The Major and the Minor

Billy Wilder made a smart American directing debut with this comic charmer now on video for the first time. But his smartest move was casting Rogers as a struggling New York career girl who poses as a 12-year-old to save train fare back to Iowa, gets marooned at Milland's military school, and must maintain her disguise amid an army of moonstruck cadets. Ginger's witty little-girl act — equal parts sugar and spice — adds tang to the fluffy farce while Wilder supplies the more subversive touches, serving up Milland as an unwitting romantic lead who can't fathom his attraction to the kid. The director who later gave us Some Like It Hot was only warming up with The Major and the Minor, but it's still a delight. A-