In 1940 Carole starred in the sex-change comedy Turnabout. She was under contract with Hal Roach when she made the movie. Carole is Sally Willows, an unhappy housewife who magically switches bodies with her husband. John Hubbard plays Sally's husband Tim who must act like a woman when an angry genie makes the couple trade places. Carole and John also worked together in Road Show. Turnabout was based on the book by Thorne Smith. The cast includes Adolphe Menjou, Mary Astor, Marjorie Main, and Margaret Roach (Hal Roach's daughter). Carole became close friends with Margaret. John and Carole had to learn each others lines because their voices were dubbed in many scenes.
Carole studied John's mannerisms so she would be believable playing a man trapped in a woman's body. Turnabout was produced and directed by Hal Roach. He gave Carole the nickname "The Ping Girl" but she begged the press not to call her that. Turnabout was filmed in February 1940. Before filming began Carole had cosmetic surgery on her nose and lost more than ten pounds. The costumes were designed by Royer. Turnabout was released on May 17, 1940. Censors changed some controversial scenes before they would let the film be released. Turnabout was a hit and Carole got rave reviews for her performance. In 1979 Turnabout was made into a television series starring Sharon Gless and Rick Springfield.
Screen Guide magazine said of Turnabout "Making a movie like this brought up problems neither producer Hal Roach nor the stars had ever ran into before. Screen Guide's startled reporters noticed on the set such interesting phenomena as Hubbard, who is a pretty rugged gent, running around in a frilly nightie, smoking a cigar while rehearsing lines like 'Oh, aren't they simply divine!' And Carole, who is by far the most liberally curved lassie in pictures, wearing an oversized pair of pajamas and shadow-boxing in rehearsal for a forthcoming scene."
* Turnabout has not been released on DVD
Sally Willows: "Now listen to me, Tim Willows, the situation with this dog of yours has gone entirely too far. He goes to a kennel tomorrow or I go!"
Tim Willows: "Darling, you wouldn't have much fun in a kennel."
