281:, unscrupulous Marmaduke Paradine steals the Garuda Stone, the magical eye of an Indian idol, which grants one wish to each possessor. He had been warned that the thief of the stone would have bad luck; convinced by the time he returns to England, he gives it to the recently widowed Paul, his former brother-in-law.
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Paul escapes the bullying at school and returns home, only to overhear
Paradine tell Fanny how he plans to trick Dick into signing away control of his horseless carriage company. He pleads with his son to restore them back to their proper bodies, but Dick cannot remember where he left the stone. Paul
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after a holiday. Paul recalls the carefree days of his youth and casually wishes he could take Dick's place while holding the stone. As a result, he finds himself looking just like his son. When Dick realizes what has happened, the neglected boy uses his wish to take on his father's appearance, eager
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said: "It is funny in patches, but goes on far too long; and the director, who also wrote the screenplay, would have been wiser to cut some of his own additions . Anthony Newley... is excellent in a long and exacting part, and Petula Clark is attractive as the headmaster's daughter, but it is sad to
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The film begins with an elderly Paul
Bultitude seeing his son, Dick, and new daughter-in-law Dulcie off after their wedding. He then directly addresses the audience, implied to be reporters, about a story he has been embarrassed to discuss for years about how he and his son have had such a strong
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Back in the present, Paul explains that Fanny left him and that two years prior, Dr. Grimstone died of a heart attack while beating a boy. He is forever remembered for being humiliated by the
Bultitudes. The Garuda Stone was stolen by an eager thief who accidentally wished himself away from the
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business, becoming even wealthier. Meanwhile, Paul's pompous behavior soon antagonizes his classmates and the disciplinarian headmaster, Dr. Grimstone. He also puzzles
Grimstone's daughter Dulcie, who cannot understand why her once-attentive beau seems to be smitten with a much-older Fanny.
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wrote: "Peter
Ustinov has deliberately exaggerated in the film. This may bring him into conflict with lovers of the original story. But the fact remains that this spectacular burlesque has many novel touches and gets the laughs. Personally, I enjoyed myself, and I think you will."
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finally finds it in the hands of his younger son Rollie and gets him to wish things back. Chastened by his experience, Paul becomes more understanding of Dick's situation and has Dr. Grimstone, who had followed him home, removed from the premises.
314:. Paul warns the audience that if they were to find a green-grey stone with a handle on it to not make any wishes. Being lonely, he ended up marrying Alice the maid who gives him an earful for wasting his time telling the story.
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Dick cheerfully sends his protesting father off to school, while he throws parties, flirts with Alice, the maid, and even carries on with his father's girlfriend Fanny
Verlayne. He also enters into a partnership in a new
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see as good an actor as Roger
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observed that "parts of it are silly, but much of it is inspired and hilarious."
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247:. It is the third screen adaptation of the 1882 novel
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389:At the time of its release, the critic for
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426:, Meeting Point Publications, London, 1998
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293:to enjoy the perks of being an adult.
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332:as Dick Bultitude / Paul Bultitude
326:as Paul Bultitude / Dick Bultitude
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769:Films directed by Peter Ustinov
540:Vice Versa: A Lesson to Fathers
523:Vice Versa: A Lesson to Fathers
35:Petula Clark and Anthony Newley
774:Films scored by Antony Hopkins
600:Body swap appearances in media
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794:English-language comedy films
764:Films based on British novels
744:British black-and-white films
789:1940s English-language films
759:Films about wish fulfillment
374:Joan Young as Mrs. Grimstone
424:Petula Clark Film Companion
257:. The film was produced by
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754:Films about body swapping
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263:General Film Distributors
162:General Film Distributors
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227:written and directed by
371:Patricia Raine as Alice
360:James Robertson Justice
779:Two Cities Films films
518:Thomas Anstey Guthrie
399:Monthly Film Bulletin
356:as Marmaduke Paradine
749:British comedy films
784:1940s British films
679:Romanoff and Juliet
338:as Dulcie Grimstone
261:and distributed by
703:Hammersmith Is Out
655:School for Secrets
641:Films directed by
482:TCM Movie Database
439:at PetulaClark.net
350:as Colonel Ambrose
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223:is a 1948 British
739:1948 comedy films
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286:stockbroker
279:British Raj
277:During the
225:comedy film
196:111 minutes
78:Produced by
41:Directed by
734:1948 films
728:Categories
687:Billy Budd
663:Vice Versa
575:Vice Versa
567:Vice Versa
559:Vice Versa
477:Vice Versa
466:Vice Versa
455:Vice Versa
437:Vice Versa
411:References
378:Ernest Jay
312:North Pole
250:Vice Versa
220:Vice Versa
143:Production
68:1882 novel
64:Vice Versa
51:Written by
24:Vice Versa
380:as Bowler
342:Kay Walsh
255:F. Anstey
245:Kay Walsh
122:Edited by
106:Kay Walsh
72:F. Anstey
471:AllMovie
209:Language
132:Music by
90:Starring
59:Based on
586:Related
480:at the
212:English
201:Country
180:1948-01
178: (
145:company
714:(1984)
706:(1972)
698:(1965)
695:Lady L
690:(1962)
682:(1961)
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658:(1946)
578:(1988)
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460:IMDb
318:Cast
269:Plot
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
