Topper Returns (United Artists) (1941)

LAUGH-FILLED MYSTERY-COMEDY UNREELED IN ‘TOPPER RETURNS” Carole Landis in “Topper Returns.” 13A—One Col. Scene (Mat .15; Cut .25) # Tricky Scenery Is Refurbished For New Comedy There’s a strong family resem¬ blance between a motion picture studio and the fellow who’s been saving string for twenty years. Neither ever throws anything away. In a studio, it’s not a case of being penurious. It’s just that everything from a picture frame to the largest set ever constructed, no matter how unique, can ulti¬ mately be adapted to films. This truism was profitably proven during the shooting of Hal Roach’s “Topper Returns,” now at the .... Theatre. One of the sets required for this picture was an over-sized, cave-like pool, which was to be the scene of mysterious goings-on involving Roland Young, Eddie (Rochester) Anderson and Joan Blondell, a lovely ghost who can row a boat without being there. To build such a set would re¬ quire an outlay of several thou¬ sand dollars in time and materials. But the production department merely looked up its files of pen¬ sioned sets and presto! located exactly the thing in five minutes. The cave, replete with hanging moss, was a throw-back of 1,001 - 940 years. More specifically, it was originally built for the Roach pre¬ historic epic, “One Million B. C” However, after the removal of various stalagmites by the re¬ furbishing and bringing up-to-date department, the set was just what lopper Returns” called for. After t all > cave looks pretty much like Ay other cave, in the dark New Roach Hit Brilliantly Played By Top-Notch Cast of Comics {Prepared Review) Hal Roach’s third picture in his famous Topper series is the brilliantly produced and directed mystery-comedy, called “Top¬ per Returns,” which was unveiled at a gala premiere last night at the .... Theatre under the auspices of United Artists. This latest Roach offering, which is based on an original story by Jonathan Latimer, carries the famous characters created by the late Thorne Smith into further laugh-packed channels of fun and hilarity. “Topper Returns” is an excel¬ lent blend of mystery and comedy, with crackling dialogue, eerie situations and spell-binding action. It was smartly directed by Roy Del Ruth and keeps the audience nailed to its seats with suspense that gallops and is interspersed with punchy humor. Roland Young and Billie Burke are back as Cosmo Topper and his not-so-bright wife, the roles in which they scored in the two preceding Roach hits, “Topper” and “Topper Takes a Trip.” Top-Notch Portrayals Other top-notch portrayals are contributed by lovely Joan Blondell who is seen as the lovely and shapely spirit which haunts Cosmo Topper and gets him into many hilarious situations. Carole Landis, the luscious blonde, turns in an excellent performance as the ro¬ mantic lead, while opposite her is flip and easy-going Dennis O’Keefe, the hero of the piece. Eddie Anderson, Jack Benny’s famous Rochester, is at his hu¬ morous best and appears as the chauffeur who can’t learn to like ghosts. Rafaela Ottiano, the screen’s feminine “menace,” does an excellent bit of first-class frightening of the rest of the cast. H. B. Warner is the suave villain of the piece and comedienne Patsy Kelly contributes a large share of the laughs. Slick Mystery Plot Briefly the story of “Topper Re¬ turns” concerns the mysterious death of Gail Richards, played by Joan Blondell. Joan has the power to materialize and dematerialize at will, so she turns up to find her own murderer and to haunt the scene of the crime. This she does by visiting the Carrington mansion, a lugubrious - looking place where many strange things go on. Joan, however, mournful spirit — she is a ghost addicted to practical jokes and a liking for champagne. She man¬ ages to get plenty of laughs out of being a ghost and to get her host into a series of hard-to-ex- plain situations. “Topper Returns” adds up to a sure-fire hit because it has everything — a swell story, a good sense of humor, a fine cast and production and a suspenseful mystery. Joan Blondell, Roland Young and Carole Landis are three of the starring players in Hal Roach’s “Topper Returns,” now at the .... Theatre, and they contribute a number of merry twists to the plot of the story. 