vert001 I agree with many that THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR is a marvelous light comedy with a few serious undertones, but I doubt that pedophilia has much to do with it. Co-author Charles Brackett's diaries (recently published) give not a hint that he and Billy Wilder had any such subtext in mind. Wilder climbed onto the Lolita bandwagon years after TMATM had been released, but so far as I know prior to Nabokov's notorious success he hadn't said a word about any such thing (Billy also said that Ray Milland had absolutely no sense of humor, which seems unlikely given Milland's success in EASY LIVING as well as here, not to mention his fine handling of the black humor in DIAL M FOR MURDER and in other films). So far as I know, the only hint of such a subtext occurs at the end of the 'light bulb' scene, and I'll try to give an alternate explanation of that in due course.It seems to me that the serious subjects underlining TMATM are the thoughts that people believe what they want to believe and that there is a subconscious part of the mind that can realize things that don't quite break into consciousness. The first is a commonplace, the second an idea that goes back at least to Homer. The main example of the commonplace comes when the college committee lets the Major off the hook for having SuZu in his train compartment overnight. It seems clear to me that they immediately accept Ginger Rogers as a 12 year old child because they want to avoid scandal, they want to exonerate the popular Major, Pamela wants to believe that the whole incident was innocent, etc. The vicar even calls it "a wonderful solution" or words to that effect. What adult has really been fooled by her charade other than the Major with his poor eyesight and infinite gullibility, except when they'd wished to be fooled?Similarly, a lot of people accept consciously what they're told (that this is a 12 year old girl) while subconsciously noticing that something isn't right. Lucy tells SuZu that she isn't 12 because she acts like she's 6. Notice that Susan Applegate never acts like she's 6 again after realizing that she'd been overdoing it. The quips become very mature from that point on ("Are you sure you're not mulling over yesterday's lesson?"). There's no real reason to believe that the cadets were ever told SuZu's assumed age, and they sense that they've lucked into a lot more than a youthful companion! I'd say that that's what has begun to penetrate the Major's consciousness in the Light Bulb Scene, that this really is "a beautiful young lady" rather than a precocious child. Notice SuZu's struggles to keep a straight face while the Major is fumbling over the facts of life. A part of the Major has noticed, too (and we should all notice how subtly brilliant this performance by Ginger Rogers is).Be that as it may, I'd say that the ending of the movie would play better if we assume that the Major realizes the truth before coming to Iowa, having been told by Lucy (after Pamela's marriage to someone else, why would Lucy keep up the pretense?). Then his immediate acceptance of the adult Susan at the end makes sense. However, Milland really doesn't play it that way. Oh well.I'll close by emphasizing that the movie is very funny, Ginger Rogers is superb in it (her use of various voices is terrific) and Milland is excellent, as are all the supporting actors. The switchboard scene is as good as they get. Wilder was off to an excellent start.

calvinnme Ginger Rogers was lucky in that she wasn't pigeonholed into being a specific type of character and that she can play a variety of characters in different roles. She demonstrated a real knack for comedy here, in Billy Wilder's first job of direction. Ginger Rogers can't afford an adult train fare to Iowa, so she disguises herself as a pre-teen, and from there the film progresses into one long funny con-game.I loved watching Ginger assemble her little girl outfit in the bathroom of the train station. Granted, even without makeup and with her hair in pigtails, Rogers does not look 12. However, that is also part of the comedy of the film. Co-star Ray Milland's character has poor eyesight in one eye and as a result, he cannot tell that she simply looks too old to be 12. I thought Rogers looked very pretty with just minimal makeup and with the darker hair.Milland's character's fiancee's sister, Lucy, was hilarious and she was the one person who called Rogers out on her farce right away. Lucy is the real brains in the film and she actually says what the audience is thinking: "She doesn't look 12!" I loved how she blackmailed Rogers into helping out Milland whom Lucy seems to genuinely care about. She does not like her sister. And good for Rogers for being a 20-something ( actually a 30-something) who could still fit into a teenager's clothes! The squeaky voiced cadets at the school were funny with them all having the same pickup line about Sudan. I especially liked the cadet who thought he was more sophisticated because he was from New York. The actor played Nancy Drew's boyfriend Ted Nickerson (Ned Nickerson in the books) in the "Nancy Drew" films with Bonita Granville.Robert Benchley was great as Rogers' old customer who by sheer coincidence is the father of the New York cadet. He always did the befuddled sophisticate very well and with great dry humor.There were many things in this film that I recognized from I Love Lucy. 1) Rogers' hair treatment on Benchley with the oil, eggs and painful massage is similar to Lucy's scalp treatment on Ricky when he thinks he's losing is hair. 2) The cadets sing "Sweet Sue" on the way to picking up Rogers. That song was the song that the Ricardos and Mertzes sing in the "Breaking the Lease" episode. 3) Benchley's character's wife played Mrs. Benson in the episode where Lucy and Ricky moved into the 2-bedroom apartment.What was so interesting was the whole angle of an adult pretending to be a child who is falling in love with an adult who thinks she's a child. I thought it was strange when Milland complimented "12 year old" Rogers on her legs saying that they were a "nice shape" (or something like that). That seems like a strange comment to make toward a child. It's not something you'd see today in film.I liked that Milland's character kept meeting Rogers at all these different ages: 12, 20s, presumably 40s-50s and didn't really seem to question it, only that it was remarkable how all these ladies look so much alike.I saw this on the Universal DVD (although it's actually a Paramount film) the other night, and Robert Osborne's introduction is great, but it is a bit sad seeing him looking so hearty and strong in this eight year old DVD release versus the downturn his health has taken recently.

