Top Flat


19m 1935

Brief Synopsis

In this short film, a woman tries to convince her friend that she's struck it rich.

Film Details

Genre
Comedy
Short
Release Date
1935
Production Company
Hal Roach Studios, Inc.
Distribution Company
MGM Distribution Company

Technical Specs

Duration
19m

Synopsis

In this short film, a woman tries to convince her friend that she's struck it rich.

Film Details

Genre
Comedy
Short
Release Date
1935
Production Company
Hal Roach Studios, Inc.
Distribution Company
MGM Distribution Company

Technical Specs

Duration
19m

Articles

Top Flat


Top Flat (1935) was the last Todd film released during her lifetime. Todd plays a woman working as a maid, who dreams of being a wealthy poet. When taking her boss's fur to storage, old pal Patsy sees her and assumes she has struck it rich. Too embarrassed to reveal the truth, Thelma allows Patsy and two boyfriends to come up to the swank Park Avenue apartment for a little drink. Thelma quickly loses control of the situation, and soon the snookered men-friends are pounding the piano and dropping water bags on the heads of pedestrians below.

At the time of her death, Todd had finished work on two other films -- a Todd/Kelly comedy called All-American Toothache (1936) and the Laurel and Hardy feature The Bohemian Girl (1936), both of which were released posthumously. Had she enjoyed a longer life, Todd might never have achieved the fame of some of the comedy superstars she so often supported. But instead of being linked to an enduring Hollywood scandal, her name would have been remembered more for her performances, for the seemingly effortless flair for comedy that helped make the films of Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase and the Marx Brothers, the carefree classics they have become.

Among the attendees of Todd's funeral service was Hal Roach, who said, "She was a favorite with everyone on the lot from the lowest employee to the highest. She was always joyous and happy and seemed thoroughly to enjoy her work. She was well-loved and we will miss her" (quoted in Edmonds's Hot Toddy).

Producer: Hal Roach
Directors: Jack Jevne, William Terhune
Screenplay: Leroy Shield; Fuzzy Knight (uncredited)
Cinematography: Art Lloyd
Film Editing: Louis McManus
Cast: Thelma Todd (Thelma Todd), Patsy Kelly (Patsy Kelly), Grace Goodall (Mrs. Lamont), Fuzzy Knight (Fuzzy, Patsy's friend), Ferdinand Munier (Mr. Lamont), Gary Owen (Garry, Patsy's friend), Harry Bernard (Policeman (uncredited), Bobby Burns (Water bomb victim (uncredited), Henry Hall (Night Manager (uncredited), Buddy Roosevelt (Andre, the Chauffeur (uncredited).
BW-20m.

by Bret Wood
Top Flat

Top Flat

Top Flat (1935) was the last Todd film released during her lifetime. Todd plays a woman working as a maid, who dreams of being a wealthy poet. When taking her boss's fur to storage, old pal Patsy sees her and assumes she has struck it rich. Too embarrassed to reveal the truth, Thelma allows Patsy and two boyfriends to come up to the swank Park Avenue apartment for a little drink. Thelma quickly loses control of the situation, and soon the snookered men-friends are pounding the piano and dropping water bags on the heads of pedestrians below. At the time of her death, Todd had finished work on two other films -- a Todd/Kelly comedy called All-American Toothache (1936) and the Laurel and Hardy feature The Bohemian Girl (1936), both of which were released posthumously. Had she enjoyed a longer life, Todd might never have achieved the fame of some of the comedy superstars she so often supported. But instead of being linked to an enduring Hollywood scandal, her name would have been remembered more for her performances, for the seemingly effortless flair for comedy that helped make the films of Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase and the Marx Brothers, the carefree classics they have become. Among the attendees of Todd's funeral service was Hal Roach, who said, "She was a favorite with everyone on the lot from the lowest employee to the highest. She was always joyous and happy and seemed thoroughly to enjoy her work. She was well-loved and we will miss her" (quoted in Edmonds's Hot Toddy). Producer: Hal Roach Directors: Jack Jevne, William Terhune Screenplay: Leroy Shield; Fuzzy Knight (uncredited) Cinematography: Art Lloyd Film Editing: Louis McManus Cast: Thelma Todd (Thelma Todd), Patsy Kelly (Patsy Kelly), Grace Goodall (Mrs. Lamont), Fuzzy Knight (Fuzzy, Patsy's friend), Ferdinand Munier (Mr. Lamont), Gary Owen (Garry, Patsy's friend), Harry Bernard (Policeman (uncredited), Bobby Burns (Water bomb victim (uncredited), Henry Hall (Night Manager (uncredited), Buddy Roosevelt (Andre, the Chauffeur (uncredited). BW-20m. by Bret Wood

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