One of my repeated complaints about modern film is the lack of originality.  The same issue can be raised with classic cinema.  Arguably, the reason this is not spoken of about movies from a bygone era is because those productions were still relatively new in the 1930s and 1940s.  Still, to give you an example, they made six in the Thin Man franchise between 1934 and 1947.  That is not quite Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) level, but it is significant.  Of less volume is the set spawned by Topper (1937).  In point of fact, it only got one sequel, Topper Returns (1941), and I suspect that is because they did not get Cary Grant to reprise his role.  Pity.  All the same, it is a fun little romp through ghostly manors and murder mysteries.

Appropriately for a title like Topper Returns, Cosmo Topper (Roland Young) is returning . . . from somewhere.  It does not matter much, but he is a successful banker with an expansive spread in the far suburbs by the sea.  Driving through this same area via taxi are Ann Carrington (Carole Landis) and Gail Richards (Joan Blondell).  Ann is on her way to the Carrington estate, next door neighbor to Cosmo, in order to claim her inheritance from her father, Henry Carrington (H. B. Warner), whom she has never met.  As is later revealed, the reason for their estrangement is because of her long deceased mother, who wanted who to be raised in China.  Ann is not Chinese, but whatever.  Watching the progress of the cab is a mysterious figure cloaked in black.  He fires a shot that blows out one of the tires, causing the car to roll on its side and almost go over a cliff.  The driver, Bob (Dennis O’Keefe), says he is going to go for help, telling Ann and Gail to stay put.  Instead, they decide to hitch a ride the rest of the way, and the person they flag down is Cosmo.  Ann takes the back seat and Gail sits on Cosmo’s lap, ignoring his confused and muttered protests.  Ann gives the chauffeur, Eddie (Eddie “Rochester” Anderson), the directions and they fly past Cosmo’s home, scandalizing Mrs. Clara Topper (Billie Burke), who notices her husband in a compromising position.  Once Ann and Gail are dropped off, Ann greets her long lost father.  Because of his frailty, Ann bids him an early good night, but is nearly killed by a falling chandelier in the hall.  Once they are ready for bed, Ann notices how much Gail loves the room given to the heiress, so they swap chambers.  Unfortunately, this makes Gail the next victim of the shadowy figure from the road, who murders her with a knife.  This is when seeing the previous film would come in handy, especially when she materializes as a ghost and wanders over to Cosmo’s home.  He is in the middle of arguing with Clara about the day’s events, but is prepared when he finds a specter in his bed.  Though he has no desire to deal with the deceased as he had before, Gail tells him that if he does not help she will scream.  Clara may not be able to see Gail, but Cosmo’s wife will not be happy.  Reluctantly, Cosmo wakes Eddie to drive them to the Carrington mansion.  Once there, Gail brings Cosmo up to the room where she had been sleeping and they find her body.  Cosmo goes downstairs to ring the police, but the line is dead and he is found by members of the staff, who are pointing weapons at him.  He protests his innocence, taking them to the sleeping chamber, but the corpse has been moved.  Eddie, too, has departed, having had enough of disembodied voices and things moving of their own volition.  Cosmo insists that Ann’s friend is dead, but they find a letter supposedly from Gail stating that she had left.  In the resulting commotion, Bob knocks at the front door, which is answered by Ann.  He has come to collect the fare the girls skipped out on, but he is recruited to keep an eye on Ann while they search for evidence of Cosmo’s claims.  As for Clara, she finds Eddie packing his bags, planning to quit.  Instead, she demands to know where her husband is, forcing him to take her and Emily (Patsy Kelly), the maid, to the Carringtons.  Once Clara arrives, she is less concerned about the death that has occurred than locating her husband, who is hiding from everyone with Gail.  It is Clara who calls the police, not because of the crime committed, but for help finding Cosmo.  Not long thereafter, Police Sergeant Roberts (Donald MacBride) gets there with a few other officers.  Clara manages to find Cosmo, as do all the rest, but the invisible Gail forces him to escape so he can continue looking for her body.  It is at this time that we learn that the house has several hidden passages, all of which lead down to a water filled cave that opens to the sea.  Eddie falls into this area and witnesses a few henchmen taking Gail’s remains out by boat.  He manages to find Cosmo, and the banker and the ghost manage to retrieve the cadaver.  This helps, but it is the note that is the clearest evidence.  Gail manages to prevent the Carrington’s servant, Lillian (Rafaela Ottiano), from burning it.  Managing to get a sample of Lillian’s writing, the two are compared, connecting her to the death.  When this revelation comes out, the lights are switched off.  When they come back on, Lillian is gone.  In the confusion, Ann is left alone, and the cloaked figure comes to take her into the tunnels.  Bob goes after her, but it is Cosmo who figures out the system for how it works.  Thus, when everyone is back in the same room, he is able to implicate Henry as the killer.  He manages to flee, and it is Gail, with Eddie sleeping in the back seat, who goes after Henry.  Eventually, the murderer wrecks, dying in the crash.  When gruffly greeted by Gail in ghost form, he confesses to not being Ann’s father, the real one having died years ago.  Gail gets him to write this all down, which is passed to Cosmo, then on to Ann, who seems happy by the discovery.  The end.

With car crashes and parenting reveals, Topper Return’s ending is chaotic.  It is also pretty funny, for the most part.  The aspect that is not laughable is Eddie.  He is playing an African American stereotype common in cinema at that time, which is unfortunate, to say the least.  To be fair, I have seen worse representations, but it is still not great.  What is also not great is talking about this film from a Catholic perspective.  It would be silly to make any points about it in regards to the afterlife.  It is supposed to be comedic, so the fact that ghosts like these does not follow Catholic teaching is unworthy of further discussion.  On a different note, I enjoyed Clara’s character the most, though I feel like saying so is not Christian of me.  She is clearly meant to be a ditz, and she is a haughty person to boot.  As an example of this latter behavior, there is a scene in which she finds a chocolate cake in the Carrington’s kitchen.  Instead of asking for permission to have a piece, she takes a slice and orders Emily to bring her some tea.  Again, this is supposed to be a comedy, so you can give them a pass for their rude behavior.  If there is anyone who acts in a Christian manner, it is Bob.  Though he arrives merely seeking payment, the matter is soon dropped when he is called upon to protect Ann.  One might suspect him of doing so because she is a pretty face and he hopes to get something out of the situation.  Yet, he never tries to kiss her, and gives his time to trying to unwind this crazy case.  God is constantly putting us in situations where we are asked to lend a hand to people in need.  It is one thing to agree to helping, but another to do so without complaining.  This is a small part of the movie, but it is there and appreciated.

As is my usual reaction to classic cinema, I also appreciated the experience of watching Topper Returns.  I could have done without the way Eddie is portrayed, but as I said, there are worse examples.  Overall, it is sweet and I wish there were more like it.