B0002Y186E

090328308742

1941

1941-03-21

88

1h 28min

Nominated for 2 Oscars, 2 nominations total

Roy Del Ruth

Thorne Smith, Jonathan Latimer, Gordon Douglas

Joan Blondell, Roland Young, Carole Landis

Hal Roach

Werner R. Heymann

Norbert Brodine

James E. Newcom

Nicolai Remisoff

William Stevens

Royer

Bernard Carr

William Randall, Elmer Raguse

Roy Seawright

Duke York

Eugene Joseff

Irvin Talbot

Hal Roach, Irene Martin, H.W. Winston

Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery

Hal Roach Studios

USA

English

Passed

6.8

3065

Topper Returns is a 1941 fantasy comedy thriller directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by Jonathan Latimer. The third and final installment in the initial series of supernatural comedy films inspired by the novels of Thorne Smith, it succeeds Topper (1937) and Topper Takes a Trip (1938).

As in the prior films, Roland Young plays Cosmo Topper, a mousy banker who gets into trouble because of his ability to see and speak with ghosts, and Billie Burke plays his wife, who is constantly befuddled by his strange antics. The plot revolves around a murder mystery. Joan Blondell 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. 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 for Best Special Effects (Roy Seawright and Elmer Raguse) and Best Sound Recording (Elmer Raguse). A TV series, Topper, premiered in 1953 and ran for two seasons. A pilot called Topper Returns (1973) was later made for a proposed TV series. There was also a made-for-TV remake, Topper, in 1979.

In 1969, Topper Returns entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.

Screwball comedy,car accident,sequel,psychotronic film,car crash