Topper(Norman Z. McLeod, 1937) Amazing that this one hasn't crossed my path before. The original author, Thorne Smith, was responsible for the source of I Married a Witch, which was an odd twee dip into the supernatural, dark cauldron division. Topper is considerably lighter—airier in spirit—much more screwball comedy-oriented, especially given its send-up of the privileged class. George and Marion Kirby (Cary Grant, Constance Bennett) are idle-rich folk, who after a night and day of irresponsible living cannot escape an irresponsible death by taking a corner too fast in their roadster and crashing into a tree. They don't survive, although they do walk away from the accident, but merely as ghosts, fading in and out of reality—a sort of supernatural version of an extended drunk. "Well for once in our ... Well, for once, we're stuck," says George with clarity and a little regret.
The couple decide then and there to do a good deed—taking on, as guardian angels, their banker Cosmo Topper (played by scene-stealer Roland Young), hen-pecked by his restrictive wife (Billie Burke). He lives a carefully-managed, tightly-scheduled life of quiet desperation, yearning to breathe free, or at least have a little fun now and again. The Kirbys provide him with the ghost of a chance and, although initially stumbling with the opportunity, he learns to embrace it, dealing with the disappearances, the levitation's and the other miracles that his ambassadors to a better life provide him.
It's from 1937, but the effects work is still pretty amazing—combinations of split-screens, double exposures, fade-in's, crash-edits, blue-screen and invisible wire-work. Even though the ghost-tricks have been done (and...done to Death), some of them are still startling (how DID they do that thing with the dogs?!). Clever and fun, and variations of the theme, so they don't over-use the same effect over and over again.
Nice cast, too. Hard to believe this was Grant's first foray into the light comedy stance that would be his signature style for the rest of his career (Hollywood hadn't discovered this yet?) and studio stalwarts like the frog-voiced Eugene Pallette, Alan Mowbray, and Arthur Lake (he'd become Dagwood in the "Blondie" movie series) making the most of their scenes. There's even a brief musical interlude with Hoagy Carmichael! Inventively realized by Norman Z. McLeod, who (having directed the Marx Brothers) knew how to get out of the way of performers and tighten things up for the movies, Topper is delightful, smart of concept and word, ingenious in execution, and a genuine crowd-pleaser...in this life or the next.
The Set-Up: Aaron Brown, the newscaster, said that while recovering from an early heart attack, he used Marx Brothers movies as therapy. If laughter is the best medicine, the Marx Brothers are a miracle drug. Decades after their movies were produced, they are still shining examples of humor that communicates over the passage of time. The four Marx Brothers—Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo—made some of the funniest, if some of the most un-cinematic movies ever produced. You didn't need fancy camera set-ups. Just keep the boys in frame (if possible) and you had comedy gold. Their physical comedy and their crack timing with gags (unreproducible here, unfortunately) keep the routines laugh out loud funny. But they are also anarchic spirits in a corrupt world. Their heightened absurdity and tortured logic confuse the best-laid schemes of crooks and swindlers, while allowing the free passage of true love. That's how it worked in the movies, anyway. The Marxes were road-blocks to business-as-usual, and they could be counted on to disrupt any example of civilization known to man. Someday, I'll reproduce the first ten minutes of Horse Feathers*—my favorite Marx Brothers movie—but for now, the perfect zaniness of the "Swordfish" scene will suffice.
The Story: Huxley College is in dire financial trouble, so to guarantee its future success college president Professor Quincey Adams Wagstaff (Groucho Marx) goes to the local speakeasy to recruit football players to play for the college, students or no. But first, he has to get by speakeasy employee Baravelli (Chico Marx) who won't let just anybody in. Action!
Nick: Hey, Bareveliii! Baravelli: What do you want? Nick: Watch the door for a few minutes and don’t let anyone in without the password. Baravelli: Okay, what is it? Nick: "Swordfish" is the password, do you understand? Baravelli: Okay, I got it. Nick: Well, what is it? Baravelli: Password. Nick: "Swordfish!" "Swordfish!" Baravelli: Alright! "Swordfish!" "Swordfish!" Nick: Ah! (Nick walks away in disgust) Baravelli(under his breath): Biotsomoscowsindaroomfulafachdisipach! (There's a knock at the door. Baravelli opens up a security door) Baravelli: Who are you? Professor Wagstaff: I’m fine, thanks. Who are you? Baravelli: I’m fine, too, but you can’t come in unless you give the password! Wagstaff: Well, what is the password? Baravelli: Aw no, you gotta tell me! Hey, I tell what I do I give you three guesses. (Baravelli looks around to see if anyone's watching) Baravelli: It’s the name of a fish. Wagstaff: Is it Mary? Baravelli: Ha! That’s a no fish. Wagstaff: She isn’t? Well, she drinks like one! Let me see. Is it Sturgeon? Baravelli: Hey, you crazy. A sturgeon, he’s a doctor, cut you open when you sick. Now, I give you more chance. Wagstaff: I got it! Haddock! Baravelli: That’s a funny! I got a haddock, too! Wagstaff: What do you take for a haddock? Baravelli: Well, sometimes I take a aspirin, and sometimes I take a calomel. Wagstaff: Say, I’d walk a mile for a calomel. Baravelli: You mean chocolate calomel, I like that, too, but you no guess it... (Baravelli shuts the door on Wagstaff. Wagstaff knocks again) Baravelli: ‘ey, whatsamatter, you don’t unnerstand English? You can’t come in here unless you say "Swordfish." Now I give you one more guess. Wagstaff: "Swordfish"..."Swordfish"...I think I got it…is it "Swordfish?" Baravelli: Ha! That’s it! You guess it! (Baravelli opens the door for Wagstaff) Wagstaff: Pretty good, huh? Baravelli: Fine..you guess it… (Wagstaff shakes his hand, runs inside and shuts the door. Baravelli knocks on the door. Wagstaff opens the security door) Wagstaff: What do you want? Baravelli: I want to come in. Wagstaff: What’s the password? Baravelli: Oh, you no fool me..."Swordfish." Wagstaff: No, I got tired of that. I changed it. (Wagstaff slams the door. Baravelli knocks again.) (Wagstaff opens the security door) Baravelli: What’s the password now? Wagstaff: Gee I forgot it, I better come outside with you… (Wagstaff walks outside. The door slams shut. They're locked out. Both begin knocking on the door and kicking it.) Horse Feathers
Topper (Norman Z. McLeod, 1937) Amazing that this one hasn't crossed my path before. The original author, Thorne Smith, was responsible for the source of I Married a Witch, which was an odd twee dip into the supernatural, dark cauldron division. Topper is considerably lighter—airier in spirit—much more screwball comedy-oriented, especially given its send-up of the privileged class. 
(Wagstaff shakes his hand, runs inside and shuts the door. Baravelli knocks on the door. Wagstaff opens the security door)
Wagstaff: What’s the password?
Wagstaff: No, I got tired of that. I changed it. (Wagstaff slams the door. Baravelli knocks again.)
