Topper Takes a Trip

I've watched the first and third Topper films and I was willing to overlook the fact that a ghost apparently can eat, drink, and smoke cigarettes for the sake of some of the other comedy sequences. However, three movies of this is just too many. I mean Marion can't pass thru the safe door to get Topper's passport, but she can drink? Now the dog is in on it too? No. I'm sorry.

This movie would probably still appeal to the baby boomers. I miss Cary Grant in this sequel of Topper. The movie is still comical and provides an entertaining story. I really like Billie Burke. In fact, it is Billie Burke's presence that makes the film.I always find the Topper films delightful, but I am a baby boomer. This movie will never be memorable and is quite easily forgotten within ten minutes after the movie is over. Yet, when comedy is combined with a little bit of romance, one can always find enjoyment. Thank goodness the movie is less than an hour and a half. I think the shorter time helps keep the movie from dragging too much. Grab your popcorn. Four thumbs up.

After creating enough mayhem in the life of Cosmo Topper in the first Topper film, Marian Kerby comes back from the afterlife to do a little more damage than before. She means well of course and by chance things do work out in the end. Roland Young as Topper, Constance Bennett as Marian, and Billie Burke as the ditzy but patient Mrs. Topper are back again. Cary Grant as George Kerby is here too, but only in a flashback from the original Topper movie. The flashback occurs when Topper is on the witness stand in a divorce case as Billie Burke is filing for divorce. Topper takes the stand and tries to explain that wasn't a real woman in his room, just an other world spirit. Judge Spencer Charters won't grant a divorce, but come back the next day he might sign some commitment papers. So Billie Burke and her friend Verree Teasdale are off to France. Now it becomes clear what Marian Kerby is back on terra firma for. Connie and Roland are off to France where they have to deal with fussy hotel managers and pretentious gigolos like Franklin Pangborn and Alexander D'Arcy. Best scenes in the film, in the casino with Paul Porcasi as the manager and in the bar with Paul Hurst as bartender. It's not as good as the original Topper film, but still has a lot of laughs left in the old spirit.

Now that I've seen "Topper Takes a Trip", I have seen the three original Topper films. They are all mildly amusing, at best, but the shtick gets a little old after a while. In the original film, Cosmo Topper (Roland Young) is visited by two ghosts (Cary Grant and Constance Bennett). The film surprised the filmmakers, as it was a hit and folks were clamoring for more...but for some reason Cary Grant didn't agree to do the sequel. I can only assume he had better film projects and in hindsight I think he was probably wise to avoid this one. Instead, believe it or not, they replaced him with a ghost dog!! Uggh! This installment finds Cosmo fighting to stay married as Mrs. Topper (Billie Burke) is seeking a divorce. This really makes no sense, as she loved Topper...and her suddenly listening to bad friends who want to separate them is pretty awful and far from funny. Well, apparently American divorces take too long so she heads to Paris...and Cosmo goes there to try to stop her from doing this and marrying some Baron. Whatever. The bottom line is that this film seems to scream out "there is NO reason for this film"....and I would definitely agree. Not a terrible film...but not a good one. Oddly, the third film (starring Young, Burke and Joan Blondell as the ghost) is probably the best of the three movies.

"Topper Takes a Trip" is a nice follow-up to "Topper," and has the same cast but no Cary Grant as George. He's shown in the beginning as the film goes over how George and Marion got to be ghosts in the first place. Alas, Grant's ghostly presence hangs over the entire film and puts a big hole in this movie. Constance Bennett is her usual gorgeous self as Marion. She is compelled to come back without George and soon realizes that she's there to help Cosmo once again - though the Kerby's idea of helping Topper leaves much to be desired. This time, though, she discovers a dog, Atlas, in spirit also and brings him along. Mrs. Topper (Billie Burke) learning that Cosmo was with a woman in a hotel has sued for divorce. At the trial, Cosmo claims the woman was the late Marion and begs to tell his story. The judge understandably gets too confused and throws the case out. Mrs. T sails for France and Cosmo, Marion, and Atlas follow. One of the best scenes takes place in a casino where Cosmo just can't help winning, thanks the ball landing on one number and then mysteriously jumping to another thanks to guess who. Very cute, with another fine performance by Roland Young as Cosmo. The special effects are still marvelous

Topper Takes a Trip just never gets going. It's an OK comedy sequel to the 1937 smash hit but without Cary Grant. That leaves Marion (Constance Bennett) alone to hound Topper (Roland Young) but the film is missing the marital sparring that made the first one so good. Mrs. Topper (Billie Burke) is seeking a divorce because Topper and Marion had stayed at a hotel together in the first film. Slim plot device then has the Mrs. heading to France for a quickie divorce where she falls among thieves: her "friend" and a phony baron. Topper and Marion head to France to stop the divorce and foil the setup. Roland Young is still very good with his blank face and funny body movements (when the invisible Marion is prodding him). But there's just too much talk in this one. Bennett is as always beautiful and breezy. Burke is hilarious as the dithery Mrs. Topper in a way that no one else could copy. Alan Mowbray is back in the thankless butler role as is Spencer Charters as the judge. Verree Teasdale plays the acid friend, Alex D'Arcy the faux baron, and Franklin Pangborn is the French hotel manager. Grant appears via flashback from the original film, but his absence is not well explained. Asta (the dog) is funny too. Not a bad film but it could have been funnier.

