Thanks for posting this! Married-in-real-life Robert Sterling (35 years old here) and Anne Jeffreys (29 years old here) met each other in 1949 in New York when both were performing in different plays. Their marriage two years later lasted 55 years until his death in 2006. Leo G. Carroll was 66 years old here and had already been acting for over 40 years. He was one of the most successful character actors in Hollywood and worked constantly until shortly before his death in 1972 at age 85.
I loved this show as a little kid in the early 1950's. I don't remember ever seeing the origin story of how TV George and Marion and Neal all became ghosts, or how Cosmo and Henrietta Topper got the Kirby house. We heard about the avalanche, but I never saw it happen. Finally, after all these many, many years! Thank you!
Yeah! If we missed one back then, we'd likely never see it. The casting on this one was perfect. Anne Jefferies was gorgeous as was Neal as a dog. "My Little Margie" we were also watching at this time.
I'm 74 and remember Topper very well! Great times growing up in the 50's and classic TV ! Find some photos of Ann Jeffries . A VERY GORGEOUS woman! A " 10 " anytime!😊
Now . . . if ONLY someone might find all the Jackie Gleason items OTHER than The Honeymooners! Of all of Jackie's characters, it was that mad-cap playboy, the pride AND envy of all of the New York 400, who was my viewing fave! Talk about class, savoire faire et bon vivant 'man about town' style -- he had it all !! One kiss as bestowed upon any lucky lady . . . and she was toast, burned to an over exhilarated crisp!!
Always loved these ghosts! The TV show came before the movies for me. Grew up in mid 1940s to mid 1960s and enjoyed this show very much then and now. THANK YOU!
I never missed an episode of Topper back in the 50's. Hopalong Cassidy, Sgt Preston of the RCMP and Zoro were on our black and white TV about the same time. Of course, we also watched Amos n Andy before the NAACP had it abolished.
I watched this as a kid in the early 60s, I always thought George and Marion were so sophisticated and urbane. I never knew Topper met the Kirbys before their skiing accident.
They were wealthy socialites and Topper was their Banker. The Kirby’s owned a fancy race care and loved to go racing down country roads. They died in a car accident leaving Cosmo Topper as their heir. That was the movie with Cary Grant.
Thanks a million for taking the time to upload this wonderfully clear first episode of Topper 🎩! I can't believe I got a chance to see it 🤗 PS: your channel content is pretty good too 📺 ☺️
First saw this on some obscure cable channel in the '90s along with I Married Joan, My Little Margie, Original Dragnets, Highway Patrol, and Sheriff of Cochise. The writing on this pilot episode as well as timing of dialogue is excellent. So many double entendres with more 'adult' humor for 1950's. Early TV of late '40s early '50s was aimed at a more sophisticated, upper class audience due to cost of TVs and old shows reflect that.
Really enjoyed this show, liked it better than the movie which doesn't happen often,, btw Anne Jefferys was one of the most beautiful women that ever graced the screen.
I loved the movie with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne as the Kirbys. Leo G Carroll played Topper. Billie Burke (Glenda, the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz) played his wife. It's hilarious!
The female lead was actually Constance Bennett. But Cary and Irene made some of my all time favorite movies together. The Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife. Great movies.
and Leo G Carroll wasn't in the Topper movies with Cary Grant, that was Roland Young, Roland Young made Topper movies with Cary Grant(only in the first movie) and Constance Bennett(in the 1st and 2nd movie,but not the 3rd) Roland Young then carried on and made a 3rd Topper movie with Joan Blondell which I thought was the best of them all
How very delightful ! This was one of my favorite shows while it was broadcast but I never saw this before ! I'd love to see a detailed description of how the special effects were accomplished -
A later role for Leo G Carrol was Mr Waverly. The Boss of Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin - Robert Vaughan and the Late and Marvelous David McCallum, aka Ducky on NCIS. ❤😊
very nice video quality and the full 25 minute version, all of the versions I have seen have been cut down to 22 minutes , I wish someone would put the Pilot and other episodes on DVD, only a small number of episodes are out there and it would be nice to see a complete and unedited set.
Normally, I dislike remakes, but this one is enjoyable. The actress who plays Mrs. Topper is not quite in Billie Burke's league, but she comes within a hair's breadth.
