Critical Reception
Bosley Crowther of the New York Times said the Wilder-Brackett script "effervesces with neat situations and bright lines" and added, "The gentlemen have written - and Mr. Wilder has directed - a bountiful comedy-romance. And Miss Rogers and Mr. Milland have played it with spirit and taste. Never once does either permit the suggestion of a leer to creep in . . . Miss Rogers gives a beautiful imitation of a Quiz Kid imitating Baby Snooks. And in those moments when romance brightly kindles, she is a soft and altogether winning miss. Put this down as one of the best characterizations of her career. Credit Mr. Milland, too, with making a warm and nimble fellow of the major, and all the rest of the cast for doing very well with lively roles."
Variety called the film a "sparkling and effervescing piece of farce-comedy" with a story that is "light, fluffy, and frolicsome . . . Both script and direction swing the yarn along at a consistent pace, with the laughs developing naturally and without strain."
American Film Institute Lists
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
- "Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini?" - Nominated
Read more about this topic: The Major And The Minor
Famous quotes containing the words critical and/or reception:
“The critical period in matrimony is breakfast-time.”
—A.P. (Sir Alan Patrick)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)