George Axelrod's GOODBYE CHARLIE originally bowed on Broadway with Lauren Bacall in the lead. Unsuccessful on the stage though, George took his story of a second shot at life to the big screen with much better results.In a humorous opening sequence, Charles Sorel (Harry Madden) is an inveterate philanderer practicing his wily crafts on women aboard an ocean liner. He is found out by a jealous husband (Walter Matthau, in an hilarious unbilled cameo) and shot dead, falling overboard into the sea. Through a celestial fluke, Charlie's soul enters the well-rounded body of Debbie Reynolds (renaming herself Charlie). In this form, Charlie seeks to settle old scores with her murderer as well as several other enemies. As if these aren't complications enough, Charlie's best friend, George Tracy (Tony Curtis), falls in love with Charlie, knowing full well that she isn't really who she claims to be.GOODBYE CHARLIE was retooled by Blake Edwards in 1991, with feminist undertones, as Switch, starring Ellen Barkin.