![Billie Burke and Patsy Kelly in Topper Returns](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Billie_Burke_and_Patsy_Kelly_in_Topper_Returns.jpg)
''Topper Returns'' is a 1941
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
thriller directed by
Roy Del Ruth
Roy Del Ruth (October 18, 1893, Delaware – April 27, 1961) was an American filmmaker.
Early career
Beginning his Hollywood career as a writer for Mack Sennett in 1915, Del Ruth later directed his first short film ''Hungry Lions'' (1919) ...
and written by
Jonathan Latimer
Jonathan Wyatt Latimer (October 23, 1906 – June 23, 1983) was an American crime writer known his novels and screenplays. Before becoming an author, Latimer was a journalist in Chicago.
Early life and education
Born in Chicago, Illinois, L ...
. The third and final installment in the initial series of
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
comedy films inspired by the novels of
Thorne Smith
James Thorne Smith, Jr. (March 27, 1892 – June 20, 1934) was an American writer of humorous supernatural fantasy fiction under the byline Thorne Smith. He is best known today for the two ''Topper'' novels, comic fantasy fiction involving se ...
, it succeeds ''
Topper'' (1937) and ''
Topper Takes a Trip
''Topper Takes a Trip'' is a 1938Some sources, such as Turner Classic Movies, say 1939. According to the Internet Movie Database, the film was released in New York City on 29 December 1938, and in the United States in January 1939. The exact year ...
'' (1938).
As in the prior films,
Roland Young
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
plays Cosmo Topper, a mousy banker who gets into trouble because of his ability to see and speak with ghosts, and
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North ...
plays his wife, who is constantly befuddled by his strange antics. The plot revolves around a murder mystery.
Joan Blondell
Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years.
Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...
portrays a slain woman who seeks out the reluctant Topper and enlists his help in identifying her killer and saving her friend, played by
Carole Landis
Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer. She worked as a contract player for Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her breakout role was as the female lead in the 1940 ...
. Most of the action takes place in a spooky mansion filled with eccentric characters, trapdoors and secret passages.
The film was nominated for the
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for
Best Special Effects (
Roy Seawright Roy Seawright born November 19, 1905 in Los Angeles, California, died April 30, 1991 in Torrance, California was a Hollywood special effects technician, principally with Hal Roach Studios.
Biography
Seawright's father was the chief architect of H ...
and
Elmer Raguse
Elmer R. Raguse (May 9, 1901 – March 2, 1972) was an American sound engineer mostly associated with the Hal Roach Studios. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards in the categories Best Sound Recording and Best Effects.
Editor Richard ...
) and
Best Sound Recording (
Elmer Raguse
Elmer R. Raguse (May 9, 1901 – March 2, 1972) was an American sound engineer mostly associated with the Hal Roach Studios. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards in the categories Best Sound Recording and Best Effects.
Editor Richard ...
).
A TV series, ''
Topper'', premiered in 1953 and ran for two seasons. A
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
called ''Topper Returns'' (1973) was later made for a proposed TV series. There was also a
made-for-TV
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
remake, ''Topper'', in 1979.
In 1969, ''Topper Returns'' entered the
public domain in the United States
Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by intellectual property rights (such as copyright) at all, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired.
All works first published or released in the United States b ...
because the claimants did not renew its
copyright registration
The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a cop ...
in the 28th year after publication.
Plot
Wealthy young heiress Ann Carrington and her best friend Gail Richards are riding in a speeding taxi driven by Bob, along the coast. A figure dressed all in black, with covered face and hat, aims a rifle with the telescopic sight crosshairs focused on the cab from a distance and shoots out the rear tire. The taxi flips over on its side at the very edge of a cliff, inches away from having fallen into crashing ocean waves below. Bob, the taxi driver, extracts his passengers from the vehicle and leaves them at the side of the road so he can walk back to a garage they passed back down the road to seek help.
Ann and Gail try hitchhiking and get passed by the first car. Gail raises Ann's skirt to expose her leg when a second car passes, and the driver ends up leaving the road and crashing into a tree. Next, they block the road by sitting on their suitcases in the middle of the road so the next car is forced to stop. In the sports car is banker Cosmo Topper and his chauffeur, Eddie. The two girls brazenly load their luggage and climb into the car. They insist on being driven to Ann's destination, the Carrington mansion. The back seat of the car is loaded with luggage and Ann, so Gail volunteers to ride sitting on Cosmo's lap, ignoring his protests.
As they drive past Topper's house, Mrs. Clara Topper is out front with her maid and waves to the approaching car. She is surprised to see her husband drive past with a young blonde sitting on his lap, and distraughtly concludes he is having an adventure. The girls are dropped off at the stately cliff top mansion next door to Topper's residence, where they are received by three creepy staff members, butler Rama, housekeeper Lillian, and another unnamed staff member.
