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Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The 3rd and final instalment of the Topper series of ghostly films, produced by Universal in 1937,'38, and '41. These were all inspired by several books written by Thorne Smith. The related film "I Married a Witch", filmed at Paramount, was also based on a Thorne Smith novel. The Topper series all involved one or more ghosts of a recently deceased person, who alternate between visible(mostly to Topper)and invisible. They may exert physical effects, as if they had a physical body. This provides the basis for mysterious and sometimes comical happenings. All these films were photographed in B&W, although a colorized version of the present film is available at YouTube. B&W may be preferable for murder mysteries of this era, providing a more sinister atmosphere. Unlike the first 2 Topper installments, this is a ghostly murder mystery. It's not billed as a comical mystery, although there is some humor here and there. Roland Young returns as the middle-aged Topper, and Billie Burke returns as his neurotic befuddled wife. But, Joan Blondell takes the place of Constance Bennet, as the main ghost. Also, there is no one comparable to Cary Grant's role in the first of this series. Joan, as the main ghost, helps solve the disappearance of her body, and who was responsible for her murder. Ann Carrington(Carole Landis) and her friend Gail Richards(Joan Blondell) arrive at the Carrington mansion after a near fatal crash of their taxi, caused by a gunman shooting out one of their tires. They had journeyed from the Far East, where Ann had spent her whole life, and where her mother, estranged from her father, had recently died from an accident. She had come in response to a letter saying her father was very ill, and she was the heir apparent of his estate. The girls met a sinister-looking collection of functionaries at the mansion, including Lilian: the housekeeper, Dr. Jeris: Mr. Carrington's personal physician, and Rama: the butler. Later arrivals include Cosmo Topper, his chauffeur: Rochester Anderson, his wife, his maid, and Bob: the cab driver. Also, several police spend much time trying to solve the murder case. Upon arrival, the massive central chandelier crashes, nearly hitting Ann. The girls are assigned their respective bedrooms, but Gail much prefers Ann's room, so Ann allows her to switch rooms the first night. This will prove fateful for Gail, as a man in all black enters her room and stabs her fatally during the night, escaping out her window. Gail's ghost travels to the nearby Topper residence and gets in Cosmo's bed, initially in invisible form. She asks Topper to accompany her to the Carrington's, to try to determine who killed her. Cosmo does this, and they find the body as before. However, when Cosmo goes downstairs to use the phone, various inhabitants converge on him. When he takes them to show the body, it's gone.Later, a man looking like the one that killed Gail, enters Ann's room at night and nearly knifed her, but screams brought a savior. Still later, the same person grabs Ann and takes her behind a secret panel. Again, someone saves her....I leave you to discover the remainder of this tale....Gail's killing may have been a random event. However, several happenings suggest probably someone was targeting Ann, and killed Gail by mistake, not knowing they had switched bedrooms for the night.The murder mystery itself, is fairly interesting, with a 'surprise' resolution. Joan and Rochester try to inject some humor there and there, with only modest success. Billie Burke, no doubt, comes across as more irritating than funny. To me, she's moderately amusing, with her inimical speech and frequent airhead remarks. Carole Landis serves mainly as eye candy, in one of her many supporting movie roles in the '40s. Ultimately, she was disappointed in the way her life was playing out, and took an overdose of pills, when not quite 30. Some of you may be uncomfortable with the idea that the spirits of the dead can appear in bodily or invisible form, manifesting physical abilities when invisible. In this respect, these ghosts are infringing on the characteristics of The Invisible Man, or Woman, who are not ghosts, but living people who have achieved reversible invisibility through special potions or electronics. They also exhibit physical capabilities, when invisible. The object of these fantasies is to imagine their unlikely existence, and the fun or sinister things these ghosts or people could do to drive the rest of us crazy.

I agree with jmcsparin that this was the funniest movie seen by me, and without hesitation, I am recommending it, and especially to anyone who is depressed, because this movie was so funny, that it has to lift up even the most depressed person! The basic plot of a murdered woman coming back as a ghost to find her murderer was humorous, but it would never have worked without such an excellent cast! Roland Young was excellent as Topper, as was Joan Blondell as the murdered woman. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson as a chauffeur, Billie Burke as Mrs. Topper, and Donald MacBride as a detective-all hilarious, and it does not end there- Dennis O'Keefe as a taxi driver and Patsy Kelly as Mrs. Topper's maid had some very funny lines! Even the non-funny actors were excellent-Carole Landis, H.B. Warner, George Zucco, Trevor Bardette, and Rafaela Ottiano! Do not miss this movie!

Carole Landis (Ann) brings her friend Joan Blondell (Gail) to stay with her at her luxury mansion on the night before she inherits a huge estate. Her ill father H.B. Warner (Mr Carrington) currently lives there with an assortment of staff including spooky maid Rafaella Ottiano (Lillian) and spooky doctor George Zucco (Dr Jeris). However, it seems that someone does not want Landis alive and is trying to kill her. Blondell is murdered in a case of mistaken identity at the start of the film, and we then follow her attempt to unveil her killer with the help of Roland Young (Topper) who is able to see her as a ghost.The film sounds like fun, especially with the names of the cast. It is played as a 'spooky house' mystery that is never actually spooky. It is also played as a comedy, and likewise, it is never actually funny. We get a brash Joan Blondell wise-cracking her way through the film and Roland Young irritatingly underplaying his role. However, worse than this is the need for the cast to scream and shout when it is just not necessary. Donald MacBride as the unfunny comedy detective is the main offender and ruins the film whenever he is on screen. Billie Burke (Mrs Topper) is also annoying, mainly due to her manner, as is Patsy Kelly as her maid. Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson as the chauffeur is likable and he gets the best moments - eg, being repeatedly pushed back into the sea by a sea lion, and his facial expression as he walks in the snow with an extra set of footprints apparently walking alongside him but coming from nobody.The overall feeling is one of annoyance rather than comedy, and it is certainly never scary. The best thing about the film is the house and Carole Landis, who plays it straight, so that tells you something. You get some slapstick thrown in for bad measure, and it is one of those films that plays out in a certain way with everyone overacting their parts. Check out George Zucco's crazy eyes!

This is a ghost comedy wrapped in a murder mystery. It works because of the funny ensemble cast. Billie Burke (Mrs. Topper), Eddie Anderson (the chauffeur), Donald McBride (the police detective) and Joan Blondell (the ghost) produce a nice steady stream of laughs. Roland Young (Topper) and Carol Landis (Ann Carrington) play it straight and that provides a nice balance, so the comedy does not overwhelm the mystery.The film won an academy award for special effects. They were nice, but they were similar and not much better than 1933's "Invisible Man." I haven't seen "Topper" or "Topper Takes a Trip," so I cannot compare them. I was a fan of the 1950's "Topper" television show as a child. It seems to me that that show set the formula for "Bewitched," ""My Favorite Martian" and "I Dream of Jeannie," three of the best supernatural comedies of the 1960's.