“Topper” is a comedy film about a young couple who die in a car crash, but find they cannot get into heaven because of a lack of good deeds. So they decide to “haunt” their stuffy former boss and help him loosen up and live a little, thereby earning the good deed to enter heaven. The madcap comedy proceeds from there. “Topper’s” excellent cast consists of Cary Grant and Constance Bennett as ghosts George and Marion Kerby and Roland Young as their friend Cosmo Topper.
Director Norman Z. McLeod (“Pennies From Heaven” 1936) kept a tight rein on the film, resulting in a hilarious comedic romp. The screenplay by Jack Jevne, Eric Hatch, and Eddie Moran was adapted from the 1926 novel of the same name by Thorne Smith. Co-stars include Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Eugene Pallette, Hedda Hopper, Arthur Lake, Virginia Sale, and Elaine Shepherd. “Topper” had uncredited cameos by Lana Turner as a nightclub patron, Ward Bond as a cab driver, and Hoagy Carmichael as a piano player.
The watchable “Topper” was top-rate escapist programming during the Depression Era and therefore a hit at the box office for producer Hal Roach, Hal Roach Studios, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It had two Oscar nominations, for Best Supporting Actor (Young) and Best Sound Recording. There were two sequels: “Topper Takes a Trip” (1938) and “Topper Returns” (1941). A television series “Topper” (1953-1955) featured Leo G. Carroll as Topper and Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys as the Kerby’s.
Topper (1937)
cinema
My Review
“Topper” is a comedy film about a young couple who die in a car crash, but find they cannot get into heaven because of a lack of good deeds. So they decide to “haunt” their stuffy former boss and help him loosen up and live a little, thereby earning the good deed to enter heaven. The madcap comedy proceeds from there. “Topper’s” excellent cast consists of Cary Grant and Constance Bennett as ghosts George and Marion Kerby and Roland Young as their friend Cosmo Topper.
Director Norman Z. McLeod (“Pennies From Heaven” 1936) kept a tight rein on the film, resulting in a hilarious comedic romp. The screenplay by Jack Jevne, Eric Hatch, and Eddie Moran was adapted from the 1926 novel of the same name by Thorne Smith. Co-stars include Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Eugene Pallette, Hedda Hopper, Arthur Lake, Virginia Sale, and Elaine Shepherd. “Topper” had uncredited cameos by Lana Turner as a nightclub patron, Ward Bond as a cab driver, and Hoagy Carmichael as a piano player.
The watchable “Topper” was top-rate escapist programming during the Depression Era and therefore a hit at the box office for producer Hal Roach, Hal Roach Studios, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It had two Oscar nominations, for Best Supporting Actor (Young) and Best Sound Recording. There were two sequels: “Topper Takes a Trip” (1938) and “Topper Returns” (1941). A television series “Topper” (1953-1955) featured Leo G. Carroll as Topper and Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys as the Kerby’s.