“The Major and the Minor” (1942) is, upon reflection, a major movie because it marks Billy Wilder’s American directorial debut. But it’s a minor entry in his catalog in terms of quality. Watchable in a lazy afternoon fashion, it features Ginger Rogers, a movie star that everyone likes, and a mid-Atlantic-accented Ray Milland (“Dial M for Murder”) walking the tightrope of an absurd premise.
Wilder shows an early knack for star-driven rom-com pacing that would serve him well on the deeper “Sabrina,” but for now he’s stuck with an idea that never gets fully shaped or exploited. We’re supposed to believe Rogers’ Susan Applegate can pass for 12 years old by putting her hair in pigtails and wearing kids’ clothes. The actress was 31 at the time and looks it.
Susan has spent a year in New York unable to find a career to her liking, instead finding cat-calling and pawing men, like a scalp-massage client in the opening bit. Being short of cash for her return home to Iowa, she buys a child’s train fare and pretends to be little Su-Su.
“The Major and the Minor” (1942)
Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder (screenplay), Edward Childs Carpenter (play), Fanny Kilbourne (story)
Stars: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson
In an attempt to hedge their bets, Wilder and the three other yarn-spinners do include people who see right through the Su-Su scam, and others who are suspicious. That’s why she has to maintain the ruse throughout the train ride.
I generally accept the theory that a film is allowed one big element of fantasy, and then we’ll happily accept the rest. But “The Major and the Minor” doesn’t successfully land the magic wand on that one element of fantasy – that Susan could convince anyone that she’s 12 – and it can’t get over that hump. As likeable and skilled as Rogers is, she’s totally miscast, considering that some adult actresses could pass for 12 (or at least come closer).
You’ve got to be kidding
Milland arguably has the even trickier role, as Major Philip Kirby believes Su-Su is 12 … but he’s also sort of falling in love with her. To the film’s credit, and the reason why it can keep culture warriors at bay, it couches his love for her in a parental manner – even having him try to explain the birds and the bees when dozens of tween military cadets literally pay for time with her. It’s never not awkward, but the overall movie – and particularly Milland’s naïve spin on the major — is so silly it can’t be offensive.
While “The Major and the Minor” lacks gut-busting laughs, the reason is mainly a tame screenplay and the visual miscasting of Rogers. The professionalism of the performances are in place, and the overall spirit is breezily forward-moving. It stays that way till an ending that’s just as unearned (in the same inoffensive manner) as the starting point. Two big story elements happen because the writers say they must; no plausible human behavior is required.
A great version of the premise – rather than this merely inoffensive one – would need more daring scenarios. The film was remade as “You’re Never Too Young” (1955), but that one also features an obvious adult (Jerry Lewis) playing a kid, so likely it has the same core problem.
A close cousin to this premise is the body swap, where we accept the magical premise and understand why everyone accepts an adult as being a kid (and/or vice versa). The latest of those, “Freakier Friday,” comes out later this year.
But then again, maybe it’s OK if the identity fakery is unconvincing, since “Some Like It Hot” is an all-time great comedy. That film goes big, and “The Major and the Minor” goes small; just picture Jack Lemmon as a woman compared to Rogers as a tween. But we can likewise peer ahead in Wilder’s catalog to see that comedy can get much worse than this. Especially, I’m thinking of the insipid “Kiss Me, Stupid.” In comparison, this is a “Minor” success.
Wilder Wednesdays looks at the catalog of legendary writer-director Billy Wilder.