Film Review: The Major and the Minor

 "The Major and the Minor"

**** (out of ****) 

Billy Wilder's "The Major and the Minor" (1942) is unfortunately one of those films they couldn't make today but its comedic premise - which shares similarities with Wilder's "Some Like It Hot" (1959) - is a piece of comedy inspiration. 

It's a shame because  "The Major and the Minor", Wilder's  American directorial debut, is one of the great neglected screen comedies of the era along with "Nothing Sacred" (1937), "The Guardsman" (1931), and "I Married A Witch" (1942) among others. It's quite a coincidence that each of them deals with deception, identity, and love. "The Major and the Minor" can also add to that list age and wars among its themes.

Ginger Rogers plays Susan Applegate, a working class girl from a small town in Iowa who has had it with the New York male "wolves" she encounters. The straw that breaks the camel's back is her visit to Albert Osborne's (the great Robert Benchley) apartment for a hair scalp treatment. Albert has no interest in his hair but likes to take advantage of his wife's absence, hoping for a fun evening with this working girl. Susan however decides there and then it is time to call it quits and wants to head back to the simple life in Iowa where a dull man is waiting to marry her. It won't be an exciting life but it will be stable.

When trying to buy a train ticket, Susan's plans are derailed. The cost of a one-way ticket has unexpectedly increased. Not being able to afford full price fare, Susan hatches a scheme. She will disguise herself as a 12 year old girl in order to purchase a half-price child's ticket. Susan is able to get pass the ticket booth but has a more difficult time deceiving the train conductor. In a mad panic to hide she enters a compartment car room only to discover it is occupied by Major Philip Kirby (Ray Milland), who falls for Susan's ruse and allows her to stay in his room until her stomach ache goes away from eating too much candy.

This far into the scenario Billy Wilder and co-writer and longtime collaborator Charles Brackett have created enough hilarious moments for an entire feature film but Wilder and Brackett up the ante. The Major we discover is engaged to Pamela (Rita Johnson), whose father, Colonel Hill (Edward Fielding) is his commanding officer at an all-boys military academy the Major teaches at. Pamela, who has come to pick-up the Major at the train station, initially believes Susan is a grown adult woman and that the Major has been fooling around with her. In order to clear his name, the Major insists Susan, now going by the name Su-Su, accompany him at the Academy. Where Susan must now contend with hundreds of teenage boys, all of whom think Su-Su is quite a dish. If she thought the fast-talking men of New York were bad, wait till she meets adolescent, lust-filled teenage boys!

After Susan arrives at the Academy she is bunked up with Pamela's younger sister, Lucy (Diana Lynn). Despite being a teenager Lucy is able to see past Susan's charade. Is this a commentary on how our perception changes from childhood to adults? Children can see more clearly whereas adults are able to convince themselves of believing and accepting anything? Lucy and Susan however are able to bond and form a pact, they both want Pamela and the Major to split. Lucy knows - thanks to spying - her sister doesn't really love the Major and is secretly working behind his back to keep him from getting a transfer overseas. The Major believes the U.S. is going to enter the war in Europe.

On a side note the references to a possible U.S. entry into the war are a little behind the times. By the time "The Major and the Minor" was released in theaters - September 1942 - not only had war been declared on the U.S. - the attack on Pearl Harbor happened December 7, 1941 - American troops had already been sent over seas by September 1942 - deployments of troops hit the British Isles in January '42.

The brilliance of "The Major and the Minor" lies in Wilder and Brackett's screenplay which is able to find the right tone for this material, that in less talented hands could have been creepy and unsavory. After all this is a screwball comedy involving a grown man falling for, what he believes to be, a 12 year old girl. And yet "The Major and the Minor" is innocent fun. Take for example a scene on the train. It is late at night and Su-Su is sleeping in the Major's car. There is a rain and lightening storm that awakens Su-Su and by extension the Major. He comforts Su-Su in his arms to try and get her to fall back to sleep. He gives her a childish explanation of what causes lightening - dwarfs bowling. While the Major is trying to be protective and comforting, Su-Su is falling in love as she rests in the arms of this man. Here we have the challenge for the actors. They must always be playing a scene on two different levels reacting to the same situation differently.

