One wonders how greatly Billy Wilder's farce about an older man's unusual interest in a teenaged girl would have to be altered to be remade now. It stars Ginger Rogers as Susan Applegate, a young woman forced to disguise herself as a 12-year-old girl to get a half-price ticket while traveling from New York to her home town. En route, she meets Major Kirby (Ray Milland), an instructor at a military school who is unable to figure out the mysterious quality which draws him to the seemingly innocent young girl. Flooding on the tracks on the outskirts of town brings Kirby's fiancee Pamela (Rita Johnson) to the train, where she finds that he allowed Susan to spend the night in the lower berth of his compartment. To prove his story he brings her back to the school, until she can be taken home, housing her with Pamela. Although her younger sister Lucy (Diana Lynn) sees through the ruse, her hatred for her sister creates a bond with Susan. The light romantic comedy, Wilder's first American film as a director, features his favorite motif of disguise and deception. Despite the genre, the scenes between Roges and wised-up child prodigy Diana Lynn are the best in the film.
The film was remade in 1955 as YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG, starring Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.
Ginger Rogers's actual mom plays Susan's mother near the end of the film.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Snap Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono - English
Subtitles - English (SDH), French - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Introduction - Exclusive Introduction by Turner Classic Movies Host and Film Historian Robert Osborne
Trailer - Original Theatrical Trailer
Director of Photography
Leo Tover: Cinematographer
Costume Designer
Edith Head: Oscar winning costume designer, THE STING
Review 1:
"...[Rogers] adds tang to the fluffy farce....A delight..." -- Rating: A-
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.82 05/29/1998
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