In the summer of 1937, Topper was a huge hit with moviegoers. It spawned two sequels (Topper Takes a Trip, 1938, and Topper Returns, 1941) and a television series in 1953 that ran for two seasons (78 episodes.) In 1973, a pilot was produced for a new series, Topper Returns. It didn’t make it to series. If at first you don’t succeed… In 1979, a pilot was produced for another new series, Topper. It also failed.
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Despite the star power of Kate Jackson, hot off Charlie’s Angels, this specific attempt to update the original screwball comedy was nearly unbearable for me to watch in present day. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the original, but on paper the 1979 version seems pretty faithful to the 1937 version. That is, except for the fact that the wonderful Irving Berlin song, “Blue Skies” is modernized to a disco beat.
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I understand that Marion Kerby (Jackson) and her husband, George (Andrew Stevens), are hedonists in the late ‘70s, but what in the world make them think their elderly lawyer, Cosmo Topper (Jack Warden) would have a good time when they take him out for a night on the town? I guess they’re selfish hedonists, more worried about doing a good deed to get them through the gates of Heaven than to actually help a sad, lonely man.
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Oh, yeah, I failed to mention that George and Marion are ghosts. They swerve their classic sports car on the road to avoid a bunny and suffer a fatal crash.They quickly figure out what’s going on when they hear no trumpets and then seem to inherently know the rules of the game, such as the fact that they can materialize for only so long before their ectoplasm dissipates.
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Their task is twofold. First, they want to find Topper happiness in a tired marriage to his wife, Clara (Rue McClanahan.) She’s a shrew, all right, but not so bad that some homemade beef stroganoff won’t turn her frown upside-down. They also want to prevent him from signing papers in a real estate deal for which his partner, Fred Korbell (James Karen) has illegally forged George’s signature.
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It took three people to write this. The original screenplay is not credited, though; instead, the opening credits tell us it’s based on the novel by Thorne Smith. Charles S. Dubin directed what appears to be at least one episode of every television series in the 70’s, but very few comedies. He didn’t have the right touch for Topper.
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Sadly, Topper is more painful to watch than it is funny or heartwarming. Especially since it features Jack Warden in it, I couldn’t stop thinking about a different afterlife comedy released a year earlier, which was also a remake of a classic film: Heaven Can Wait.
Visit the TV Terror Guide: 70's TV Movies playlist at ClassicHorrors.Club TV on YouTube to watch Topper and other great movies from this series.
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