Starring Cary Grant and Constance Bennett as the Kirbys, a fun-loving young married couple who gets killed in a car accident, “Topper,” the classic black and white film, has a very cute premise. Unable to find a way to get to Heaven, our ghosts decide they must be lacking in good deeds, and no one needs a good deed done to them more than their stuffy friend Topper, president of the bank. Topper’s life is ordered and precise, his every movement dictated by his wife, and he hardly ever has any fun. The Kirbys are just the ticket to open a whole new life to Topper, and they start right away, getting him drunk and in trouble with the police. Now that’s fun for you!
The cover of the DVD made the film sound charming, darling, irresistible – and it’s Cary Grant! How could you possibly go wrong with that combination? Well, I hate to say it, but they did go wrong. They went very, very wrong. The car accident which took the Kirby’s life didn’t occur until a good fifteen minutes into the film, by which time I was plenty bored, waiting for something to happen. The dialogue rambled on endlessly, often just silly chitchat with no real purpose. I have come to expect a higher caliber film from Cary Grant and was sadly disappointed.
There were a few redeeming qualities, I must admit. Given how limited technology was in the 1930s, the filmmakers did a good job with making the Kirbys appear and disappear, and the special effects used when George changes a flat tire are really quite impressive. And we mustn’t forget Topper’s wife, played by Billie Burke, who delivered some of the best lines in the film, informing Topper that his new sports car is a painted Jezebel and he looks like a what-not while driving it. Unfortunately, these few saving graces did not make up for the slow pace of the film and the meaningless dialogue. The premise was great; the execution was terrible. Oh, I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said “execution” when there are ghosts around.
Side note: You’ll recognize Billie Burke as having played Glinda, the Good Witch, in “The Wizard of Oz.”
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