Ann is directed to the study to see her father by the housekeeper, but her friend Gail is to stay behind. Ann is then intercepted by the creepy Dr. Jeris. Dr. Jeris warns Ann that her father, Henry Carrington, is in poor health and takes her to meet her father, who is sitting in a chair with a blanket over his legs. In the conversation we find out that Ann has been raised in the East at her mother's request. Ann has no memories of her father, as they have been separated since her mother and Carrington's business partner died in a cave while inspecting a company mine. Ann's father also reveals that the next day would be Ann's twenty-first birthday and, according to her mother's will, she is to come into full control of the family fortune.
After leaving her father, Ann and Gail are to be shown upstairs to their rooms. Gail is waiting on the stairs, and as Ann crosses the main hall, a giant chandelier breaks loose from the ceiling. Ann escapes harm because Gail screams in time for Ann to stop and just barely be missed by the chandelier. The girls continue on to their rooms. The first room is Gail's and it is decorated in an Oriental motif. Gail is unimpressed, as they have just returned from living in the East. Ann is then taken to her bedroom which is spectacularly decorated. Gail discovers the rooms are adjoining, and she makes such a fuss about how beautiful the room is that Ann insists that they trade, so Gail sleeps in what was supposed to be Ann's room.
In the middle of the night, a secret panel opens in the bedroom and the masked figure dressed all in black enters the bedroom and opens the windows. Gail is knifed to death as she gets up to shut the window, having been mistaken for Ann.
Gail's ghost separates from her body. Ghost-Gail walks out the window and goes down the road to the Topper's house to find someone who can help solve her murder. She finds Topper and convinces him to come to the Carrington mansion by threatening to create a scandal with his suspicious wife if he doesn't. Topper calls Eddie the chauffeur to get the car ready. Eddie grumbles and protests, but he does drive Topper back to mansion. Eddie is unaware of the ghost and experiences a number of puzzles as doors open and shut, cushions depress, voices are heard, footprints appear on the snowy walkways, and so on. Eventually he gets so scared that he runs away and drives back to the Toppers' house and starts packing to leave. Mrs. Topper finds him and asks where Cosmo is, and then demands to be driven to the house next door to find him. Eddie says he's had it and wants to go back to work for his former employer, Mr. Benny, but Mrs. Topper bullies him into driving her and Emily the maid to the Carringtons'.
Meantime, Topper, with the guidance of Ghost-Gail, finds the dead body of Gail, and goes downstairs to phone the police, but the phone doesn't work. Dr. Jeris, armed with a pistol, and the three staff members discover him, surround him, and keep him confined. He insists on going up to the bedroom to show them the body, but when they arrive, Gail's body is gone. The doctor and Mr. Carrington treat him as a lunatic. When Ann comes into the room, Topper tries to explain, but the housekeeper finds a note that Gail apparently wrote, saying she has left.
At this point, Mrs. Topper, her maid Emily, and Eddie arrive and insist Topper is in the house,, and they push their way in to look for him. By this time it is nearly daylight and Bob the taxi driver shows up at the house to collect his unpaid fare. Ann, who is wondering what happened to Gail, becomes frightened and asks Bob to stick around and escort her up to her room to get the fare. They go up to the bedroom, where Bob volunteers to wait outside the room. While Ann is in the room, the black dressed assassin appears, but Ann sees him in the mirror, screams, and Bob responds in time to see the black figure escape through the window.
In the following sequences, there are many comings and goings with people disappearing and reappearing by way of concealed stairways and hallways reachable by moving or rotating wall panels. Mrs. Topper uses the phone and calls the police to report her missing husband and innocently mentions there has also been a murder. Soon police detective Roberts, with a squad of cops, comes in and starts asking questions. He gets confused by the conflicting answers and by tricks that Ghost-Gail plays from time to time.
Ghost-Gail has Topper hide in the kitchen's walk-in refrigerator. Eventually Topper is found by his wife and the bulk of the characters end up in the kitchen. Ghost-Gail steals a pistol from police detective Roberts’ pocket. Ghost-Gail forces it on Topper and manipulates him to get everyone else into the refrigerator and lock them in. Ghost-Gail and Topper then proceed to look for her body to prove the murder. Eventually Bob breaks the window in the door and gets everyone out of the refrigerator. Ann is kidnapped by the figure in black and is ultimately rescued by Bob, with assistance from Ghost-Gail.
