The Major and the Minor (1942)

A frustrated city girl disguises herself as a youngster in order to get a cheaper train ticket home. But little "Sue Sue" finds herself in a whole heap of grown-up trouble when she hides out in a compartment with a handsome Major.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder

Stars:

Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ginger Rogers	...	Susan Applegate
Ray Milland	...	Major Philip Kirby
Rita Johnson	...	Pamela Hill
Robert Benchley	...	Albert Osborne
Diana Lynn	...	Lucy Hill
Edward Fielding	...	Colonel Oliver Slater Hill
Frankie Thomas	...	Cadet Osborne
Raymond Roe	...	Cadet Anthony Wigton Jr.
Charles Smith	...	Cadet Korner
Larry Nunn	...	Cadet Babcock
Billy Dawson	...	Cadet Miller
Lela E. Rogers	...	Mrs. Applegate (as Lela Rogers)
Aldrich Bowker	...	Reverend Doyle
Boyd Irwin	...	Major Griscom
Byron Shores	...	Captain Durand

Storyline

New York working girl Susan Applegate is desperate to go home to Iowa but does not have the railway fare so she disguises herself as a child to ride half fare. Enroute she meets Philip Kirby, an Army major teaching at a military school.

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Plot Keywords:

military school | older woman younger man relationship | conundrum | army officer | steaming open an envelope | 

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Taglines:

Is She A Kid - Or Is She Kidding?

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role was very close to Ginger Rogers' heart. When she was touring America with her vaudeville act and chauffeured by her mother, Lela E. Rogers, they could not afford to pay the full fare. Ginger had to pretend to be younger by rolling her stockings down and holding her old dolly to look like a young child in order to get a cheaper fare.

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Goofs

When Pamela arrives at the stopped train, she is directed left to the train car in which Major Kirby has a compartment. However, when she returns to her car which hasn't moved, she approaches it from the right, the opposite direction of Kirby's train car.

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Quotes

Major Kirby: Anything wrong? Stomach again? How do you feel Su-Su?
Susan Applegate: So-so.

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Crazy Credits

"The Dutch bought New York from the Indians in 1626 and by May 1941 there wasn't an Indian left who regretted it. "

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Connections

Referenced in Wideo Wabbit (1956)

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Soundtracks

Dream Lover
(1929) (uncredited)
Music by Victor Schertzinger
Played as the fateful "third waltz" at the dance

User Reviews

Reviewing the review

I wish I understood how reviews are selected to be displayed as the IMDb-approved review. The current one for "The Major and the Minor" is a major disgrace. The movie article the little girl picks up at Penn Station is NOT "Why I Hit Women," by Charles Boyer, it is "Why I Hate Women." It's a joke-- obviously too subtle for some-- because Charles Boyer is of course one of the great lovers of the screen, one everyone would have known when this film was released in 1941. It's similar to when Ginger Rogers' character as a girl on the train is asked to speak Swedish for the conductors, who question her veracity. She answers, "I want to be alone." Again, this joke is something every movie viewer then would have known as an allusion to Swedish film star Greta Garbo. "The Major and the Minor" is a marvelous film and deserves better treatment on IMDb.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 December 1942 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

The Major and the Minor

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$928,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1