The Major and the Minor (Universal Cinema Classics)

One of the classic films of the 40's from one of the best directors of all time. Like Some Like It Hot we have a ridiculous imitation of a 31 year old lady portraying herself as a 12 year old to get the fair cut in order to get home with the limited money she had. The interesting thing about that is that Ginger Rogers mom made her do thins in real life so it wasn't a stretch for Ginger's role in this movie. Such a wonderful, light heart, heartfelt, comedy well worth watching haven't seen this film before, or even if you have.The only bad with this order was they sent a smashed case but luckily the disc was fine and luckily I have normal Bluray cases I could use as replacement. The other disappointing thing was for a REMASTERED port to Bluray, it wasn't a stellar remaster, a bit grainy. Even though it's still worth the purchase if you enjoy the classics as I do.

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.This film is being co-released with two other films, all of them interestingly linked, MIDNIGHT and EASY LIVING. Billy Wilder wrote the screenplay for MIDNIGHT and directed and wrote THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR. Preston Sturges wrote EASY LIVING and in 1940 would direct his first film, THE GREAT MCGINTY. Mitchell Leisen directed both MIDNIGHT and EASY LIVING. During the late 1930s Leisen directed a string of great comedies, but almost all of them had been written by either Sturges or Wilder. While THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR and MIDNIGHT represented the start of major directorial careers for Wilder and Sturges, the sudden lack of quality scripts signaled the end of Mitchell Leisen career as a great director.

"You know Sue-Sue, when I look at you with just my bum eye, you look almost grownup. Sue-Sue, you're a knockout!" -- Milland to RogersGinger Rogers gave an enchanting performance in one of the most unusual films Billy Wilder ever helmed. He turned the worn out premise of children playing grownup on its ear by having Ginger Rogers portray a child. She masquerades as a twelve year old girl in order to get a half-fare train ticket back home to Iowa. The results proved to be one of the most charming, yet difficult to define romantic comedies ever filmed. The Austrian born director whose career in films began in Berlin as a screenwriter during the late 1920's, soon saw the writing on the wall and got out of Germany. He landed in Hollywood in the early 1930's with the help of Joe May. His ability to write a great story would remain an earmark of the director throughout his long and illustrious career.Writing with Charles Brackett for Major and the Minor, their wit provided the farce, but the execution rested entirely on the very lovely shoulders of Ginger Rogers. Just as in Kitty Foyle, this delightful romantic fluff is nothing without her. She is as important to this film as the script and director, and it is because of her we are left smiling and charmed when the end credits roll on a film so absurd, common sense must be completely cast aside in order to enjoy it. It is the most perfectly executed, perfectly absurd romantic comedy of the 1940's. This film belongs to Ginger Rogers, and it could not be in better hands.Susan Applegate is finished giving scalp treatments to lecherous Park Avenue husbands who want a different kind of treatment. It has taken her a year to save exactly the right amount for her train fare back to Stevenson, Iowa. Her plans to leave are given a damper, however, when she discovers the rates have changed and she is a bit short. A plan soon develops when she watches a mother purchasing a ticket for her daughter for much less. What follows is a delightful farce you can't stop watching as Ginger Rogers appears from the ladies room pretending to be twelve. It's delicious fun for the viewer watching her pretend once onboard the train. She finally gets caught having a smoke just outside the car she's riding in, and the real fun begins!Ducking into the birth of Major Philip Kirby (Ray Milland) during the chase, she finds herself a bit leery of her new 'uncle' but soon becomes attached, heading down the road towards what girls who are twelve would call a crush. Susan isn't twelve, however. To keep the protective Philip out of trouble with his fiancee, Pamela (Rita Johnson), when she discovers Susan in his train compartment, she happily agrees to accompany him to the military school so he can explain, continuing the charade. Pamela's little sister, Lucy (Diana Lynn), isn't buying any of the act, but soon becomes Susan's closest ally in trying to keep Pamela from squashing Philip's dreams. Rogers is hilarious fending off the battle plans of an entire school of young and amorous cadets. Milland is quite amusing as well, trying to shake off momentary lapses of inappropriate inclinations for a twelve year old for which he can't quite grasp the cause. His talk with her about the young cadets is very funny, Susan milking the situation for all it's worth.Pamela suspects there's something strange about Susan, and once Robert Benchley remembers where he's seen the little tike and passes it on, she sets a trap, prompting Susan to leave behind Phillip for the good of his career. Back in Stevenson, more charm and romance are to come, as well as more charades, as Philip makes a trip to deliver Lucy's gift to Sue-Sue. The final scene at a train station is a wonderful moment, pulled off beautifully by Rogers in an enchanting performance. Despite the premise, there is a charm and innocence about this film that is very much of the era in which it was filmed. Beautifully scripted, directed, and acted, this is a wonderful time capsule to romantic farce filmmakers of today could benefit from viewing. Diana Lynn is especially good as Rogers' pal. I highly recommend the region 4 version above this one, which has a terrific booklet about the film by Karli Lucas, and profiles of both Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland. If you need it on a region one DVD, however, this is a good print and the only one available. It is available used on VHS for region one as well, however. A must see for Rogers' fans.

I don't know how anyone couldn't like this movie, as for me it's one of the most hilarious movies I've ever seen!!! I am a Billy Wilder aficionado, as you'd put it, and this is one of my very favorites!! Love his dramas, but oh boy his comedies!! So hilarious! And this is one of them. Billy Wilder's script are perfection. Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland are great actors, and they are ever so great in both drama AND comedy. As I understand, not everyone liked the movie or found it funny, so I wouldn't know if suggest it to you. But my personal opinion is this one.I know that for some people region 1 DVDs are a problem, as they don't play in region 2 DVD player, as the ones we have in Europe. For me it's no problem, as I play DVDs with region 2 in the DVD player, and the DVDs region 1 on the computer, connecting the computer to the TV. But I know that for someone is. So, just to warn you, this IS a region 1 DVD, and it will play only on multi-region DVD players, or on computer.

It goes without saying that this hilarious comedy would probably never be made these days. The woke brigade would be frothing at their mouths! Both Rogers and Milland are a sheer delight to watch and I imagine the film must have been a hoot to make! The Arrow release is someone disappointing, though, with a very soft picture throughout. Still worth buying, though.

This is the third time I've ordered this dvd and each time I've been sent a Region 1 dvd despite me having specified a Region 2 in the order cos Region 1 will not play in the uk. Can Amazon help me get the correct version please!

Excellent A+++

Billy Wilder before he became a nasty old man, was a nasty youngish one. Ginger Rogers services older men with scalp massages; and if you cannot figure out how that was a way around censorship, you are not as smart and cute as you must be. The lead was prepared for Cary Grant, but Ray Milland did it and nailed his part.