646:). Two unrepentant reprobates are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the seduction which made the stylish Rex Pebble into an adulterer and his companion, Spray Summers, into his hard-boiled mistress. While their exasperating and alcoholic Japanese houseboy, Nakashima, plays jujitsu with the English language, the two slip into a swimming pool, the waters of which have been changed into a fountain of youth. Abandoning their clothes and modesty with their advanced years, the newfound youthfulness of their bodies puts into motion an evening of hijinks that only a seasoned and well-practiced couple of sinners could imagine.
540:. Tim Willows works in an advertising agency, and several of the scenes draw on author Thorne Smith's experience. After his wife, Sally, impregnates her husband, things take a decided turn for the worse as they separately try to deal with the object of the former wife's affections—a square-jawed philanderer by the name of Carl Bently. The scene in which Tim, trapped in his wife's body, exacts an icy revenge on the unfortunate interloper is one of the unforgettable moments of Thorne Smith's peculiar humor. Both a
594:(1932). The depressed, indifferent heir of a vast coffee import fortune, Peter Van Dyke finds his life and high society engagement turned upside down when his secretary, Josephine Duval, determines to “rescue” him by ruining him morally. After an amusing scandal in a coat closet, he is cast adrift in a fog with a motley crew that includes a bishop of the Episcopal Church and a former nude model named Aspirin Liz. The enterprising party lands unceremoniously on the shores of a
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632:(1933). A photographer's freak accident in the darkroom produces a chemical concoction causing him and his dog to randomly switch back and forth between normal and X-ray (skeleton) versions of themselves. Drinking and cavorting ensues as he finds people able to see beyond his appearance and appreciate him for who he is, while inadvertently terrifying those who cannot. Unusually, his wife Lorna is an attractive personality.
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a shrewish (and in this case adulterous) wife who at one point tries to murder him (at the time he is a goldfish). As in many Thorne Smith novels, a courtroom scene involving the protagonists and an exasperated judge provides a climax to the characteristically tipsy action. This novel is included with
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into various animal forms. Lamb, his daughter Hebe, her boyfriend
Melville Long, and Hebe's friend Sandra Rush (a twentyish lingerie model who becomes Lamb's love interest) pursue many adventures, most of which fall well outside the perimeter of law and order. Lamb has, like many Thorne Smith heroes,
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husband, Hector Owen, inadvertently becomes a partner in a big-city department store. The bulk of the action involves the inebriated adventures of Owen, his three partners (Mr. Horace Larkin, a man called Dinner, and Major Barney Britt-Britt), and a salesgirl from the pornographic books department,
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above) this is the most openly erotic, with many direct suggestions of sexual encounters, accompanied with cartoons of nude women cavorting with the protagonists, drawn by artist
Herbert Roese. The Thorne Smith courtroom scene provides a climax, but the novel's biggest surprise isn't sprung until
363:, Marion and George Kerby, who introduce him to other ghosts. He is romantically attracted to Marion, who at one point tries to kill him so that they can always be together. Unusually for such a book, Mary is treated sympathetically—she does not like what she has become and tries to change.
359:(1932, set in the French Riviera), are probably Smith's most famous work, about a respectable banker called Cosmo Topper, married to his depressingly staid wife Mary, and his misadventures with a couple of
598:, and the liberation of the coffee importer is set in motion. Smith, in one of his few comic novels devoid of any element of the supernatural, assumes the reader would know that "Jaegers" refers to a
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novels, comic fantasy fiction involving sex, much drinking and ghosts. With racy illustrations, these sold millions of copies in the 1930s and were equally popular in paperbacks of the 1950s.