mmallon4 The Major and the Minor is the film that me fall in love with Ginger Rogers, turning me into the obsessive fan I am now. Miss Rogers is Susan "Susu" Applegate, who transforms her 30 year old body into that of a 12 year old and does so completely convincingly and in my view gives the finest performance of her career. I question how many actresses would have the ability to do such a feat. Being a super fan I would say that she should have won an Oscar for this acting marvel but I doubt the Academy would pay much attention to a weird little irrational comedy like this. Oh yes, weird, that is our key word here. If the premise of a 30 year old disguise as a 12 year old in order to get half fare on a train ticket doesn't have you raising an eyebrow then how about throwing her into a military academy with 300 male pre teen cadets. The whole family can enjoy The Major and the Minor, the kids can enjoy the smart alecky humor and the adults can enjoy the sexual innuendo....centered around children. That's one of the things that makes this movie great, it's so wrong on many levels (yet feels so right, or something like that) but contains that kind of innocence and naivety that only classic Hollywood can pull off. The British Board of Film Classification gives the film a current rating of "U" with the description, "contains very mild sex references", although I believe that's a gross understatement. Imagine if Lolita was a screwball comedy, you would have a result somewhere along the lines of The Major and the Minor.Ray Milland is an excellent leading man, well a leading man to a character whom he thinks is a child (yes this movie becomes more wrong the further I analyse it). I wonder how must have felt delivering such lines as "You like boys Susu?, 300 of them, all they're all yours". The ending of The Major and the Minor itself is disturbing on a number of levels. When Major Kirby discovers Susu is actually an adult and they presumably now fall in love as seen in the final scene, is he going to fantasize that he's going out with the 12 year old Susu? My other favourite cast member here is Diana Lynn as an intellectual child planning to become a scientist. This kid is so bad ass, I'm actually quote jealous of her. Normally kids in movies tend to get on my nerves, but not when they're able to outwit the adults, as seen here.The Major and the Minor was Billy Wilder's American directorial debut and already he has made the first in a long line of masterpieces. Exploring his films (including those he has written) I feel has been a journey for me through the annals of classic Hollywood and for helping to shape my sense of humour. The Major and the Minor marks another milestone in that journey.

MartinHafer Okay, the audience is supposed to accept that Ginger Rogers, aged 31 at the time, is posing at an adolescent! This is patently ridiculous and if anyone could possibly pull this off, Miss Rogers was NOT the one! Had the film starred a very young-looking and less developed lady (such as Leslie Caron or Audrey Hepburn circa 1952), perhaps it wouldn't have seemed so ridiculous, but here it just makes the common-sense part of me want to scream. I just hate films with bad premises and bad casting--and I am not sure ANY actress could make this premise work. Oddly, this dopey plot was repeated a decade later when Jerry Lewis took on this same role--and he was 29 at the time! While Billy Wilder is a now huge name in directing, at the time he had no reputation in Hollywood so he was stuck with this utterly stupid casting decision. Had he been given this assignment later in his illustrious assume he would have likely refused such a ridiculous premise!The silly plot occurs because Ginger is trying to buy a train ticket but the rate has recently changed. However, the child fare is half-price and so she decides to pose as a kid!! On board, the conductors naturally assume she's an adult but oddly, Ray Milland is an apparent idiot and has no idea she's NOT a child!!!! So, since he's a gullible idiot, Ginger hangs out in his private room during the entire trip. However, when Milland's fiancée sees Ginger in his room later, she naturally assumes that this 31 year-old woman is a 31 year-old woman!! But, to convince his fiancée and future father-in-law that she is only a child and nothing inappropriate occurred, he brings Ginger with him to meet them at the military school. And, oddly, when they meet Ginger, they immediately assume that she is 12!!! This is dumb AND creepy--after all, it's better that she's a 31 year-old than a pre-pubescent female riding with a strange man!!! Now whether or not this is a watchable film just depends on how a able you will be to accept the premise. If you can somehow manage to not only believe the plot but also ignore all the creepy implications, the film is a lot of fun...and even romantic (especially at the end). I guess I just couldn't do this and the movie, despite its pluses, just didn't work for me. I couldn't get past Ginger's casting, her ridiculous impersonation of a child (calling it 'broad' or a 'burlesque' is way too charitable) and that Milland's character might just be a pedophile--a very problematic plot to say the least!