Topper (1937)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Norman Z. McLeod

Writers:

Thorne Smith (novel)
Jack Jevne (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 July 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

90 ROARING MINUTES OF LAUGHS! (original 11x14 title lobby card)

Plot:

A fun-loving couple, finding that they died and are now ghosts, decide to shake up the stuffy lifestyle of a friend of theirs.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Bank | Accident | Hotel | Nurse

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 26

10:30 AM

TCM

Cast

Constance Bennett	...	Marion Kerby
Cary Grant	...	George Kerby
Roland Young	...	Cosmo Topper
Billie Burke	...	Mrs. Clara Topper
Alan Mowbray	...	Wilkins
Eugene Pallette	...	Casey
Arthur Lake	...	Elevator Boy
Hedda Hopper	...	Mrs. Grace Stuyvesant
Virginia Sale	...	Miss Johnson
Theodore von Eltz	...	Hotel Manager
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Policeman (as J. Farrell McDonald)
Elaine Shepard	...	Secretary
Doodles Weaver	...	Rustic
Si Jenks	...	Rustic
Three Hits and a Miss	...	Themselves - Vocal Quartette

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #3272) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:o.Al.

Filming Locations:

Bullock's Wilshire Department Store - 3050 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

Producer Hal Roach wanted W.C. Fields and Jean Harlow to costar as George and Marian Kerby, but neither was available at the time.

Quotes:

Cosmo Topper: My wife objects to drinking.
George Kerby: Then she shouldn't drink.
Cosmo Topper: She doesn't.
George Kerby: What's her objection?

Movie Connections:

References Liliom (1934)

Soundtrack:

The Old Oaken Bucket

Introducing George and Marion Kirby, ghosts

A dead couple is determined to loosen up their friend in "Topper," a 1937 comedy starring Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, Roland Young, and Billie Burke. Cosmo Topper (Young) is a bank president whose wife (Burke) has him on a strict schedule and, though unhappy, Cosmo complies.

When bank stockholders George and Marion Kirby are killed when their car crashes into a tree, the two become worried about what St. Peter will have to say to them. They were, after all, two fun-loving, hard-drinking, partying kooks. They decide they must do a good deed before approaching the pearly gates so they make loosening up Topper their project.

This is a wonderful film that inspired the Leo G. Carroll TV series with real-life marrieds Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling as Marion and George. The special effects in the 1937 film are groundbreaking and ingenious. Mores have changed over the years - driving drunk is no longer acceptable. I'm afraid George and Marion would be heartily disapproved of today. Nevertheless, they're a gorgeous, glamorous couple and the real stuff of fantasy. Bennett only has a couple of years of big stardom left and, with his second billing, Cary Grant is still on the ascent. They're both hilariously madcap, Grant blasting into a stockholders' meeting and trying to take notes, and Bennett flirting with poor Topper in her silky voice.

Roland Young is the perfect Topper - henpecked, confused, and a nervous wreck. He's a man dying to break free of his shackles, and he's always envied George and Marion's lifestyle, even though it killed them. His frustration and unhappiness make him sympathetic, and the audience is with him all the way.

Very enjoyable, with some effects that were eye-popping in 1937. Don't miss "Topper." It's a classic.