The TOPPER Car, 1937

[Marc Chevalier]

Ever seen the Hal Roach screwball comedy, TOPPER (1937)? The one with Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, and Roland Young?

The movie's real star is the car: a 1936 Buick/Chrysler chassis with some wild "studio" modifications. This May, it will be put up for auction. (No, not on eBay!) The "Topper" car's story is an entertaining read. Go to the link below and click on the auction LOT 241.

http://www.rmauctions.com/CarList.cfm?SaleCode=BC06#

The "Topper" car originally looked much more like a Cord. It's been extensively modified since 1937. Truth be told, I prefer the way it looked in the film.


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[Maj.Nick Danger]

Wow, interesting!

I could have sworn the car was a Cord or it's sibling, an Auburn. I liked it better in it's original design, with the side pipes and the art deco 30's front end, as opposed to the updated 50's front end version.

Interesting to note that they have a Messcherschmitt for sale there also.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The "Topper" car has ended up having a long and useful life. With or without its ghosts.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I would be willing to bet,...

.......that Jay Leno buys it for his collection.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Cary Grant's car in Topper is a 1936 Auburn Boat Tail Speedster. It's the same as the car "Shortround" shows up in at the beginning of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Hemingway Jones, I think you'd enjoy going to to the link below and clicking on the auction LOT 241.

http://www.rmauctions.com/CarList.cfm?SaleCode=BC06#


There's a detailed history of the "Topper" car there. It claims that the car was definitely not an Auburn, and it gives the reason why. Take a look -- it's a fascinating read.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Boy, if that is true, I suppose I stand corrected! Though, I am sitting, so excuse me if I don't get up.

It sure is a shame what they've done to it!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

That's true. As it is today, it has a certain '50s charm ... but that's nothing compared to what it once was.

 

[friskojack]

Hemingway Jones, I think you'd enjoy going to to the link below and clicking on the auction LOT 241.

http://www.rmauctions.com/CarList.cfm?SaleCode=BC06#


There's a detailed history of the "Topper" car there. It claims that the car was definitely not an Auburn, and it gives the reason why. Take a look -- it's a fascinating read.

Absolutely. The car, a '37 Buick, was the epitome of Thorne Smiths' upper class flummery, back in '37. It's a shame that it was butchered, but hey, The Brown Derby restsaurant was bulldozed, back in the '70sw. It took us a long time to get hep to our own culture. What;s worse is that, at one point, after the modifications, one of the original coach builders, who supposedly had most of the original panels, contacted the owner of the car and was ignored. What a shame. We can only hope that thid will be corrected at some future date.

Frisko Jack