''Turnabout'' is a 1940

fantasy comedy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre rose ...

film directed by

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

and starring

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley Ku ...

Carole Landis Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer. She worked as a contract player for Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her breakout role was as the female lead in the 1940 ...

and John Hubbard. Based on the 1931 novel of the same name by

Thorne Smith James Thorne Smith, Jr. (March 27, 1892 – June 20, 1934) was an American writer of humorous supernatural fantasy fiction under the byline Thorne Smith. He is best known today for the two ''Topper'' novels, comic fantasy fiction involving se ...

, the screenplay was written by Mickell Novack, Bernie Giler and John McClain with additional dialogue by

Rian James Rian James ''(né'' Julian Herbert Rothschild; October 3, 1899 – April 26, 1953) was an American screenwriter and author. He wrote for more than 30 films between 1932 and 1947. Career A " Jack of all trades", James was a columnist cover ...

. In 1979, the screenplay was adapted for the short-lived television series with the '' same name''.

Plot

Tim and Sally Willows ( John Hubbard and

) are a spoiled well-off couple who constantly bicker and cannot agree on anything. Tim Willows is considered to be the main cog in the machinery of his own advertising company Manning, Willows, and Clare. His wife Sally is his exact opposite, pampering herself in their home all day. And when Tim gets home, they start arguing, constantly watched by a strange Indian idol they got from a distant relative of Tim. They call it Mr. Ram. After one extraordinarily stressful day at the office, Tim comes home to find Sally in the bath, and they start arguing like never before. In the heat of the moment, Tim expresses a wish to switch places with his lazy wife, to see how she goes about her days at nearly half speed. Sally also makes the same wish, seriously doubting the strain of running the advertising firm, having fun all day long. The Indian idol on the wall overhears their respective wishes and makes them come true, speaking loudly from its place on the wall. When the couple wake up the next morning they have indeed switched places and bodies with each other. Chaos ensues, as active Tim stays home with the servants and wives of his colleagues all day, in Sally's body, while she goes to work and manages to be rude to the firm's biggest client. Sally also succeeds in landing another client that Tim had denied business before. When the couple finally meet again in their home at night, they both beg on their bare knees to switch back into their regular bodies again. Their wish is granted this time too, and life goes back to normal. Tim has to clean up the mess Sally made at the firm, and she apologizes to all their friends. They blame everything on the fact that Sally is pregnant. When everything seems to be just fine and dandy again, Mr. Ram explains that he made a mistake when changing them back into their ordinary bodies, and as it now happens, Tim is the one who is pregnant.

Cast

as ''Phil Manning'' *

as ''Sally Willows'' * John Hubbard as ''Tim Willows'' *

William Gargan William Dennis Gargan (July 17, 1905February 17, 1979) was an American film, television and radio actor. He was the 5th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1967, and in 1941, was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

as ''Joel Clare'' *

Verree Teasdale Verree Teasdale (March 15, 1903 – February 17, 1987) was an American actress born in Spokane, Washington. Early years A second cousin of Edith Wharton, Teasdale attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and trained as a stage actr ...

as ''Laura Bannister'' *

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

as ''Marion Manning'' *

Donald Meek Thomas Donald Meek (14 July 1878 – 18 November 1946) was a Scottish-American actor. He first performed publicly at the age of eight and began appearing on Broadway in 1903. Meek is perhaps best known for his roles in the films '' You Can't T ...

as ''Henry – the Valet'' *

Joyce Compton Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Henry and Golden Compton. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not ...

as ''Irene Clare'' *

Inez Courtney Inez Courtney (October 12, 1897 – April 5, 1975) was an American actress on the Broadway stage and in films. Early years Born in Amsterdam, New York, Courtney came from a large Irish-American family. After her father's death when she was fif ...

as ''Miss Edwards'' *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Interna ...

as ''Mr. Alan Pingboom'' *

Marjorie Main Mary Tomlinson (February 24, 1890 – April 10, 1975), professionally known as Marjorie Main, was an American character actress and singer of the Classical Hollywood period, best known as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s and ...

as ''Nora – the Cook'' *

Berton Churchill Berton Churchill (December 9, 1876 – October 10, 1940) was a Canadian stage and film actor. Early years Churchill was born in Toronto, Ontario. After his family moved to New York City, he graduated from high school there, studied law a ...

as ''Julian Marlowe'' *

Margaret Roach Margaret Mae Roach (March 15, 1921 – November 22, 1964) was an American actress active in the 1930s and 1940s. She was born on March 15, 1921 in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Hal Roach and Marguerite Nichols, and her brother was Hal ...

as ''Dixie Gale'' * Ray Turner as ''Mose'' * Norman Budd as ''Jimmy'' *

Polly Ann Young Polly Ann Young (October 25, 1908 – January 21, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Young was born in Denver, Colorado. Actresses Loretta Young and Sally Blane were her sisters. From 1917 to 1941, she was featured in over 40 movies, ...

as ''Miss Gertie Twill'' * Eleanor Riley as ''Lorraine'' *

Murray Alper Murray Alper (January 11, 1904 – November 16, 1984) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous television series, films, and Broadway productions. Biography Born in New York City in 1904, Alper worked on Broadway from 1927 to 1940 in a nu ...

as ''Doc – the Masseur'' *

Miki Morita Mitsugi "Miki" Morita (sometimes credited as Mike Morita) was a Japanese character actor who worked in Hollywood from the 1920s through around 1940. He had worked as a stage actor before beginning his career onscreen. Partial filmography *''Sou ...

as ''Ito'' * Yolande Donlan as ''Marie – the Maid'' *

Georges Renavent Georges Renavent (born Georges DeChaux, April 23, 1892 – January 2, 1969) was a French-American actor in film, Broadway plays and operator of American Grand Guignol. He was born in Paris, France. In 1914, he immigrated to the United Stat ...

as ''Mr. Ram''

References

External links

''Turnabout'' photos
* * * * {{Hal Roach 1940 films 1940s fantasy comedy films American fantasy comedy films American screwball comedy films American sex comedy films American black-and-white films Body swapping in films 1940s English-language films Films based on American novels Films based on fantasy novels Films directed by Hal Roach United Artists films Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in Pennsylvania 1940 comedy films 1940s American films 1940s sex comedy films