The Lolita of the 1940s, and just as sexy. A sparkling farce that marked Wilder's American directorial debut after years of writing witty screenplays for other directors, The Major And The Minor sails along breezily from its very first scenes until its romantic ending.
88
USA TodayMike Clark
USA TodayMike Clark
This breezy farce has lost just enough of its luster to seem no longer disproportionately funnier than its oft-televised Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis remake You're Never Too Young. [29 May 1998]
The Wilder ironies and favorite themes—sexual deception, innuendo, the power of words to slice up and serve a character—are all present in abundance.
58
The PlaylistOliver Lyttelton
The PlaylistOliver Lyttelton
A lot more minor than major.
50
The New YorkerPauline Kael
The New YorkerPauline Kael
The farce situations are pushed too broadly, and have a sanctimonious patriotic veneer, but this first American film directed by Billy Wilder was a box-office hit.