This scene and all of the other scenes work because of the top rate acting. Much credit must be given to Ray Milland for making the character likeable. The audience never doubts his intentions are sincere and honorable. The film presents the Major's interest in Susan as paternal - Susan calls him Uncle Philip through-out the film. But on some level the audience has to question does the Major ever begin to catch on to Susan's scheme? A weak eye is given as a possible explanation for why the Major may not be able to tell Susan is a grown adult.

Ginger Rogers on the other hand has a bit more freedom to have fun with her role. Her 12 year old resembles a 6 year old with a lollipop and balloon in hand and speaks in a baby voice. Younger audiences won't catch the reference but it sure sounds like Rogers is doing a Baby Snooks impersonation. Baby Snooks was a character played by comedienne Fanny  Brice on the radio. It is a far cry from Rogers' Academy Award winning performance in "Kitty Foyle" (1940). Rogers was coming off of her association with Fred Astaire and wanted to show off her acting range and ability. "The Major and the Minor" does a wonderful job accomplishing this. She wouldn't star in a proper musical and sing and dance again until she reteamed with Astaire for their final movie together, "The Barkleys of Broadway" (1949).

Despite the somewhat risque nature of the plot, "The Major and the Minor" does nicely fit in with the typical conventions of screwball comedy. One characteristic often associated with this style of comedy features a male character dominated by a female character. The male characters were often unaware the female characters were courting them. That's generally where the "screwball"  element comes from. It takes the romantic-comedy and turns it on its head. That is definitely the case with "The Major and the Minor". It most certainly is not your typical love story. Neither character mentions falling in love with the other, because of the perceived age difference, and the male character struggles with his feelings throughout, perhaps not even realizing what his feelings for Susan are. Everything lies in Susan's hands. Between the two of them, she is in control of their future by revealing her true identity or not. Which leads to a separate issue - the deception of relationships - and how men are usually "tricked" into marriage. Remember neither Pamela or Susan is honest with the Major.

It is astonishing to think "The Major and the Minor" was Billy Wilder's first solo directorial effort. It feels like the work of a born filmmaker. In fact Wilder was supposed to become the next Ernst Lubitsch. Whether or not he achieved that is up for debate but most film historians and critics believe he came the closest to capturing the famed "Lubitsch touch". Lubitsch's brilliant pre-code films added a European sensibility and adult playfulness to the Hollywood musical and romantic comedies. Wilder, who was already an accomplished screenwriter, even wrote screenplays for some Lubitsch films - "Ninotchka" (1939) and "Bluebeard's Eight Wife" (1938). His screenplay for "Ninotchka" was one of three Oscar nominated scripts he wrote prior to directing "The Major and the "Minor".

Wilder ranks among my favorite comedy filmmakers, in a class with Charlie Chaplin, Woody Allen, Ernst Lubitsch, and Preston Sturges. I wanted to make sure to discuss him and one of his films during the "year of me" - my year long celebration of my favorite artists and filmmakers in honor of my 40th birthday and the 15th anniversary of this blog. Ginger Rogers is near the top of my list among my favorite actresses alongside Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.

Rogers I always felt had a naturalistic quality to her acting which made her an immensely likable personality on screen. This is to say nothing of her amazing talent as a singer and dancer. Like most movie fans I was first introduced to her through the Astaire / Rogers musicals - "Top" Hat" (1935) and "Swing Time" (1936). Those musicals hold fond memories for me as I watched them with my grandmother. The musical was her favorite genre and Astaire & Rogers ranked high on her list. Rogers also had a great flair for comedy whether it was in "5th Avenue Girl" (1939) or later movies like Howard Hawk's "Monkey Business" (1952).

"The Major and the Minor" is a silly and outlandish comedy featuring two excellent performances by Rogers and Milland with an interesting commentary on the relations between men and women. Some viewers, especially younger ones, will find the plot nefarious and claim it has a disturbing hidden message. I on the other hand accept the film at face value and believe it was all done in fun.