739:, February 7, 2008. Accessed February 27, 2011. "Free Acres had some famous residents in those heady early days: actors James Cagney and Jersey City–born Victor Kilian, writers Thorne Smith (
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Joseph
Blotner collection on Thorne Smith, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania
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532:(1931) pits two modern married people into a battle of the sexes. Noticing the bickering and jealousy of a young man and wife, an
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638:(1934). Perhaps the best example of Thorne Smith's acutely sharp social humor played out against a backdrop of the
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652:(1941, published posthumously and completed by Norman H. Matson). Produced in 1942 as the film
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and to reverse the process at will. After a chaotic field test he meets stunning 900-year-old
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T. Lawrence Lamb gains perspective on the human condition during a series of mysterious
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246:(March 27, 1892 – June 20, 1934) was an American writer of humorous supernatural
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Haas, Irvin, comp. " Thorne Smith 1893–1934." (American First
Editions. Edited by
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329:(1918). A series of comic stories written for the Naval Reserve journal
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443:(1927, copyright renewed 1955). A serious novel that was not a success.
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674:(1942), is entirely by Matson, though sometimes attributed to Smith.
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Archive of Thorne Smith novels which are out of
European copyright
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A Man named Smith -- The novels and screen legacy of Thorne Smith
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Thorne Smith, The Online Books Page, University of
Pennsylvania
858:(1951 dissertation, 197 pages with bibliography and appendices)
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932:. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, , pp. 464–66.
807:"Star Trek The Original Series Rewatch: 'Turnabout Intruder'"
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Miss Honor "Satin" Knightly. Of the three novels included in
351:(1926, copyright renewed 1953 – also known as
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Scheetz, George H., and Rodney N. Henshaw. "Thorne Smith."
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episode and a few of the early episodes were written by
886:(1934, Doubleday, Doran & Company, New York, 32p.)
560:, as to some extent was the last broadcast episode of
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as the ghosts. Seventy-eight episodes were made. The
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Forgotten
Excellence: A Study of Thorne Smith's Humor
658:, this novel was one of the inspirations, along with
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when he invents a device enabling him to turn living
872:(1991 dissertation, 323 pages including appendices)
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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972:Biography at Thorne Smith: Haunts & By-Paths
897:
865:(1983 dissertation, 224 pages with bibliography)
327:Biltmore Oswald: The Diary of a Hapless Recruit
387:as Cosmo Topper. Two filmed sequels followed:
939:, 41, no. 1 (March 1984): 25–37. Illustrated.
337:Out O' Luck: Biltmore Oswald Very Much at Sea
556:(canceled after six episodes) were based on
490:(1931). Quirky inventor Hunter Hawk strikes
270:, the son of a Navy commodore, and attended
522:shows himself an expert pickpocket, while
405:. The books were adapted into an American
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1103:20th-century American short story writers
953:, 3, no. 4 (April 1993): 19. Illustrated.
805:DeCandido, Keith R.A. (8 November 2016).
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449:(1929). Mild-mannered investment banker,
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
1143:People from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
951:Firsts: Collecting Modern First Editions
856:Thorne Smith: A Study in Popular Fiction
294:according to the economic principles of
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1004:, with 44 library catalog records
988:Internet Speculative Fiction Database
282:in 1926. He was an early resident of
254:. He is best known today for the two
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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480:(1930). A mystery novel admired by
317:, which is now a collector's item.
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1093:20th-century American male writers
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309:Smith was a close friend of actor
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1123:American male short story writers
965:The Official Thorne Smith Website
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930:The Guide to Supernatural Fiction
882:Roland Young & Thorne Smith,
664:, for the long-running TV series
1148:Writers from Annapolis, Maryland
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884:Thorne Smith: His Life and Times
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526:causes chaos in the fish market.
315:Thorne Smith: His Life and Times
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1098:20th-century American novelists
911:, 130 (28 November 1936): 2134.
570:". This novel is included with
34:needs additional citations for
1039:Works by or about Thorne Smith
949:. "A Thorne Smith Checklist."
914:Sprague, Don. "Thorne Smith."
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759:(June 12, 2024). Outro to the
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563:Star Trek: The Original Series
197:1918–1934, 1941 (posthumously)
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898:Bibliographies and checklists
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16:American novelist (1892–1934)
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832:Fantasy and Science Fiction:
333:while Smith was in the Navy.
300:Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
274:. Following hungry years in
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1054:(public domain audiobooks)
1015:LibraryThing author profile
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923:A Thorne Smith Source Book
780:"The Adventures of Topper"
687:The Night Life of the Gods
588:(1931). A children's book.
516:Metropolitan Museum of Art
488:The Night Life of the Gods
415:, beginning in 1953, with
1138:Novelists from New Jersey
925:. N.p.: The author, 1982.
893:(2015, Albany, GA, 174p.)
870:The World in Thorne Smith
763:presentation of the film
670:. A sequel to the novel,
615:The Thorne Smith 3-Decker
580:The Thorne Smith 3-Decker
544:(1940) and a short-lived
472:The Thorne Smith 3-Decker
345:(1919). A book of poetry.
250:fiction under the byline
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1128:Dartmouth College alumni
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937:Bulletin of Bibliography
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743:) and MacKinlay Kantor (
402:The Adventures of Topper
355:). This and its sequel,
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1133:Novelists from Maryland
1118:American male novelists
921:Valone, Philip J., Jr.
868:Peter Zilahy Ingerman,
861:Howard Steven Jitomer,
711:Armed Services Editions
474:(Sun Dial Press, 1933).
244:James Thorne Smith, Jr.
209:, poetry, screenwriting
205:Comic fantasy fiction,
916:Collecting Paperbacks?
909:The Publishers’ Weekly
793:Turnabout Show Summary
709:were all published by
546:1979 television sitcom
288:experimental community
137:Smith in the mid-1920s
1048:Works by Thorne Smith
1029:Works by Thorne Smith
1020:Works by Thorne Smith
761:Turner Classic Movies
661:Bell, Book and Candle
419:as Cosmo Topper, and
383:as Marion Kerby, and
968:by Michael D. Walker
854:Joseph Leo Blotner,
699:The Bishop's Jaegers
691:The Passionate Witch
650:The Passionate Witch
592:The Bishop's Jaegers
536:idol causes them to
43:improve this article
1002:Library of Congress
707:Rain in the Doorway
606:Rain in the Doorway
576:Rain in the Doorway
468:Rain in the Doorway
390:Topper Takes a Trip
357:Topper Takes a Trip
268:Annapolis, Maryland
158:Annapolis, Maryland
1113:American humorists
944:Author Price Guide
736:New Jersey Monthly
672:Bats in the Belfry
568:Turnabout Intruder
343:Haunts and Bypaths
266:Smith was born in
1024:Project Gutenberg
836:at www.sfsite.com
729:Buchan, Perdita.
703:The Glorious Pool
655:I Married a Witch
636:The Glorious Pool
381:Constance Bennett
379:as George Kerby,
353:The Jovial Ghosts
276:Greenwich Village
272:Dartmouth College
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233:.thornesmith
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169:(1934-06-20)
125:Thorne Smith
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
1088:1934 deaths
1083:1892 births
877:Biographies
834:Curiosities
644:Prohibition
554:John Schuck
455:dipsomaniac
441:Dream's End
373:a 1937 film
292:Bolton Hall
286:, a social
1077:Categories
1033:Faded Page
717:References
608:(1933). A
600:union suit
512:Roman gods
407:television
377:Cary Grant
284:Free Acres
180:Occupation
151:1892-03-27
69:newspapers
978:Libraries
683:Turnabout
667:Bewitched
623:Turnabout
558:Turnabout
548:starring
530:Turnabout
518:to life:
464:Turnabout
375:starring
99:June 2022
1052:LibriVox
1035:(Canada)
534:Egyptian
409:series,
1041:at the
986:at the
769:(1937).
610:cuckold
524:Neptune
520:Mercury
514:of the
504:Megaera
451:cuckold
339:(1919).
304:Florida
248:fantasy
224:Website
207:mystery
174:Florida
83:scholar
816:11 May
766:Topper
741:Topper
705:, and
496:matter
453:, and
412:Topper
369:Topper
361:ghosts
349:Topper
280:Topper
256:Topper
218:Topper
194:Period
186:Author
85:
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617:(see
500:stone
498:into
429:pilot
321:Works
298:, in
202:Genre
90:JSTOR
76:books
818:2019
621:and
574:and
552:and
542:film
492:gold
466:and
423:and
235:.net
164:Died
143:Born
62:news
1050:at
1031:at
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1000:at
907:.)
811:Tor
578:in
566:, "
470:in
231:www
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