😎Say, I remember watching this show as a child! Leo went from "Topper" to "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." WoW! Everything changes. 😊 🏁♥ EnJoy the show! C'ya, CJ-4-JC always
I was 2 in '53. God I feel old. If you were out doing something and somebody phone you, they would have to call back. My mother's arm was my safety device in the car. If I had a place on this earth for approx. 100 years I would choose to be born in 1867 (end of civil war and entering reconstruction) and die in 1967 (summer of love). Horses and dirt roads through super highways and flight. AND too old for either World War! Seems so quaint. My little Margie, The Betty White Show ('52 - '54), The Peoples Choice (with Jackie Cooper and Cleo the talking basset hound '55 - '58) and so many more. Car 54 where are you, The Life of Riley and a little later Hollywood Squares. Paul Lynde joke, (center square) ... When a man falls overboard from a boat into the water, what do you shout, MAN OVERBOARD. When a woman falls overboard into the water what do you shout, FULL SPEED AHEAD! Now we're stuck with the kardashians, house wives of wherever. "Reality" programs are crap. We've had a lot of good shows too.
Great show based on a nice novel . I forget the author. Leo G Carroll is great in anything, such as “North by Northwest “. Same story was used for the movie with Cary Grant
And how about a little trivia for everyone to chase down: 'Cosmo' was 'Mr. Waverly' on 'The Man From Uncle,' and 'George' was the Executive Officer on board the submarine 'Seaview' in the movie 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' with Walter Pidgeon and Barbara Eden. 'Henrietta' had a part in the movie: 'The Five Faces of Doctor Lo' with Tony Randall and Barbara Eden!
Actually there are is another version of topper with Gary Grant and Carol Lombar where they get into a car accident . I loved all the toppers as a kid and still do.
FANTASTIC. This was my favourite show back in 1955. I have the full disk set but I have unfortunately misplaced them. Time to turn the house upside down!
@@AngusMacKinnon-xm5ko Very good! Down under, I see that you are. Were these broadcast there so early as then? Assuming it as-so, I am happy to know the most worthy series got around and, that you Angus were able to view it first-run as I did. Cheerio !!
@@jamesmiller4184 Hello James. Yes my friend, I first watched this show on with Channel 7 or Channel 9 in Melbourne Australia as far back as 1961. I remember this being on in the UK back in 1955 when I saw a couple of episodes but subsequent to emigrating to Australia arrive here on Sunday 23 April 1961, that's when I watched the series for a brief period of time before the show was cancelled about 12 months later. I never forgot the show and always kept a lookout for the series when I came across it about 10 years ago. I jumped at the chance to buy the set which looked like a copy taken off the TV however; I didn't care; I was happy to buy it. As you well know James, TV back in the 1950s was an innocent time. TV was introduced into Australia in 1961. The shows then were FANTASTIC. I even have the full run of THE LIFE & LEGEND OF WYATT EARP starring Hugh O'BRIAN. I have the full series and watched it about four times thus far. I love those old shows. The other series I watched in 1961 was "THE REAL MCCOYS" with Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna and Kathleen Nolan puls a Scottish actor Andy Clyde. That series was NEVER repeated after it ended but I was able to lay my hands on the full serie. Cheer my friend,
A home costing $16,000 in 1953 would be $184,442.85 today, according to the inflation calculator. If they paid the agent's price of $28,000, that would be $311,247.30. Seems like this house would fetch more than that.
I wonder why the the actual snow falling from the avalanche was cut. If the show was cut for time to get in more commercials it seems odd that they would cut out such a pivotal scene. Maybe a film editor needed some stock footage of an avalanche and grabbed it from this show.
Always wondered why Hollywood, post-Hayes, didn't jump in with both feet on Smith's work. His stuff gets really raunchy for its day, but would make for some good R rated comedy movies in the last 1/2 century. For those not familiar with the overall Topper series, George goes off to do his own thing, Cosmo ditches his wife and he and Marian become a VERY busy item...
I am always fascinated by how we perceive death, obviously when we die our clothes die with us, why do Ghosts always wear clothes? While on the subject of things I don't understand, Why do aliens from other Planets all wear the same uniform???....... and why doesn't Earth have a Uniform, how embarrassed are we going to be when the Aliens come for a visit and we are in shorts and singlet etc and they're all dressed up?
Nora -- that's what the networks did with comedies back then and for many years thereafter. Guess they didn't trust the audience to laugh without 'encouragement'. 😊