Film Review: Sudden Impact - 40th Anniversary

 "Sudden Impact"

*** (out of ****)

The Judge sternly asserts, "This case is a travesty". She goes on to declare that a gun found in the defendant's car was the result of an illegal search. "The search" she lectures "was illegal because Inspector Callahan did not have sufficient probable cause". As a result the gun is inadmissible and the case is dismissed.

This sequence, on its own, without an understanding of the Dirty Harry character, is meant to enrage us. It is an example of the liberal failures of the criminal justice system. A system that allows the guilty to get away free. Notice the Judge is a woman. Women aren't fierce, conservative defenders of law and order. They are weak and liberal.

These feelings are confirmed because we know the defendant, a young man with an entitled, arrogant look and demeanor, must be guilty. He is even wearing his jacket collar up. The mark of a douchebag in 80s cinema. Oh, he's guilty alright and the look of frustration on Callahan's (Clint Eastwood) face tells the story as everyone leaves the court room.

It is because of sequences like this the original "Dirty Harry" (1971) and the character Harry Callahan were considered controversial in some movie critic circles at one time. The famed movie critic Pauline Kael, in her New Yorker review, described the original movie as such,  "Dirty Harry is not about the actual San Francisco police force; it's about a right-wing fantasy of that police force as a group helplessly emasculated by unrealistic liberals".

"Sudden Impact" (1983), the fourth movie in the "Dirty Harry" series and the only one directed by Clint Eastwood, begins with a man and woman inside of a parked car. They are making out as the woman unzips the man's pant. Slowly she reaches for a gun and aims it at the man's genitals. The sound of the gun cocking immediately alarms the man. We now get an overhead POV shot of the hood of the car from a high distance. Two shots are heard. This sequence is followed by the court room scene. Combined the two unrelated sequences can be interpreted as attacks, from females, on masculinity and manhood.

Because "Sudden Impact" was part of a series, the audience had already accepted Harry's behavior but "Sudden Impact" is good enough to be a stand alone movie and as such it requires a scene to justify Harry's tactics and viewpoint. This is provided in the movie's third sequence where a group of black men are holding up a diner at gunpoint. Harry walks into the diner for his usual cup of coffee and may have received a subtle tip-off from the waitress that something is going on. After being chewed out in the previous sequence for insufficient probable cause Harry's instincts will be proven correct as he stops the crooks and utters one of his most famous catchphrases, "go ahead, make my day".    

Lets notice however what has been going on in these three critical sequences in the movie. The "villain" in each sequence is a minority - two women and a group of black men. It is the staunch tough white guys that must save the day and protect the rest of society. They are the saviors because they will not be influenced by liberal attitudes which change in whatever direction the wind is blowing to satisfy the shifting values of "modern times". It leads to one character describing Harry as a constant in a ever changing world.

And in some ways that is another way to construe "Sudden Impact" and the Dirty Harry character and why it was crucial Clint Eastwood played the role. The "constant" being referred to may insinuate "masculinity". With each passing decade masculinity diminishes more and more in society to the point where today it is labeled "toxic". Eastwood has spent a career redefining morality, masculinity, and heroism. Eastwood's spaghetti westerns emerged in the decade when John Wayne's brand of masculinity and heroism was beginning to fade. As established in the "Man with No Man Trilogy" Eastwood's characters survived by their own moral code. The characters were anti-heroes and reflective of a culture immersed in the Vietnam War. Harry Callahan can be viewed as an extension of the Eastwood persona created in those westerns. Eastwood's success and longevity could further signify this type of masculinity is always needed in society.

There are elements of "Sudden Impact" however that play into Kael's "right-wing fantasy" description continuing the popular trend of vengeful fantasies a la "Death Wish" (1974) and "First Blood" (1982). The woman that killed the man in the opening sequence is revealed to be Jennifer Spencer (Sondra Locke, who had been in a long term romantic relationship with Eastwood). Jennifer and her younger sister were brutally attacked and raped many years ago. Now, in the tradition of the Japanese movie "Lady Snowblood" (1973) and Francois Truffaut's "The Bride Wore Black" (1968), Jennifer is out for revenge. She plans to hunt down each one of her attackers before the police can stop her. And yet before the movie ends the question must be asked, is what Jennifer is doing immoral? Is she the female Harry Callahan, living by her own moral code and thus her actions are justified? Was she not only a victim of these men but also of the failed criminal justice system?

