Topper [Blu-ray]

Director: Norman Z. McLeod

Overview

By 1937, producer Hal Roach was hoping to wean himself away from the Laurel & Hardy-Our Gang slapstick on which he had built his studio's reputation by delving into the "screwball comedy" genre. Roach selected the racy Thorne Smith fantasy novel Topper for adaptation, and the result was one of the most endearingly funny films of the decade. Constance Bennett and Cary Grant play Marion and George Kerby, a wealthy, freewheeling young married couple whose uninhibited lifestyle is the talk of the town. After a particularly bibulous evening on the town, the Kerbys race homeward in their gleaming new roadster. George fails to negotiate a curve, and the car plows into a tree, killing both its occupants. Seconds later, the ghosts of George and Marion emerge from the wreckage, behaving as frivolously as if nothing had happened. Upon realizing that they're dead, the Kerbys also realize that they haven't been immediately snatched up into Heaven. Determining that they're required to perform one good deed before being allowed past the Pearly Gates, George and Marion set about to "liberate" stuffy, sedate, henpecked banker Cosmo Topper (Roland Young). At first resistant to the charms of his invisible benefactors, Topper begins to loosen up and truly enjoy life for the first time. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with Topper's supercilious wife (Billie Burke) nor his long-suffering butler (Alan Mobray), especially during a climactic free-for-all at a vacation resort. Though special effects abound in Topper, most of the humor derives from the embarrassed reactions of Roland Young as he tries to fend off the flirtatious advances of the ghostly Marion and the benignly strongman tactics of the spectral George. Adding to the fun are Eugene Pallette as a flustered house detective and Arthur Lake as a pratfalling bellboy. The musical score by longtime Hal Roach composer Marvin Hatley is perfectly attuned to the zany goings-on (including snatches of background music from Roach's earlier Laurel and Hardy comedies), while Hoagy Carmichael appears briefly on screen to introduce the film's signature tune, "Old Man Moon." Topper proved successful enough to warrant two sequels, as well as a popular TV series of the early 1950s.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/31/2017
UPC:	0089859903120
Original Release:	1937
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	5,000

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Constance Bennett	Marion Kerby
Cary Grant	George Kerby
Roland Young	Cosmo Topper
Billie Burke	Henrietta Topper
Alan Mowbray	Wilkins
Eugene Pallette	Casey
Arthur Lake	Elevator Boy
Hedda Hopper	Mrs. Stuyvesant
Virginia Sale	Miss Johnson
Theodore von Eltz	Hotel Manager
Irving Bacon	Hotel clerk
J. Farrell MacDonald	Policeman
Elaine Shepard	Secretary
Doodles Weaver	Rustic
Si Jenks	Rustic
Three Hits and a Miss	Themselves
Donna Dax	Hat Check Girl at Rainbow Nightclub
Hoagy Carmichael	Bill, the Piano Player
Claire Windsor	Lady
Betty Blythe	Lady
Ward Bond	Car mechanic/salesman
Martha Tilton	Lounge singer

Technical Credits

Eddie Moran

Hal Roach	Producer
Roy Seawright	Special Effects
Elmer A. Raguse	Sound/Sound Designer
Eddie Moran	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

It is hard to imagine that Topper inspired controversy on its 1937 release. The gentle, whimsical comedy about friendly ghosts was scorned by some for morbidness and for indulging in the supernatural. In fact, Topper was the first feature film about ghosts that succeeded both at the box office and among critics. A husband and wife killed in a car accident return as spirits, visible only to their friend Cosmo Topper. The ghosts are prone to misbehaving but are well-intentioned and helpful. Every Hollywood ghost story that followed owed something to Topper's clever spirit and fanciful imaginings. Inspired by the Thorne Smith novel The Jovial Ghosts, Topper was a hit that remained popular for more than a generation, inspiring the sequels Topper Takes a Trip and Topper Returns and a 1950s television series. Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, and Roland Young are the three stars, with Young getting an Oscar nomination. The special effects for the ghosts were advanced for their day.