Topper Takes a Trip

Oh, right, Cary Grant was in the first Topper movie? But he’s not in this sequel? How odd.

Oh yeah, this was the movie these two people died and then turned into ghosts and helped that other guy with his life!

It’s very high concept.

And I guess it was very successful since they did a sequel?

This is basically the same thing, only without Cary Grant — there’s now only a single ghost, but that ghost is still trying to help Topper (that guy to the right up there).

So it’s all these gags where he’s talking to an invisible woman, and people looking funny at him.

And Topper’s wife.

This is most amusing.

It’s really silly.

The ghost gags (here’s the ghost dog) are more accomplished than in the first movie, and it’s a lot less convoluted.

It’s just pure… silliness?

Some of these scenes are transcendently silly.

I think that was better than the first movie: It went right into the slapstick without all the emotional stuff first.

Oh, there’s a colour version on this DVD, too?

Has this been colourised?

Topper Takes a Trip. Norman Z. McLeod. 1938. ⚄

Alexander’s Ragtime Band

The director here, Henry King, is unknown to me, but he’s a real veteran:

Like, a dozen movies per year starting in 1916. But of course, slowing down in the 30s, with only a couple movies per year.

The plot is a classic — an up and coming band playing in various clubs to ever-growing success. It’s such a classic because it’s the easiest way to allow a director to string together a huge number of new hits (all by Irving Berlin here). You just need some conflict between the musicians, and you’re there.

This time around, the plot between the songs is kinda creepy: The band leader is this posh creep I mean upstanding guy, and he’s gonna Eliza up the fabulous singer I mean slovenly slattern singer.

Tyrone Power is supposed to be all sympathetic and stuff, but he comes off as a creep, and Alice Faye is perfect to begin with, but he’s coercively moulding her.