Diamond Jim

Actually, the broad strokes of this film are true. Brady did make his fortune as a salesman for railroad equipment, wore loud diamond jewelry, had an enormous appetite, and he did know Lillian Russell for years. It's the individual scenes that were created by Preston Sturges for dramatic license. If the Gilded Age had not produced such a character, Preston Sturges would have invented him.

Brady falls in love with a southern belle from Charleston who marries somebody else and then years later he meets another woman, Jane Matthews, who looks just like her, yet the two women are not related. He falls for her only because she looks like the first love, but again, her affection is returned but not her love. The theme of the film being that Brady was a man with tremendous financial success but who never found love that was reciprocated.

Edward Arnold didn't get that many leading roles, and this was one of them that he seemed born to play. His Diamond Jim is bigger than life and a generous soul who just happens to also be a great salesman. Also note William Demarest as a waiter. He ended up being a staple in Sturges' films.

In maybe his most famous role, Edward Arnold stars as Diamond Jim Brady, the outsized financier in the late 19th century who builds a fortune in the expanding American railroads. Brady was also a famous social figure along Broadway and was famous as Lillian Russell's friend and famous for his immense appetite for fine foods.

Lucky in business but not in love, Brady comes off as a shrewd but genial man, one who values his friendships even with the women he may have been in love with.

Arnold is just sensational as the blustery but jovial man who helps make Lillian Russell (Binnie Barnes) a star. He's perfectly believable as the ambitious baggage handler, the smooth-talking salesman, and the generous millionaire who likes to wear diamond jewelry Barnes is solid as Russell, the most famous singer of her day.

Jean Arthur plays the vapid Southern girl, Brady first proposes to and a lookalike girl from New York he later meets and tries to marry. Cesar Romero plays the guy she's in love with, but he's dating Russell.

Co-stars include George Sidney as the pawnbroker, Eric Blore as the inventor, Hugh O'Connell plays the businessman who gives Brady his big start, and William Demarest plays the waiter.

Edward Arnold was so famous for playing Diamond Jim that he repeated in the role in 1940 in LILLIAN RUSSELL, which starred Alice Faye, Henry Fonda, and Don Ameche.

This film is worth watching for Arnold's performance and for its look at America, when it was growing fast and prospering.

I haven't seen this movie for several years. If anyone can tell me where I may purchase it on DVD, I would greatly appreciate it. The acting of Edward Arnold as Diamond Jim was superb. Edward Arnold was always one of my favorite character actors and in this movie he shined.

His characterization of Diamond Jim as a boisterous railroad tycoon showed a love of life. His portrayal also showed a sympathetic and humane side of the real Diamond Jim.

Edward Arnold could always play larger than life characters with great ease and ability. Although this movie was made 73 years ago in 1935, the ease and naturalness of the acting still holds up today.

Someone please tell me where I may purchase this movie.

I saw this movie a couple of days ago at Film Forum, one of a double feature with another Sturgis film, If I Were King. Almost missed Diamond Jim because had never heard about it before, and only wanted to see the other film. After coming in a few minutes late, I found it fascinating also because of actor Edward Arnold, who played Diamond Jim more as a sympathetic, rather than, e.g. a pathetic, man. Aghast at his eating habits, I thought it morbid and indicative of depression. When I later read his biography on the Internet, I immediately thought that his dining habits might be a substitution for not drinking alcohol. Certainly a Type-A personality, and an Alpha-male. Big in every way, his largeness of appetite(s) was endearing and sad, in equal measures. Likely he could not have become what he became without the morbid appetite! Or he would have become an alcoholic or a drug addict -- the latter maybe less likely in his time and place. Definitely glad to have seen it, I recommend the movie. The movie was perhaps a forerunner of Leonardo DeCaprio's Howard Hughes in The Aviator.

"Diamond Jim" is a very good bio-pic about a very big man - big in more ways than one. James Buchanan Brady (1856-1917) became known as Diamond Jim Brady for his flair of wearing, buying and bestowing expensive jewelry, especially diamonds. Brady was big in size, weighing over 300 pounds. The claims about how much and what he ate for dinner are probably more myth than fact; but, he loved to eat and his typical meal would be the equivalent of what six or more people would eat. After his death at age 60 and an autopsy, doctors said that Brady's stomach with six times larger than a normal stomach.

Much of this film is centered around Brady's love for food and eating habits. Several scenes are at dinner tables when he was alone or with others. The film is based on the 1934 biographical novel of the same title, by author Parker Morell (1906-1943). Although some of Brady's early successes in business had some shady overtones, Brady was highly regarded for his achievements and his generosity. He had a big heart and cared about others - even making friends out of former enemies or opponents. And, he was a philanthropist. Brady's worth when he died in 1917 is estimated at $1.5 million which would be close to $45 million in 2022. Among his charitable support was a $220,000 donation ($6.5 million in 2022 dollars) to Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The film is mostly about his adult life when he became a great salesman and then entrepreneur and supporter of new businesses. He concentrated on railroads, the equipment they needed, and eventually the production of steel rail cars to replace the wooden ones that had been in use.

This appears to be a fairly accurate and thorough picture of Brady, at least as can be portrayed in less than 90 minutes. One of the other things Brady was also otherwise known for was his friendship with the famous American singer and performer, Lillian Russell. That gets good treatment in this film.

The acting is very good with a fine cast of actors of the time. Edward Arnold is superior as Diamond Jim Brady. Binnie Barnes is very good as Lillian Russell. And Eric Blore is very good and humorous as the English businessman, Sampson Fox. Some of the other supporting cast are very good. The only roles that seem sort of lackluster are those played by Jean Arthur as Jane Matthews and Cesar Romero as Jerry Richardson.

My favorite bit of dialog in the film is the lines that portray when and how Brady got the moniker, Diamond Jim. Pawnbroker, "What you need is a diamond." Jim Brady, "What for?" Pawnbroker, "Well, to make money, you gotta look like money."