This Forgotten Fantasy Sitcom Is A '50s Gem With Episodes Streaming For Free On Tubi

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Novelist Thorne Smith first published his book "Topper" in 1926, with its sequel, "Topper Takes a Trip" coming out in 1932. The books follow a stodgy old banker named Cosmo Topper as he comes into the company of a pair of married ghosts named Marion and George Kerby. Only Topper can see the ghosts, which leads to all manner of comedic and dramatic misunderstandings. The first "Topper" novel was adapted into a feature film in 1937, which starred Roland Young as Topper, and Constance Bennett and Cary Grant as the ghosts of the Kerbys. Young was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance. 

By 1953, "Topper" had become something of a nostalgic classic, and CBS decided to re-adapt Thornton's novel into a high-profile television sitcom. The show stars Leo G. Carroll from "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and several Alfred Hitchcock movies as Topper, with real-life married couple Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys as the ghosts of the Kerbys. The series is currently free on Tubi.

In the show, Topper and his wife, Henrietta (Lee Patrick), recently bought the home that once belonged to the Kerbys. The Kerbys, meanwhile, recently died in an avalanche during a skiing vacation. Their ghosts returned to their home, along with the ghost of a St. Bernard rescue dog named Neil (Buck). As in the book and the movie, only Topper can see the ghosts, leading to all manner of comedic misunderstandings. The dog, Neil, loves martinis and would often drain the cocktails of the living. The series lasted for 78 episodes over the course of two seasons, with Anne Jeffreys introduced as "the ghostess with the mostest." It was a delightful, whimsical series about death. I can guarantee you that a young Tim Burton watched "Topper" reruns as a child. 

CBS

Like many shows of the era, not every episode of "Topper" is readily available. Indeed, only eleven episodes from the show's first season are available online. The quality isn't great, but the scratchiness and the canned chuckles feel more weirdly authentic. One can find DVDs of the complete series on the second-hand market, however.

A fun detail: eleven episodes of the first season of "Topper" were penned by a young Stephen Sondheim, not yet broken into musical theater. Sondheim's first musical, "Saturday Night" was completed by 1955, but it wouldn't make its Broadway debut until 1960, after the beginning of his "West Side Story." "Topper" also happened to provide one of the earliest directing gigs for Leslie H. Martinson, who would go on to helm 1966's "Batman," one of the best movies of all time. Many "Topper" episodes were also written by famed theater critic, screenwriter, and playwright George Oppenheimer. This series was a weird nexus of early 1950s talent.

"Topper" also came at a time when cigarette advertising was still allowed on network TV, and the series was sponsored by Camel Cigarettes. One can find incorporated ads for Camels online easily enough, featuring Leo G. Carroll, Robert Sterling, and Anne Jeffries in character. The ghosts of the Kerbys smoked Camels on camera throughout the series. To modern eyes, this will look incredibly odd. It also made for some awkward editing in reruns, as explicit references to Camels had to be clipped out. And make no mistake, "Topper" did gangbusters business in reruns, staying on the air for a full decade after its cancelation in 1955. 

CBS

The plots of "Topper" episodes were typical for the then-somewhat-new genre. In one episode, the Toppers go to a remote hotel to celebrate their anniversary only to have the ghosts of the Kerbys tag along. Several episodes are devoted to Henrietta rearranging the house to the Kerbys' chagrin; it was once their home, after all. Sometimes the ghosts have their own drama, as when Marion realizes that she couldn't be married to George after death, as, well, 'til death do they part. Some other stories are a little more salacious, as when the Kerbys help Topper cheat at gambling in Las Vegas. 

Curiously, "Topper" has passed from the public consciousness. And indeed, none of Thorne Smith's works have been adapted to film for TV for many years. In 1931, for instance, Smith wrote the novel "Turnabout," a fantasy comedy about a bickering couple that, thanks to a mummy's curse, swap bodies. That story was turned into a Hal Roach film in 1940, but was also turned into a 1979 sitcom by Steven Bochco, which starred Sharon Gless from "Burn Notice." The series was about a man and a woman discovering each other's gendered worlds and anatomy. The series, however, lasted for only seven episodes before being canceled. It seems that Thorne Smith just wasn't a hot commodity anymore by the 1970s. 

But his legacy lives on. "Turnabout" might be seen as the inspiration for Mary Rodgers' book "Freaky Friday," which was most recently adapted into a movie in 2025. Smith's book "The Passionate Witch" leads directly into the sitcom "Bewitched." Smith has a greater influence on pop culture than we might realize. Check out "Topper" to see some of his connective tissue.