Topper geht auf Reisen

"Topper Takes A Trip" is a charming, airy, lyrical fantasy comedy. No one ever made a fantasy comedy like this. The playing of all actors and the set design mix screwball comedy with fantasy elements, making an appealing, sexy, subtly witty comedy that was the best sophisticated comedy feature ever to come out of the Hal Roach Studios.

The cast is a dream. Although all three actors' characters do not appear to each other, the chemistry between Roland Young, Constance Bennett, and Billie Burke is a joy to watch. The musical score by Marvin Hatley not only complements the film beautifully, it features pieces that sound more from the 1960's than 1939. A remarkable score that deserves major recognition by film scholars, students, and buffs.

Roland Young and Billie Burke made several films together for different studios however it was in this film and in Selznick's "The Young In Heart" that showed them at their absolute best as a team. They also deserver greater critical recognition for their work.

The camerawork and set design evoke a polish and sheen common to '30's romantic comedies. A handsome look that stimulates suspending disbelief for a fantasy film. "Topper Takes A Trip" is, undeniably, the best of the three Topper films produced by Hal Roach.

Topper Takes a Trip just never gets going. It's an OK comedy sequel to the 1937 smash hit but without Cary Grant. That leaves Marion (Constance Bennett) alone to hound Topper (Roland Young) but the film is missing the marital sparring that made the first one so good.

Mrs. Topper (Billie Burke) is seeking a divorce because Topper and Marion had stayed at a hotel together in the first film. Slim plot device then has the Mrs. heading to France for a quickie divorce where she falls among thieves: her "friend" and a phony baron. Topper and Marion head to France to stop the divorce and foil the setup.

Roland Young is still very good with his blank face and funny body movements (when the invisible Marion is prodding him). But there's just too much talk in this one. Bennett is as always beautiful and breezy. Burke is hilarious as the dithery Mrs. Topper in a way that no one else could copy. Alan Mowbray is back in the thankless butler role as is Spencer Charters as the judge.

Verree Teasdale plays the acid friend, Alex D'Arcy the faux baron, and Franklin Pangborn is the French hotel manager. Grant appears via flashback from the original film, but his absence is not well explained. Asta (the dog) is funny too.

Not a bad film but it could have been funnier.

We find Mrs. Topper (Billie Burke) is going to get a divorce due to catching her hubby with a woman that is not a woman, Marion Kerby (Constance Bennett.) or at least she is being pushed into thinking she wants a divorce by a so-called friend of whom has a nefarious purpose of her own. Toppy must go after his wife and woo her back.

The storyline is weak and the acting trite. There is a defiant lack of comedy or even credulity. There are countless counts and an unbelievable scheme. Oh yes, Cary grant is replaced by Skippy.

On the plus side, Cosmo Topper (Roland Young) does a great job of being pushed around by the invisible. And Alan Mowbray the bad guy in "Charlie Chan in London" made a believable butler. "Now you are holding the door open for me."

It recycles considerable footage from the first Topper film as background information. I guess that's a way of getting Cary Grant in there, even though he didn't shoot any new scenes for Topper Takes a Trip. (I bet they used his face in the advertising, too. If I had paid money to see this film, thinking Cary Grant was in it, I would have felt quite disappointed!) Constance Bennett stars as the ghost of Mrs. Kerby. She had some amusing moments, but I personally think she lacked the sparkle and sass of Joan Blondell, who starred in Topper Returns (my favorite of the three entries). The only scene at which I laughed out loud was that of the fortune-seeker on the beach, trying to woo Mrs. Topper while the ghost of Mrs. Kerby thwarts him with unseen hands at every turn. She strips his trunks off him while he's lying under the sand, then torments him with a giant beach ball that inexplicably keeps rolling over him while Mrs. Topper squeaks with alarm. So yes, that was funny, but if I had to choose one of the Topper films never to see again, it would be this one. Billie Burke, as usual, is a scene-stealer, but Alan Mowbray also made a worthy contribution here as the butler Wilkins.

Cosmo TOPPER TAKES A TRIP--with ghostly Marion Kerby and dead dog Atlas--to the French Riviera in hopes of winning back the estranged Mrs. Topper.

Hal Roach Studios presents more of the adventures of Topper in this follow-up to their previous comedy success. Many of the comic situations are highly reminiscent of the first film, but they are still funny and enough new material has been added to engage and hold the viewer's attention.

Roland Young & Billie Burke return as the Toppers and they are still a delight--Mr. Young owlish & serious in the silliest of situations and Miss Burke forever sweetly vague and befuddled. Gorgeous Constance Bennett, as ghostess Marion, remains free-spirited in her (unwelcome) attempts to help Cosmo out of his latest pickle. Somber Alan Mowbray is also back--and in top form--as the Toppers' devout butler.

Some new costars are on hand to help liven things up: Verree Teasdale plays Mrs. Topper's catty friend; Franklin Pangborn is the oleaginous manager of the Hotel St. Pierre; and suave Alexander D'Arcy provides some laughs as a gigolo baron intent on acquiring Miss Burke's money.

Movie mavens will recognize George Davis as a temperamental porter and Paul Porcasi as a suspicious casino manager, both uncredited. Atlas is played by that remarkable canine thespian, Asta. Cary Grant appears only in footage lifted from the first film.

A couple of scenes in particular are worth waiting for--the first when Topper, with invisible ghostly help, breaks the bank at the French casino's roulette wheel; the second comes when D'Arcy is subjected to humiliating indignities on the beach, courtesy of Miss Bennett and Asta.

This was the second of a 3-film series, coming after TOPPER (1937) and followed by TOPPER RETURNS (1941).