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Turnabout

Play trailer Poster for Turnabout 1940 1h 23m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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20% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 25% Popcornmeter 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.

Critics Reviews

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Tom Milne Time Out 10/06/2007
This probably seemed daring once, but hasn't worn well. Go to Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times 10/06/2007
2/5
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. Go to Full Review Lisa Ben (Edythe Eyde) Vice Versa 05/18/2022
A hilarious comedy, dealing with a most amusing and fantastic theme... Turnabout is fraught with amusing innuendos and ambiguous significance. Go to Full Review TV Guide 08/02/2011
2/4
Though there are a few chuckles, the presentation is predictable slapstick and takes much longer than need be to get to the main point. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 10/01/2007
C
A daring for its time but now dated screwball comedy. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D 05/25/2023 A weaker Freaky Friday but not without its charms. See more 06/08/2020 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. See more 03/05/2014 another funny screwball comedy See more 11/30/2013 The original body switching comedy is well played by the stars but nothing extraordinary. See more 10/22/2010 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. See more 03/05/2009 [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". See more Read all reviews
Turnabout

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Hal Roach

Director

Adolphe Menjou

Phil Manning

Carole Landis

Sally Willows

John Hubbard

Tim Willows

William Gargan

Joel Clare

Verree Teasdale

Laura Bannister
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Turnabout

Turnabout (1940) Turnabout (1940) Turnabout (1940) Turnabout (1940) Turnabout (1940) View more photos

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