers can go on and enjoy this movie. And what a wonderful comedy it is. I agree with the several reviewers who saw the great chemistry between Rogers and Ray Milland, as Major Kirby. I think they and the entire cast and crew of this film were having loads of fun making this movie. I can imagine cast members not being able to keep a straight face for some of the scenes. Or the crew cracking up with laughter at some scenes. Every thing about this film is excellent. The cast are all very good. The directing, editing, scoring, writing, camera work and all technical aspects are spot-on. But the winning combo of Rogers and Milland is what ultimately makes "The Major and Minor" a huge success. The performances of the two leads are outstanding. Their expressions, glances, and mannerisms are right on target funny for the various scenes. This is one hugely entertaining and funny movie. It was made when the U.S. was less than a year into WW II. Its time was before the war, as Maj. Kirby talks about war being imminent. It was great entertainment for people on the home front then, and it's every bit as funny and enjoyable today. It's a wonderful movie for the whole family.

TCMFanBoy And I mean may. If 2 minutes after the introduction of Diana Lynn's character (Lucy Hill), you do not know how this film is going to end, then you have not been paying attention.If you are one of these people who see the humor in pedophilia, --- and who doesn't, huh? --- then you are going to love this movie. And I am not talking about some phony outrage over a 17-year-old dating his or her 22-year-old teacher (actually quite common in the years following WWII). No siree!!! I am talking about honest-to-goodness, pre-pubescent pedophilia. You're gonna die laughing!Our story starts with our heroine, Susan Applegate (Ginger Rogers) deciding that she has had enough of the decadence of the Big Apple and wants to go home to Iowa. Unfortunately, she had not allowed for a price increase in the train ticket, and so she pretends to be 11 years old in order to get her fare at half price. As in typical leftist Hollywood style. You know, stealing from a big, bad, evil corporation like The Railroad is perfectly acceptable. Note to those of like-minded convoluted thinking: Being a thief is like being pregnant. Either you are, or you are not. There really is no gray area. But I digress.Having boarded the train, our heroine is subjected to the constant harassment of the evil agents of The Railroad (conductors) who are not buying her ruse. And so she ducks into the stateroom of our hero, Major Philip Kirby (Ray Milland) in order to hide out. He buys her story about being 11 years old and agrees to help her out. He even convinces his fiancé, Lucy (Lynn), that he is just helping out some poor little girl who is traveling alone. And when the train is halted by flooded tracks, our heroine is put up by Lucy's family at the Military Academy where our hero teaches.And here is where you aficionados of this type of fare are gonna be rolling on the floor. Throughout the course of the next hour or so, this grown man, a Major in the US Army, lusts after what he thinks is an 11-year-old girl. Sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle. Oh, that Billy Wilder. Doesn't he just know how to massage the funny bone?And let's not forget our heroine. Just to make sure that our hero doesn't get all the laughs, she, a grown woman, plays on the sexual frustrations of a bunch of 14-year-old male military cadets. I mean, you just gotta split a gut, dontcha? Of course, in 21st century America, especially if the genders were reversed, the police would be setting up a sting for such a person. But again, I digress.And finally, how does our little saga end? Well, as I said, if you didn't see this coming you haven't been watching the same films as the rest of us. Let's just say that our hero strolls off into the sunset knowing that he can fantasize about sleeping with an 11-year-old for the rest of his life.Some fun, huh? I mean does anyone with half a brain think that this movie could even be made today? I cannot even imagine this film airing on broadcast TV without Congress putting someone in jail. Absolutely unbelievable.And so you say, "Lighten up, Francis! It's just a movie." Yeah, right. And the Inquisition was just a phase. Consider that when Nabokov's Lolita came to film, Lolita had to be at least a biological adult which is why Sue Lyon was chosen. And even then, all of the characters were shown to be deeply flawed, to be scorned for their unacceptable behavior. (No one would even show the 1997 remake until Showtime finally picked it up.) Imagine the Farrelly brothers making a comedy version of Lolita, and you get a feel for The Major and the Minor. Poor taste, indeed.Even if you dismiss the overtones of sexual perversion in this film, consider doing this to two of the most gifted, Oscar-winning actors of yesteryear. Give the beautiful Ginger Rogers a jaundiced face, ugly clothes, a god-awful hairstyle, an annoying name (Su-Su) and an irritating falsetto voice. And then take the sophisticated Ray Milland and turn him into a bumbling, perverted idiot. Sound like something that you would want to watch for an hour and half? Me neither.As the reviewer of another film put it, I am going to give this movie a rating of 2 because I don't want to admit that I watched a film rated 1. Of course, in my case, that means a rating of 2 out of a 1000. If you ever want to watch a Ginger Rogers film again, without thinking about this garbage, then avoid this piece of trash like the plague. You have been warned.