The movie tries to reinforce this connection between Jennifer and Harry by hinting at a possible romantic interest between the two of them. In one scene they are sharing a drink. Harry does not know Jennifer is responsible for the murders as they discuss their views on the law. Harry explains people want results but no one wants to do what it takes to get them. This pleases Jennifer as she describes Harry as an endangered species. She claims this is an age of defeated justice and an eye for eye means only if you are caught. Between these two characters this conversation is almost a form of foreplay. But their conversation also has a tinge of Hitchcockian dark humor. Their conversation works on multiple levels as they discuss the murders Harry is investigating, with him not realizing he is seated in front of the person he has been looking for. Unknowingly, to him, she is trying to plead her defense. She is having two different conversations which makes the scenario slightly humorous.

The humor differentiates "Sudden Impact" from previous "Dirty Harry" movies and that may have been an ingredient Clint Eastwood added as the movie's director. "Sudden Impact", in some ways, attempts to lighten the harshness the "Dirty Harry" movies became known for. Hence the romantic interest and the ultimate moral decision Harry will be confronted to make. They even give Harry a pet dog which results in more humor. "Sudden Impact"  I believe does a good job balancing humor and violence - a strange combination if there ever was one. That is the strength of the movie but make no mistake about it, "Sudden Impact" is a violent movie. In one scene Harry and a fellow cop are comparing which of them is carrying the more lethal gun. Yes, there is the obvious comparison to a manhood measuring contest but again the movie tries to defuse this overt masculinity by adding humor. Contrary, movie critic Gene Siskel disliked the humorous aspects of the movie and felt the movie as a whole was weakened by it. By the time the next and final "Dirty Harry" movie was released, "Dead Pool" (1988) however, the humor was only heightened.

Looking back on the movie 40 years later, it is amazing how relevant "Sudden Impact" is and a sad and discouraging commentary on how we as a society waste so much time talking about the same things over and over again. In a political climate that has seen national protest movements like Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter and politicians, like our own Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, advocate for Defund the Police policies (he has backed away from these comments), it is evident for the last 40 years nothing has been resolved. That within itself created an opening for a character like Harry Callahan to appear. In Roger Ebert's Chicago Sun-Times review of the original "Dirty Harry" movie he wrote "I think films are more often a mirror of society than an agent of change" he concludes by stating "If there aren't mentalities like Dirty Harry's at loose in the land, then the movie is irrelevant. If there are, we should not blame the bearers of the bad news."

And audiences seemed to be more receptive to Harry Callahan and his brand of justice as "Sudden Impact" became the highest grossing "Dirty Harry" movie. Even some critics like Ebert moved away from their fascist statements and seemed to embrace the Harry Callahan character. What a difference a decade can make!

Clint Eastwood has slowly grown on me as a filmmaker. Initially I viewed Eastwood's movies the same way condescending leftist did, as glorified examples of violence. But as I got older, I began to understand what Eastwood was commenting on and his shaping of cultural themes around heroism and masculinity. Also, the movies simply got better. "Mystic River" (2003), "Million Dollar Baby" (2004), "Letters from Iwo Jima" (2006), "American Sniper" (2014), and "Cry Macho" (2021) I would argue are among Eastwood's finest movies. They demonstrate a maturity in his approach to storytelling and more masterfully articulate on the themes he has built his career around. Now I eagerly await the release of a new Clint Eastwood movie and consider him among the best directors working today. 

That is why I enjoy "Sudden Impact". It may not be the best of the "Dirty Harry" movies, all of which I need to rewatch, but it is an interesting statement on the sinner and saint within all of us. The movie can emotionally play audiences like a piano. On hand it feeds into a primal desire for violence and revenge but on the other hand it can lead to thought provoking discussions about society's relationship to violence, gun culture, police, and morality.

Just as it was the case in 1983 one's political leanings may influence their reaction to the movie. Unfortunately, this politization has only increased in the pursuant years. However "Sudden Impact" doesn't need to be viewed through a political lens. It can be watched merely as a genre action movie and as such I believe the movie succeeds on that front as well and makes quite the "impact".