The Toast of New York

While this fact-based picture is wildly inaccurate in it's depiction Jim Fisk's life and death, THE TOAST OF NEW YORK remains an entertaining portrait of the financial scene in New York during the late 1800s. Three writers are credited with a screenplay that does not skimp on moral and financial complexities (although the film's romantic triangle is handled rather routinely), and director Robert V. Lee manages to keep everything moving at a brisk pace while effectively juggling piercing melodrama with lovely moments of light comedy. Edward Arnold and Frances Farmer contribute terrific performances, and Cary Grant is also memorable playing second banana to Arnold's Fisk - although no one else in the cast makes much of an impression. This lavish, expensively budgeted film was a box office flop when originally released, but it holds up quite nicely all these decades latter and deserves to be rediscovered by a larger audience.

The Toast of New York is directed by Rowland V. Lee and features a screenplay collectively written by Dudley Nichols, John Twist and Joel Sayre. It's adapted from two stories, "The Book of Daniel Drew" written by Bouck White and "Robber Barons" written by Matthew Josephson. It stars Edward Arnold, Cary Grant, Frances Farmer, Jack Oakie and Donald Meek.

Jim Fisk-half genius, half clown-began life with empty pockets, a pack on his back, and a Yankee gift of gab.

Loving a uniform-always in the front of every parade-he became the Barnum of Peddlers, and then skyrocketed into "high finance" in Wall Street, where in a few brief years he startled a nation with his colourful career.

But in 1861-before the first guns of the Civil War were fired-he was still an obscure peddler-somewhere south of the Mason and Dixie Line.

Jim Fisk was a very interesting man in the world of finance, his life and death certainly had enough about it to warrant a film being made about him. Sadly this particular biopic is dull, where even the fact that the makers fictionalised some of the plot fails to make it worthy of further viewings. Annoying as well is that RKO really put big money into the production, and you can see that up on the screen in the sets, costuming and the number of people who are in it. It was a troubled production, and numerous stars were linked to play the key roles, and with the Hays Office casting their censorship shadow over things, it's perhaps unsurprising that the film ended up a flop at the box office. The tone is uneven, with the comedy an uneasy fit, and there's not a great deal to laud in the acting. Arnold gives it bluster and Farmer is sweet, while Grant is forced into yet another suit and asked to be a romantic interest. Oakie has his moments, but they are few, while best of the bunch is Meek as Daniel Drew.

Disappointing and it perhaps would have been better served being a straight drama and sniping 20 minutes off of its run time. 4/10

Great film - starts out as a whimsical joyride and ends with a thought-provoking meditation on the evils of greed. Arnold is grand as the larger than life huckster turned Wall Street whiz. Farmer is his temptation (she actually stars in a musical by that name in the movie) and boy does Arnold take the bait. Unusual mix of biblical imagery and slapstick, but it all holds together. One point of interest - Arnold and Farmer play almost exactly the same characters in another movie of that period - "Come and Get it"

This makes for interesting viewing in the wake of Martin Scorsese's THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013), even if I only intend checking that one out in time for the Oscar ceremony next month! It is the biopic of 19th century American financier Jim Fisk – a larger-than-life Edward Arnold – who rose to prominence from nothing but ultimately grew too big for his boots.

The film has a nice period flavour, punctuated by the initial comedy sense of Fisk's petty swindles (done in cahoots with partners Cary Grant and Jack Oakie). Their fortunes turn during the Civil War, but Fisk's ambitions are set too high (taking on mild-mannered tycoon Donald Meek and Clarence Kolb as the famed Cornelius Vanderbilt) and his ruthless tactics certainly do not endear him to rivals and 'victims'. Eventually, Grant himself steps out to oppose him: though this has just as much to do with his personal feelings towards Fisk's girlfriend (played by the tragic Frances Farmer) – whom he at first frowns upon but then falls for (when pushed by Fisk himself to take care of her for him, while he is busy making more money for the two of them!).

The whole is typical Hollywood entertainment of the era, the heyday of the biopics (though Warners had cornered the market in this field, the film under review is an RKO production) – even if the subject matter proves necessarily heavy-going to the casual viewer. The sheer professionalism with which this is made also extends to the bit parts – which, surprisingly yet very amusingly, include two of the most likable foils in the classic comedies of Laurel & Hardy, namely Billy Gilbert as a flustered (what else?) photographer and James Finlayson (curiously unbilled) as one of the myriad inventors who turn up at Fisk's firm hoping to be financed.

This is a movie that was probably great in its time, but would be viewed as a real oddball today. I bought the video because I am a great Frances Farmer fan; she is absulutely beautiful in it. The other stars- Arnold, Grant and Oakie are also excellent in their roles. This is probably one of the very few movies where Cary Grant was not the top star and did not get top billing. The story is a little farsical and somewhat overacted, but is still very entertaining. Three of the supporting actors- Donald Meek, Clarence Kolb and Billy Gilbert- are also interesting to see.