Topper Takes a Trip

In the first of two sequels to the original film, wealthy banker Cosmo Topper's life is once again complicated by ghosts. Topper Takes a Trip opens in divorce court, where Clara Topper has accused her husband of infidelity. Topper attempts to explain to the court that 'the other woman' is actually the ghost of the recently departed Marion Kerby. The judge is not amused, and throws the case out of court. Meanwhile, Clara's meddling friend, Mrs. Parkhurst, convinces Clara to sail to France and get a divorce.

When Marion Kerby learns of her old friend Toppy's plight, she returns to earth to help him save his marriage. In France, Marion finds that Clara is under the spell of a phony Baron who only seeks to obtain Clara's vast fortune. With the help of a ghostly canine companion, Marion does everything within her power to reunite Cosmo and Clara. Other than Cary Grant, who appears only in flashback scenes, the rest of the cast returns to reprise their roles, including Roland Young as Cosmo Topper, Constance Bennett as Marion Kerby, Billie Burke as Clara Topper, and Alan Mowbray as Wilkins the Butler. Fans of The Thin Man series will surely recognize the famous wire-hair terrier, Asta, who plays Marion's sidekick, Mr. Atlas.

Topper Takes a Trip is based on Thorne Smith's novel of the same name, though there is very little similarity between the two. In the novel, Marion and George returned together to help their friend Topper. It's easy to understand why the producers chose not to replace Cary Grant, settling instead for eight minutes of footage from the original film to fill in the gaps. For fans of silver screen comedies, Topper Takes a Trip remains a crowd pleaser.