You Never Can Tell (1951)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Just perfect...

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

I first saw this movie as a teenager on AMC during a lazy afternoon and it was an unexpected pleasure. When I read the brief summary of the movie, which read something like: "A murdered dog comes back to life as a man to hunt his killer," I actually expected a somewhat hard-boiled detective movie, despite the obviously outrageous premise. And I had no idea who Dick Powell was. The movie turned out to be very light-hearted and I was thoroughly entertained. Many light-hearted comedies of that era (early 1950s) make the mistake of just throwing in a lot of cute scenes and dialog and, though this movie does feature such scenes, it also has a lot of quite clever humor that keeps even the more cynical viewer satisfied. Even the murder mystery plot has intriguing aspects. The movie has a kind of fantasy atmosphere throughout that I really enjoy, and Dick Powell was never more likable than he is here. This role was perfect for him (unlike his earlier role in "Murder My Sweet"--see my review). I highly recommend it for good family fun.

I saw this film when I was a kid and loved it! What I wouldn't give to have it restored and on DVD! The story is great, the acting snappy and the comedy superb! A rich old man dies and leaves all his money to his pet dog, Rex. The old gent's lovely young secretary is charged with the care of the dog and is happy to do so. But the dog gets poisoned and the secretary is arrested. Meanwhile, Rex arrives at the judgment seat for animals. Good animals go to Animal Heaven. Bad animals must return to Earth to live as a human! (Called `humals'). Rex has a ticket to animal heaven but he wants to go back to Earth to clear the secretary, whom he is sure did not murder him. He is given three days as a humal to solve the crime and given an assistant, a racehorse named Golden Harvest. The duo return to Earth as Rex Shepard, PI and his assistant, Goldie Harvest. It's all the more humorous as Rex munches on dog biscuits and Goldie has a nose bag for a purse, tiny horseshoes on the soles of her shoes and can outrun a bus! They solve the crime, but Rex falls in love with the pretty young secretary and now must decide if he should go to animal heaven or stay on earth as a humal! Goldie helps him decide but pointing out the girl's father is a humal-part Scottish terrier (you can see the resemblance!) A great film!

A favorite. Just basically a good movie from start to finish. What particularly impresses me is Beastatory; for a 1950's movie, that was a pretty nifty effect. Goldie and Rex made quite a team.

I saw this movie in the late 50's on TV. I liked it so much that I never forgot it. I have never seen it since. Just recently I found out the title. It is everything a good movie should be. Too bad I can't find a copy. There are tear jerkers, gags, action, and it is fairly fast moving. It is b&w but the material makes up for it. The makers should put it on DVD and offer it. I would be one of the first customers. I will never forget the horse running after the bus.