Lillian the housekeeper is eventually proved to be the writer of Gail's note. She decides to start talking to say she was in on some of the deceptions but had nothing to do with the murder. The lights go out suddenly and Lillian disappears. It turns out there is a secret chain in the fireplace that, when pulled, makes the chair in the center of the room tilt backwards and dump the occupant down a vertical shaft to a water-filled cave below the mansion.
Eventually, the threads come together. Topper and Ghost-Gail manage to get her body back from a small ship a short distance offshore from the water cave. The body is returned to the mansion and, despite the comic total confusion of the detective, Topper states that the killer must have been the person who was standing nearest the fireplace when Lillian was about to talk, and that person was none other than . . . Mr. Carrington!
Mr. Carrington escapes, gets in a car, and drives off. Ghost-Gail gets into Topper's sports car and goes in pursuit. Eddie is in the back seat, terrified that the car is being driven at top speed on winding roads with an invisible driver. Mr. Carrington, being followed in hot pursuit, eventually loses control, and his car leaves the road and crashes into a tree. He dies and becomes a ghost himself. Before anyone else arrives, Ghost-Gail browbeats Ghost-Carrington into writing a letter to Ann, confessing that he is not her father, but her father's business partner. Her father died in the mine together with Ann's mother, and he has been impersonating Carrington in order to kill Ann and keep the fortune for himself.
Ghost-Gail gives the letter to Topper when the other characters arrive at the crash scene, and Topper hands it to Ann. Clara Topper sees that Cosmo was mostly telling the truth about his adventures with the two young ladies, and Bob and Ann comfort each other. Eddie quits, and Clara convinces the maid Emily to drive the Toppers home. Ghost-Gail thanks Eddie for the help, then Ghost-Carrington apologizes for dumping him in the water. This scares Eddie, who runs so fast he passes the Toppers' car.
Cast
*
Joan Blondell
Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years.
Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...
as Gail Richards
*
Roland Young
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
as Cosmo Topper ("Toppy")
*
Carole Landis
Carole Landis (born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste; January 1, 1919 – July 5, 1948) was an American actress and singer. She worked as a contract player for Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1940s. Her breakout role was as the female lead in the 1940 ...
as Ann Carrington
*
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North ...
as Clara Topper
*
Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe (born Edward Vanes Flanagan, Jr., March 29, 1908 – August 31, 1968) was an American actor and writer.
Early years
Born in Fort Madison, Iowa, O'Keefe was the son of Edward Flanagan and Charlotte Flanagan, Irish vaudevill ...
as Bob the taxi driver
*
Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly (born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly; January 12, 1910 – September 24, 1981) was an American actress. She is known for her role as the brash, wisecracking sidekick to Thelma Todd in a series of short comedy films produced by Hal Ro ...
as Emily
*
H. B. Warner
Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...
as Henry Carrington
*
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson
Edmund Lincoln Anderson (September 18, 1905 – February 28, 1977) was an American comedian and actor. To a generation of early radio and television comedy he was known as "Rochester".
Anderson entered show business as a teenager on the vaudevi ...
as Eddie
*
George Zucco
George Zucco (11 January 1886 – 27 May 1960) was a British character actor who appeared in plays and 96 films, mostly American-made, during a career spanning over two decades, from the 1920s to 1951. In his films, he often played a suave ...
as Dr. Jeris
*
Donald McBride
Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an ...
as Police Sergeant Roberts
*
Rafaela Ottiano
Rafaela Ottiano (4 March 1888 – 15 August 1942) was an Italian-American stage and film actress.
Early life
Rafaela Ottiano was born in Venice, Italy. She immigrated to the United States with her parents and was processed at Ellis Island in 1 ...
as Lillian
*
Trevor Bardette
Trevor Bardette (born Terva Gaston Hubbard; November 19, 1902 – November 28, 1977) was an American film and television actor. Among many other roles in his long and prolific career, Bardette appeared in several episodes of '' Adventures of S ...
as Rama
* William O'Brian as unnamed second butler.
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film an 89% "fresh" rating based on 9 reviews, and an average of 7/10. ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said the "
lm begins to miss out when the story veers from its own premise to the level of a conventional mystery farce."
See also
*
List of ghost films
Ghost movies and shows can fall into a wide range of genres, including romance, comedy, horror, juvenile interest, and drama. Depictions of ghosts are as diverse as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Beetlejuice, Hamlet's father, Jacob Marley, Freddy Kru ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Roy Del Ruth
1941 films
1940s fantasy comedy films
1940s comedy mystery films
1940s ghost films
American black-and-white films
American fantasy comedy films
American ghost films
American comedy mystery films
American sequel films
1940s English-language films
Films directed by Roy Del Ruth
Films set in country houses
United Artists films
1941 comedy films
1940s American films