Topper/Topper Returns
by Norman Z. McLeod, Roy Del Ruth
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Billie Burke, Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Joan Blondell, Roland YoungDirector: Norman Z. McLeod, Roy Del Ruth
Writer: Eddie Moran
Writer: Eric Hatch
Writer: Gordon Douglas
Writer: Jack Jevne
Writer: Jonathan Latimer
Writer: Paul Girard Smith
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 184 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-17
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of Topper/Topper Returns
Movie Review: Haunting
Summary: 5 Stars
You can tell your life is REALLY pathetic when ghosts have to show you how to live.
But that is what happens to Cosmo Topper, in the charming "Topper" and its equally charming sequel "Topper Returns." It's basically your typical screwball comedy (complete with Cary Grant), but with an injection of supernatural pranking and murder mystery. In other words, it's loads of fun.
George and Marion Kirby (Cary Grant, Constance Bennett) love fun, partying until clubs kick them out, and generally not taking life seriously. So it's a shock to them when they die in a car accident, and linger on as ghosts. Apparently they have not done any good deeds to go to the Great Beyond.
So when George's boss, Cosmo Topper (Roland Young), crashes his new car in the same spot, the Kirbys take him under their wing. Poor Cosmo is stodgy and timid, with a domineering wife who schedules his day down to the minute. So it's up to the Kirbys to show the poor man how to live life and have fun, but their good deed rapidly gets away from them...
And most sequels stink, but goofy murder mystery "Topper Returns" is just as funny as the first movie. Instead of a ghostly screwball, this time it's a spoof of "haunted house" stories, with a nod to Hitchcock's "Rebecca."
Ann Carrington (Carole Landis) is returning to her ancestral home and inheritance, with cheeky pal Gail (Joan Blondell) in tow. But after the girls switch bedrooms, someone murders Gail. Confused, she drifts over to the house of Cosmo Topper (Roland Young), whose car she hijacked earlier in the day.
Gail blackmails Topper into helping her discover who murdered her, and who is trying to kill Ann. Now the unfortunate Topper must somehow solve the mystery, despite a small army of creepy servants, a house full of secret passages and vicious seals, and his upset wife searching high and low for him...
Based on Thorne Smith's novels, "Topper" and "Topper Returns" even had a spinoff TV series, which was nowhere near as good as the movies. And those movies are charming and still fresh, especially if you like to see a twist on the usual ghost stories.
But it's the little touches that make this movie hilarious; for example, there's George laughing on a chandelier, and Gail chugging champagne when she discovers her own dead body. Not to mention that vicious seal. The comedy becomes more obvious and spoofy in the second film, but no less entertaining.
But at the same time, these movies are graced by tender moments between George and Marion, and a truly exquisite scene where Gail's ghost wanders out the window into the sky. And I'm still not sure how that invisible-person-under-the-covers shot was done, especially with the primitive special effects of the 1940s.
Roland Young is the star of the piece -- his Topper is timid, halting, and has his day scheduled down to the minute. Not a single spark of sponteneity. Grant comes across like a trickster god, and has wonderful chemistry with Bennett. And Blondell is simply charming as a resourcefully cheeky ghost girl.
"Topper" and "Topper Returns" are decades old, but are perfect examples of Hollywood classics. Charming, chipper and hilarious.
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