I hope everyone wore their name badges for this investigation. No exchanges! I mean it!
Topper Returns (1941) is a whimsical take on the murder mystery that is meant to charm the viewer, and partially gets there. Cosmo Topper, a shy and retiring banker who has the ability to speak to ghosts, is tapped by the ghost of a murdered young woman, Gail Richards, who was visiting a neighboring palatial estate, to find her murderer and bring them to justice. Forced to visit the site of the murder in the middle of the night – that would be her second story bedroom at said palatial estate – we’re quickly introduced to a complex setup of father in failing health, a just-arrived heiress-in-waiting who is days off from inheriting a fortune, the doctor in charge of the father, and various staff members.
Adding to this is Topper with ghost and the unfortunate character Rochester in tow, and then soon followed by Topper’s spacey, jealous wife with personal attendant, and then the cops show up, which are sadly represented by the usual, for the era, farcical detective.
Oh, and here’s the taxi driver, looking to get his fare paid after someone shot out the tire of his taxi while driving the young ladies to the estate. Oh, apparently he’s cute.
And then comes the stealing of the corpse for purposes unknown! And don’t forget the abusive seal!
The mechanism of a reluctant detective speaking to the ghost of the murdered has its merits, especially that of novelty, but Topper’s desire not to get involved seems a trifle shameless in view of the youth of the hapless victim; less sympathetic to the cause of plausibility is the revelation that ghosts can drink and metabolize alcohol.
Yeah, she’s drunk off her ass at one point. What?
Then we get hidden passageways and a spring-loaded chair, just to round out our collection of murder mystery icons, all before the murderer is finally revealed to all, the heiress disturbingly fails to be upset over the murder of her friend, Topper’s wife is in upper-class hysterics, and the seal tries to drown Rochester.
It’s all very silly, and some of it is disturbing or, if you’re so inclined, offensive. But if you’re not offended and you’re looking for that light-hearted murder mystery to get you through the insomnia, this may be the pick for you.
And here it is:
