The "Topper" Movie's Customized Buick

From time to time I feature a car with a custom, non-production, body design.  Today's post deals with a 1936 Buick Century customized for the movie comedy "Topper."

Some background is here, including the following:

"[T]he Topper car was at the time the most famous movie car ever to hit the screen. It was initially designed on a 1936 Buick Series 60 chassis and then later underwent a Chrysler chassis and drivetrain update along with exterior styling changes. Topper’s roadster movie car was a combo of several cars built by Pasadena Coachbuilders Bohman & Schwartz to be featured specifically in the 'Topper' movie. The car was designed by Anthony Gerrity, then a well known designer who worked for Bohman & Schwartz.

Not surprisingly, the Topper car was just as popular as the 'always out for a good time' movie star ghosts. The roadster did include ... styling cues from Cord (exhausts) and also from the Graham (shark-like front end). Notable is that the car featured a second hidden steering wheel which allowed stuntmen to drive the car using a wheel hidden from sight. It worked for producer [Hal] Roach as many times scenes featured the Topper car 'with no visible driver.'"

Below are some images of the car at the time the movie was made.  It was later further customized, making the design cleaner, but far less noteworthy.  The car isn't beautiful, but has several interesting design features.

Gallery

Some Internet sites state that the man in this photo is Anthony Gerrity.

The Topper car predates the 1938 Buick Y-Job that also featured front fenders extending over the doors.  That design created hinging problems for production cars that took some effort by General Motors to resolve because hinges were to be on the A-pillar.  Here Gerrity used simple B-pillar hinging to allow the doors to include parts of the fenders when opening.

The tail fin is pure visual jazz.

Now for some outtakes from the movie.  The front strongly hints of the 1937 Cord 812 with its "coffin nose," horizontal grille bars extending along the sides of the hood, and the exposed exhaust pipes.

The rear wheel spats conforming to the wheel rim / hubcap ensemble is very 1930s.  Another period detail is the tiny taillight.

Front quarter view.  The least-futuristic features are the freestanding headlight assemblies.