Film

Topper

Name: Topper
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Released: 1937
Cast: Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray

Other titles called Topper: the 1953 series (CBS).

A married banker's dead best friends come back as boozy, matchmaking ghosts determined to drag him out of his beige little life. It's the screwball engine — mismatched pairs, marital sparring, absurd set-pieces — fitted with a supernatural gearbox and Cary Grant at his most weightlessly charming. Gentle, silly, and startlingly kind underneath the gag reel; good for anyone who wants comfort with a wink of the afterlife in it.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy screwball comedy where the supernatural is played for giggles rather than scares, and you like a meek man slowly discovering he can be reckless and cheeky.

Skip it if you want sharp, modern gags, since the jokes are gentle and the pacing has the unhurried rhythm of its era, with romance more playful than heated.

What it asks of you: About ninety-seven minutes of light, brisk nonsense: accept the premise without fuss, enjoy the sight gags and polite panic, and don't chase a plot.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Awful Truth1937

Cary Grant at the absolute peak of his screwball powers, sparring with Irene Dunne through a divorce neither of them actually wants. Same year, same star, same delighted chaos energy.

But No ghosts, no fantasy — if it's the supernatural gimmick you want, this is straight marital farce.

Bringing Up Baby1938

Grant again, this time reduced to rubble by Katharine Hepburn and a leopard. The purest, fastest screwball comedy ever made and a joy from start to finish.

But Relentlessly, exhaustingly fast — some find its pace more frantic than funny.

Blithe Spirit1945

A séance gone wrong brings a dead first wife roaring back to upend a stuffy marriage — the same ghost-as-marriage-therapist idea, but with sharper English teeth.

But Talkier and more theatrical, being a Noël Coward play; less physical comedy than Topper.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Topper

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Truly Madly Deeply1991

Same premise — the dead returning to reshape a stuck life — played in a completely different register: comedy of manners becomes an unflinching study of mourning.

A British film about a woman whose dead partner comes back — not to cause mischief, but because grief won't let either of them let go. Funny, then quietly devastating.

But It trades Topper's farce for real sorrow; go in ready to feel something heavier than screwball comedy.

My Man Godfrey1936

A screwball classic about class, wealth, and a household turned upside down by an outsider, with the same warm mockery of the idle rich Topper enjoys.

But No fantasy element at all — this one's grounded comedy, however giddy it gets.

It's a Wonderful Life1946

Another guardian spirit nudging a man toward the life he's been too careful to live — same sentiment, bigger emotional stakes, unforgettable ending.

But Far more earnest and occasionally bleak; it earns its warmth through real despair first.

Heaven Can Wait1978

A romantic fantasy-comedy about a man wrongly taken by death and the bureaucratic scramble to fix it — light, funny, and unexpectedly sweet.

But Its late-70s pacing and sensibility feel a touch slower than Topper's zip.

Beetlejuice1988

Ghosts trying to liven up (or in this case terrify) the stuffy living occupants of a house — Tim Burton's manic, candy-colored answer to the same premise.

But Much weirder and gothier; anyone allergic to Burton's visual chaos should steer clear.

Ghost1990

A dead man lingers to protect and guide the person he loves — the tender ghost-romance version of Topper's premise, minus the jokes, plus Whoopi Goldberg stealing every scene.

But Played mostly straight and occasionally maudlin; expect tears more than laughs.

Just Like Heaven2005

A modern, featherlight ghost rom-com with the same basic joke — uptight person, meddling spirit — reheated for a 2000s date-night crowd.

But Considerably slighter and more predictable; comfort food rather than a classic.

Dead Like Me2003

Takes Topper's core joke — ghosts as unlikely life coaches for the uptight living — and stretches it across a serialized TV format with a much darker sense of humor.

A twentysomething dies and joins a crew of grim reapers who nudge the living toward their fated ends — deadpan, morbid, oddly tender television about death as a day job.

But Two short seasons of tonal whiplash between slacker comedy and existential dread; not for the squeamish about mortality jokes.

Outward Bound1930

Made seven years before Topper, it got there first: ordinary people confronting death with very human confusion, humor, and denial, the seed Topper later turned into froth.

An early-talkie curiosity: a group of passengers slowly realize their ocean liner is ferrying them to the afterlife. Stagey, strange, and surprisingly moving for something this old.

But Creaky, theatrical, and dated even by 1937 standards — this is one for patient classic-film enthusiasts only.