The Top of the World  The Top of the World is a lost 1925 American silent drama film directed by George Melford and starring James Kirkwood, Sr., Anna Q. Nilsson, Joseph Kilgour, Mary Mersch, Raymond Hatton, Sheldon Lewis and Charles A. Post. Based on a 1920 novel of the same title by Ethel M. Dell, the screenplay was written by Jack Cunningham. It was released on February 9, 1925, by Paramount Pictures.