MovieChat Forums > Turnabout (1940) Discussion > WHY is this film not better known??? (rh...

WHY is this film not better known??? (rhetorical question)

posted 18 years ago by weho90069
13 replies | jump to latest

This film is a RIOT and fairly risqué even by today's standards all things considered. WHY oh WHY is it not better known??? One of my buddies tracked down a so-so quality VHS copy of it at a video store that specializes in hard-to-find stuff and brought it to our monthly gathering as his entertainment contribution and we were all in stitches. Will particularly go over well with a gay crowd, or those who appreciate high-camp. Obscure lead man John Hubbard does fightingly well mincing around as his wife once the big switcheroo has taken place. Points to Carole Landis also for her interpretation of the husband (backslapping Mary Astor has to be seen to be believed!). This is one that TCM ought to play every six months or so just to give it exposure. A properly restored DVD would be a gem on any comedy collector's shelf. Sure, the role-reversal plot has been done many times over, but rarely this well (particularly for the time in which it was made). Look for Marjorie Main in a very small but colorful role as a cantankerous cook.

[–] malcomforbes 17 years ago

It may have been lost for a while.

Somebody set us up the bomb!

[–] Shearer_Goddard_Russell 16 years ago

OMG, this movie was HILARIOUS. It was like the predecessor to Freaky Friday!

"Just close your eyes...but keep your mind wide open."

[–] hodapp 16 years ago

Are you all kidding? This movie is so terrible, no wonder Landis killed herself.

[–] westegg 16 years ago

Thanks for the incredibly stupid remark.

[–] hamactor1 16 years ago

Ha. Great username. And agreed. Incredibly insensitive, especially given Landis was far better than most of her career would show. And aside from the scene with the bear cub, her game performance was by far the best thing about this movie.

[–] tesab-1 11 years ago

I didn't even finish the stupid thing. I was going to quit when I read the plot on IMDb, and decided to wait until after the switch. Still thought it was too dumb and boring!!

[–] Death_to_Pan_and_Scan 16 years ago

Why is it not better known? Because it is quite possibly one of the worst screwball comedies ever made, at least from all the ones I've seen. I will concede that it is not quite as ridiculously lame as Topper Returns (the 3rd Topper film), but that one really isn't a screwball comedy so much as a pathetically unfunny progenitor to the Scooby Doo mysteries which seem to have followed in its footsteps years later.

It's a bad enough slap in the face that Topper Returns is available on dvd while the superior 2nd film Topper Takes a Trip is not. For Turnabout to get a dvd release when overlooked/forgotten gems like The Devil and Miss Jones, Come Live With Me and Remember the Night don't get released (and can only be seen on TCM's very rare showings of them) would be sacrilege.

3/10 (and that's being generous)

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If you're watching 'Fullscreen' DVDs, you aren't getting the whole picture.

[–] jtyroler 16 years ago

Possibly the leads were not a big draw.

[–] Shearer_Goddard_Russell 16 years ago

Okay, to those of you bashing this movie, get off your high horse. Of course "Turnabout" is not a brilliant film; it's not an amazing screwball comedy in the ways that "Bringing Up Baby" or "Topper" or "It Happened One Night" are, and we know that. For me the appeal in this movie is seeing a glamorous movie actress stalking about with fists in her pockets, and sitting in an elegant gown with her legs wide apart like a man. It's in seeing a wanna-be macho guy clutching a purse in speaking in a high-pitched voice. This movie is SO unlike anything else released during its time (or really even since), you'd think it might have at least achieved cult status.

[–] JoeinFla 13 years ago

I found this film very early one morning on TCM-TV, just as it was starting, and immediately identified it as one of those little jewels that are still lurking out there that I have never seen. What a funny, cute little film, and quite racy in parts! The women are dolls, especially Hal Roach's little daughter Margaret as "Dixie" Gale, and Marjory Main as the cook. The men are funny, too, with Adolphe Menjou as an old faker.

I noticed that some of the jokes come at the expense of the advertising business, and I wondered how much of that side-story inspired the old "Bewitched" series. In some parts Tim reminds me of Darren Stevens. Even Adolphe Menjou's role is reminiscent of Mr. Tate. Did anyone else notice that?

[–] HarlowMGM 14 years ago

Possibly the leads were not a big draw.

I think you've got it. Neither was a major star. The movie is mildly amusing but I think it would have worked better with bigger names and certainly would be better known today. John Hubbard was very game in his performance if quite over the top.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] !!!deleted!!! (14209231) 8 years ago

I know exactly what you mean.. I absolutely loved this movie - it had me in stitches all the way! There have been other similar movies made more recently (i.e. Dating The Enemy), but nothing compares to this. Definitely deserves 5/5 stars!