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You Never Can Tell (1951 film)

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You Never Can Tell
Directed byLou Breslow
Screenplay byLou Breslow
David Chandler
Story byLou Breslow
Produced byLeonard Goldstein
StarringDick Powell
Peggy Dow
Joyce Holden
CinematographyMaury Gertsman
Edited byFrank Gross
Music byHans J. Salter
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • September 23, 1951 (1951-09-23) (United States)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

You Never Can Tell is 1951 American comedy film directed by Lou Breslow and starring Dick Powell, Peggy Dow and Joyce Holden.[1]

Plot

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An ex-army dog named King inherits a fortune from his eccentric millionaire owner. Should King die, the fortune will pass to the late millionaire's secretary, Ellen (Peggy Dow). Perry Collins (Charles Drake) calls to visit King, ingratiating himself with the story that he remembers King from his army days and that he rescued King from a jeep accident. But Collins has designs on both Ellen and the fortune she will inherit on King's death and when King is found poisoned, King's spirit asks Lion (the leader in the heaven for animals) to send him back to earth to solve his own murder. He returns as Rex Shepard, a private investigator (Dick Powell). Lion also sends Golden Harvest, a racehorse, back to earth as Goldie Harvey (Joyce Holden) to help Rex. Goldie and Rex must solve the case before the full moon or they will have to remain on earth as humans.

Cast

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Critical response

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Writing in AllMovie, critic Hal Erickson reported that the "most delightful aspect of You Never Can Tell is the film's ability to successfully sustain its single joke for 78 minutes," and that it is a "captivating piece of whimsy."[2]

References

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  1. ^ Worley p.108
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal. "You Never Can Tell (1951)". AllMovie. Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 2023-11-06.

Bibliography

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  • Worley, Alec. Empires of the Imagination: A Critical Survey of Fantasy Cinema from Georges Melies to The Lord of the Rings. McFarland, 2005.
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