"Topper" (1953) TV series 1953-1955

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

9 October 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Comedy

Plot:

This series was about a somewhat grumpy and uptight banker, Cosmo Topper, and the ghosts which only he could see or hear...

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Alcoholic | Stars Married In Real Life | Married Couple | Dog

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Anne Jeffreys	...	Marion Kerby / ... (45 episodes, 1953-1955)
Robert Sterling	...	George Kerby (45 episodes, 1953-1955)
Leo G. Carroll	...	Cosmo Topper (45 episodes, 1953-1955)
Lee Patrick	...	Henrietta Topper / ... (31 episodes, 1953-1954)
Buck	...	Neil (19 episodes, 1953-1955)

Runtime:

30 min (78 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

Ghostly couple Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys were also married in real life.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wild Spirit (2003) (V)

Racy

Thorne Smith wrote a lot of racily humorous books, most of them justly forgotten, but now and then he hit on a worthwhile theme. The Topper books were about how after a short and frivolously wasted life, a young couple returns from the dead to implore a Thurberesque little man to live life to the fullest. Because it's a terribly serious situation that applies to us all, it's a wonderful basis for humor. Oh, and because the young female is safely dead, she can indulge in racier behavior than was often seen on 1950s television.

The TV remake with Jack Warden was less successful, largely because its Topper was at the pinnacle of the business world and thus less obviously in need of any ectoplasmic helpers.