I didn't think this film was nearly as good as the first one. First of all, the original had Cary Grant as Constance Bennett's sidekick. Here, he is inexplicably replaced by a dog. If I were Grant, I'd be highly insulted. I guess maybe by now, he was a mega-star and his salary demands were too high - and, boy that dog sure works for cheap! I think the whole "let's review the 1st movie" for the first 15 minutes of the film to be a little insulting to our intelligence. Many sequels have been made without feeling it's necessary to rehash the original movie. Most of the special effects and pranks had been done in the other movie, so it wasn't quite as jaw-dropping this go-round. But it is still an amusing 80 minutes. Just don't expect it be quite the level of fun as the original.

Ahh, those screwball comedies from the 30's are still a delight, and it is hard to find anything better. The actors in this comedic tour de force are outstanding, and well cast. Roland Young and Billie Burke are pure comedy gold together. No one else could do vague, bemused, bewildered, bedevilled as well as these two. Pair them together, and you have a recipe for instant success. Constance Bennett was a gorgeous blonde in an era famous for gorgeous blondes. Unlike many of the others, she had talent, and was a delight in a comedy. I had seen the series as a child, but I didn't appreciate them until I was an adult. Roland Young's physical comedy, was a definite asset to the series, but his female co-stars, and their delivery was a sheer delight. I also enjoyed Alan Mowbray, who was the suave villain in a few of the Sherlock Holmes films, as the sympathique butler in this little gem of a movie. He was extraordinarily talented, but was woefully typecast as the heavy in many period pieces. I liked this kinder gentler side of the actor, and hope to find something similar from him again. There are no missteps in this one. If you like a nice unsophisticated bit of fluff and froth, you will love this movie. The only thing comparable to me, for entertainment value was "The Women", which came out the same year. Both of the films had me laughing out loud many times, and are films that I watch again and again. Spend some time with Topper, and you won't be sorry, but you will be holding your sides from laughter, and you will appreciate the brilliant comedic timing behind the zingers and barbs that fly in this film.

The first film in the Topper series included Cary Grant as Constance Bennett's co-ghost. In the present film, Cary's place is essentially taken by Mr. Atlas(Asta): the talented wire-haired terrier 'actor' in several of The Thin Man film series, and several Cary Grant comedies. I would say, in the context of the films, Mr. Atlas made a more interesting ghost than Cary. Also, the present film clearly is funnier than the original. Who said sequels never live up to the original? Not only Mr. Atlas, but Constance Bennett, as Marion, Roland Young, as Cosmo Topper, and Billie Burke, as Mrs. Topper. are all more animated and funnier than they were in "Topper". Like the other films in this series, it was shot in B&W, but a colorized version was later made of each. The copy at You Tube is colorized. The screen play is about Mrs. Topper seeking a divorce from Cosmo. But, her friend, Mrs. Parkhurst seems much more enthusiastic in pushing for the divorce than is Mrs. Topper. Whereas Mrs. Parkhurst painted Cosmo as an evil man, his wife provided a much more positive assessment of Cosmo. Throughout the film, I wondered about Mrs. Parkhurst's motive for promoting the divorce. Is she being paid by Mrs. Topper? Is she a gold-digger, hoping to wed Cosmo? This latter possibility would seem remote, given the animosity toward Cosmos in the court room. Near the end, she seemed to be getting friendly with the 'baron' she had picked out for Mrs. Topper to wed after the divorce, whom Mrs. Topper ultimately rejected. The basic plot is rather similar to that for "Topper". Marion wants to do a good deed so that she can return to heaven with her husband.(Perhaps, she did something naughty to be thrown out of heaven?). Namely, she wants to patch up the animosity between Cosmo and Mrs. Topper, which she feels partly responsible for(see "Topper"). She thought she had accomplished that at the end of "Topper", but apparently it didn't last. Since Mrs. Topper's attempt to obtain a divorce locally failed, Mrs. Parkhurst arranged for them to travel to the French Riviera to try there. But, Cosmo, Marion, and Mr. Atlas follow them to the same hotel(Nice detective work!). Mrs. Parkhurst finds a suitable gold digger as a possible replacement for Cosmo. Nothing is said about a divorce hearing there. Cosmo has difficulty explaining why he orders 2 meals and a dog bone with only him evident in his room. Marion makes Cosmo look foolish numerous times when invisible, but makes up for it in getting him out of bad situations, in winning a fortune for him at the casino, and in getting Mrs. Topper's attention away from the 'baron' and back on Cosmo. Marion now thinks she has done her good deed, and petitions God to let her back into heaven, to be reunited with George(Cary Grant).

It recycles considerable footage from the first Topper film as background information. I guess that's a way of getting Cary Grant in there, even though he didn't shoot any new scenes for Topper Takes a Trip. (I bet they used his face in the advertising, too. If I had paid money to see this film, thinking Cary Grant was in it, I would have felt quite disappointed!) Constance Bennett stars as the ghost of Mrs. Kerby. She had some amusing moments, but I personally think she lacked the sparkle and sass of Joan Blondell, who starred in Topper Returns (my favorite of the three entries). The only scene at which I laughed out loud was that of the fortune-seeker on the beach, trying to woo Mrs. Topper while the ghost of Mrs. Kerby thwarts him with unseen hands at every turn. She strips his trunks off him while he's lying under the sand, then torments him with a giant beach ball that inexplicably keeps rolling over him while Mrs. Topper squeaks with alarm. So yes, that was funny, but if I had to choose one of the Topper films never to see again, it would be this one. Billie Burke, as usual, is a scene-stealer, but Alan Mowbray also made a worthy contribution here as the butler Wilkins.