After establishing himself in Hollywood, Wilder became a writerdirector. This was the first film written and directed by him in the US (his directorial debut is Bad Seed (1934), a film made in France), featuring the musical legend Ginger Rogers. A young woman leaves the big city New York and returns to her hometown. With no money to buy an adult railroad ticket, she disguises herself as a twelve-year-old, but gives herself away with a half smoked cigarette. Taking refuge in the compartment of an army major, she arouses the jealousy of his fiancée. Continuing in the vein of the popular romantic comedy genre of the 30s, the film is full of delightful gags and punch lines, provoking laughter even after 70 years. After this first collaboration, Wilder and Ray Milland would go on to make the award-winning Lost Weekend (1945) three years later.

*Post-screening talk with Joyce Yang, in Cantonese