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      Turnabout

      1940 1h 23m Comedy List
      20% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 23% Audience Score 50+ Ratings Tim (John Hubbard) and Sally Willows (Carole Landis) are unhappily married. Tim spends his days working at an advertising agency, while Sally lounges around the house. One day a distant relative sends the couple a statue of an Asian deity. When Sally and Tim argue about which of them has the better life, the statue comes alive in the form of Mr. Ram (George Renavent). Hearing their argument, he casts a spell. The next morning Tim wakes up inside Sally's body, and Sally wakes up inside Tim's. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (5) Critics Reviews
      Tom Milne Time Out This probably seemed daring once, but hasn't worn well. Oct 6, 2007 Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times This self-conscious fantasy of a husband and wife who reverse their biological status is a tired and tiresome jape, as subtle as a five-cent stogie and just as aromatic. Rated: 2/5 Oct 6, 2007 Full Review Lisa Ben (Edythe Eyde) Vice Versa A hilarious comedy, dealing with a most amusing and fantastic theme... Turnabout is fraught with amusing innuendos and ambiguous significance. May 18, 2022 Full Review TV Guide Though there are a few chuckles, the presentation is predictable slapstick and takes much longer than need be to get to the main point. Rated: 2/4 Aug 2, 2011 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A daring for its time but now dated screwball comedy. Rated: C Oct 1, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (6) audience reviews
      Steve D A weaker Freaky Friday but not without its charms. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Kind of like an early version of "Freaky Friday". It's a very entertaining and wac 40's screwball comedy. The idea of minds switching in different bodies is a pretty familiar idea in Hollywood, but what really suprised me about this film is that the voices were actually dubbed to match the respective minds! This does create some difficulty, especially for the low-tech time of the 40's. John Hubbard handles the difficulty of syncing to the dubbing very well and displays feminine mannerism perfectly. Carole Landis is cute, but just wasn't as good at lip syncing to the dubbed voice. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member another funny screwball comedy Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The original body switching comedy is well played by the stars but nothing extraordinary. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Hilarious in places (usually when the cook utters her very quotable lines), groundbreaking gender bending movie for its time, neatly done with some fine acting. Not too long, perfect for a cheer-me-up moment. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member [6.0] Despite some offensive, outdated assertions about gender roles, I enjoyed this movie. Maybe it's just my fondness for body-switching movies, but I thought this played a bit like a breezy Howard Hawks comedy. John Hubbard and Carole Landis did good jobs portraying the opposite sex without going over the top. The large supporting cast is also amusing. Sure, it's silly -- body switching movies always are, with their talking Buddha statues, Zoltan fortune telling machines, birthday wishes, and other magic bullshit. But I think this particular conceit is inherently provocative, allowing for some unique exploration of sex and gender. Even in a light comedy like this one, you get to see a man respond to the revelation that he is going to give birth. While I've never seen a great body-switching movie, except maybe for Penny Marshall's "Big", I keep holding out for a rare gem. In the meantime, I'll take "Turnabout". Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Turnabout

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Tim (John Hubbard) and Sally Willows (Carole Landis) are unhappily married. Tim spends his days working at an advertising agency, while Sally lounges around the house. One day a distant relative sends the couple a statue of an Asian deity. When Sally and Tim argue about which of them has the better life, the statue comes alive in the form of Mr. Ram (George Renavent). Hearing their argument, he casts a spell. The next morning Tim wakes up inside Sally's body, and Sally wakes up inside Tim's.
      Director
      Hal Roach
      Production Co
      Hal Roach Studios Inc.
      Genre
      Comedy
      Original Language
      English
      Runtime
      1h 23m