8B—Tivo Col. Scene (Mat .30; Cut .50) Miss Burke Gives A Surprise Party The birthday party given Billie Burke on the set of “Top Returns” was strictly a surpi It was especially surprising to B. Warner, for whom the pe was given. The reason: it was Warner’s birthday. “What’s the difference?” as Miss Burke, handing Warner ice cream and cake. A short time ago Warner, i plays the part of Carrington the Hal Roach mystery-com which is now at the ... . Thea complained to other members the cast, including Miss Bu] who is Mrs. Topper in the picti that he could never remember anniversary of his birth. It alw sneaked up on him, he said, , usually he forgot until after it i Past. Miss Burke remembered the c versation, and decided it would fun to celebrate, with all memt of the cast and crew participati Dennis O’Keefe Discusses Dynamics of He-Man Roles The era of the mannequin male lead in motion pictures has pretty well run its course, in the opinion of Dennis O’Keefe, and he is enthusiastically applauding the development. For many years the romantic male lead did nothing but parade before the camera, with nary a hair out of place until he gets the girl, and she mussed it up a bit in the final clinch. The public won’t stand for that any more, says O’Keefe, one of Hollywood’s most promising lead¬ ing men. And neither will a con¬ scientious actor. The male lead must be more than handsome. He must have some character, else the motives seem spurious. Girls don’t want to marry mannequins. May¬ be a touch of bad in the leading man will help. Anyway, it’s bet¬ ter than no character at all. “Give me a character role rather than a straight male lead,” says O’Keefe, echoing a growing senti¬ ment of his colleagues. “Maybe the <S>- folks out in the hinter-lands will accept the rapidly-vanishing man¬ nequin hero, but it doesn’t do the actor any good in his profession. He gets little opportunity to show whether he has any honest-to-gosh acting ability.” O’Keefe’s current role, as the romantic male lead of Bob, the cab driver, in the Hal Roach mys¬ tery comedy, “Topper Returns,” at the .... Theatre, is just what he wants. He’s a cab driver, with a definite personality. Troupe of Screen Wizards Mystify Stars in Mystery Working in a mystery picture on the Hal Roach lot, with Charlie Oelze and his fellow wizards of the prop department supplying the trick stuff, is something like trying to relax at a magicians’ convention. The principals in the Topper murder mystery, “Topper Returns,” which will have its local premiere at the .... Theatre on . . . ., found that out! Joan Blondell, Carole Landis, Roland Young and Billie Burke are featured in the picture, which was directed by Roy D£1 Ruth. Almost the entire action of “Topper Returns” occurs in the Carring¬ ton mansion, an old, eerie place fitted with sliding panels, chairs that do nip-ups, depositing the occupant into dungeons, trap doors, secret passages between the walls. Oelze and his associates were responsible for many of the astounding effects. They did such a good job that the actors became a little uneasy about it. It was one set in which, despite its collections of comfortable chairs and divans, no one lounged. The actors found it impossible to relax in a chair when they knew it might suddenly turn over. Carole Landis leaned against a panel, to rest between shots. Presto! She was gone. She found herself on the other side of the wall. “Pardon me,” she said. “I think I’ll go back to my dressing room for a while.” She looked a trifle pale. A Tricky Ghost In “Topper Returns,” Joan Blondell, as Gail Richards, is murdered, and thereafter she wanders through the script as an ectoplasmic shape, able to appear and dematerialize at will, and stick her fingers into the mortal affairs of others. Thus, throughout the picture chairs depressed when no one (save an unseen Gail Richards) was sitting in them. Champagne corks sped through the air when no one was holding the bottle. Oelze was one of the men who worked to achieve these miracles. Miss Blondell got a taste of it early in the picture. The pillow beside her collapsed as if a hand were pressed on it. Then it came back to its original smoothness. That was the work of Oelze. Miss Blondell stared at the pillow, fascinated. Then she shuddered. “This place is haunted,” she said, “and not by me, either.” Charlie Oelze was named the ghost of the Hal Roach lot by the stars and they didn’t do it to flatter him, either. There’s mystery afoot and Dennis O’Keefe, Carole Landis and H. B. Warner fear its implications in this exciting scene in Hal Roach’s “Topper Returns,” the mystery-comedy which will have its first showing at the .... Theatre oil. . . . 4B—T ico Col. Scene (Mat .30; Cut .50) Page Fifteen