Love Letters to Old Hollywood

A delightful screwball comedy with a supernatural twist, 1937's Topper was a smash hit for MGM, producer Hal Roach, and stars Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, and Roland Young. As fun-loving sophisticates George and Marion Kerby, Grant and Bennett were sensational, and Young was hilariously uptight as their friend Cosmo Topper. When the Kerbys die in a car accident, they find themselves unable to go to heaven until their ghosts have helped change the rigid ways of Topper. The superb special effects, brilliant cast, and unusual premise were so loved by audiences that a sequel was made shortly thereafter. Entitled Topper Takes a Trip , the film featured the same cast, with the notable exception of Grant, who was unavailable. Both movies were based on the 1926 and 1932 novels by Thorne Smith, a hard-drinking author with a gift for crafting unique, supernatural plots. Some of his other works include The Passionate Witch , which was published posthumously and completed by Norman H....

On a beautiful morning in Central Park, psychiatrist Dr. Bartholomew Snow (Rock Hudson) is enjoying a horseback ride when he is stopped by two CIA men, General Pratt (Jack Warden) and his aide Barker. One of Snow's former patients, scientist Arthur Vicenti, has become a valuable government asset -- he's also suffered a mental breakdown. Needing Snow's help, Gen. Pratt arranges to take the good doctor to Vicenti's secret location. How secret is it? Well, they can only refer to it as Base X and Snow must always wear a blindfold when he is taken there. For a week, Snow struggles to lead his new double life, but he soon realizes things can only get more complicated when his horse collides with a beautiful woman's bicycle in the park. This woman, Snow will quickly discover, is Arthur's sister, Vicki (Claudia Cardinale), who will stop at nothing to figure out what has happened to her missing brother. As if that wasn't enough, Snow is approached by Fitzpatrick...