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Humphrey Bogart… as a film producer cradling an ever-present Scottish Terrier? Don’t let the dog fool you as the famed tough guy also shows his flair for comedy in Stand-In (1937), a riotous, lacerating satire on the motion picture industry. New York bank Pettypacker and Sons has a problem, a colossal problem, in the form of their investment in Colossal Studios in Hollywood. Prior to selling the failing film factory to scheming financier Ivor Nassau (C. Henry Gordon) for half its worth, the board asks their top number cruncher Atterbury Dodd (Leslie Howard) for his assessment, and he ardently recommends the bank retain ownership of the studio. At an impasse, the firm sends Dodd out west to investigate the situation at Colossal, where he quickly enlists the help of producer Douglas Quintain (Bogart) and Lester Plum (Joan Blondell), a former child star now working in the occupation of the film’s title. Resistance to Dodd’s scrutiny, however, comes not only from Nassau, but from everyone who stands to benefit from the studio’s sale: temperamental “Russian” director Koslofski (Alan Mowbray), studio diva Thelma Cheri (Marla Shelton) and PR flack Tom Potts (Jack Carson at his obnoxious best). Directed by Tay Garnett (The Postman Always Rings Twice) and produced by Walter Wanger (You Only Live Once), Stand-In leaves no Tinseltown target untouched while serving up a sprightly mix of slapstick, send-up and sentiment… with screwball-inspired romance for seasoning! BONUS FEATURES: Restoration Comparison ClassicFlix Trailers

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Product Description Cosmo Topper, shy, stuffed-shirt banker, finds his humdrum, stuck-in-a-rut life turned topsy-turvy when his path crosses that of two very fun-loving ghosts, George and Marian Kirby. The wacky ghosts, killed in an automobile accident, are earth-bound until they perform a good deed. They've decided on Topper as the object of their assistance, setting out to bring some excitement and zip into his life. The result is bedlam, a near-end to Topper's marriage and utter hilarity for the viewer. Cary Grant and Constance Bennett are the mad-cap Kirby's, while Roland Young created a masterful characterization as the bewildered and haunted Topper, a role he would repeat in two more films. Look for Hedda Hopper and Hoagy Carmichael among the players in this classic comedy-fantasy spiced with the special Hal Roach touch. Review Cary Grant and Constance Bennett, as the reincarnated Kerbys, do their assignments with great skill. --Variety Cary Grant and Constance Bennett are Thorne Smith's continental ghosts, haranguing tired businessman Roland Young in arch screwball style. --Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader Too gentle and leisurely to survive as a solid classic, though there's pleasure to be found in the cast's graceful way with comedy and their smooth ensemble playing. --Geoff Andrew, Time Out Top Similar From the Brand Reviews Topper

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Mrs. Topper (Billie Burke)-convinced by her friend Mrs. Parkhurst that her spook-seeing husband, Cosmo (Roland Young), is as nutty as a fruitcake-flees to Europe in search of a divorce, sending the otherworldly Marion (Constance Bennett) on a hilarious quest to win her back, in this riotous sequel. Alan Mowbray, Verree Teasdale, Franklin Pangborn co-star. 84 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English stereo.