Diamond Jim

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.

Folks, this is the finest movie I've ever seen. It stars my all-time favorite actor, Edward Arnold. I'm 53. I saw it just once. I was 20. I cried at the end (and I'm a guy!) It's disappeared. If anyone can tell me how to get a copy of it, I'll send them a lollipop.

This flick shoes Edward Arnold at his height. He is extremely underrated these days because he is so little known. A onetime president of the Screen Actors Guild (so was Ronald Reagan)but old Eddie was a president first. Additionally, Arnold once had top billing over Cary Grant (The Toast of New York.)

Anyway, if anyone can help me find this flick, I would be most grateful. Then there are other flicks after this.

Thank you,

"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."

James Buchanan Brady made a fortune in the development of American Railroads - the cutting edge of 19th Century technology (as the internet is today). Brady, unlike Vanderbilt, Gould, Fisk, Drew, Harriman, and Hill, did not build up a vast system of railroad lines like the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Grand Central Railroad, or the Baltimore and Ohio System. Instead he sold the Railroads equiptment they needed, in particular the rolling stock (i.e. the railways car). But he was a man who enjoyed life. He weighed over three hundred pounds by his eating the largest meals imaginable (a typical meal for Brady would have five main courses, and end with a box of candy - oddly enough he never drank: his favorite drink was orange juice). He romanced the leading entertainer of the day, Ms Lillian Russell. An advanced psychological thinker, Brady wore different sets of expensive jewelry with his different suits - to advertise his success, and impress railway executives to use him to get the materials that they needed.

He never was married (Ms Russell loved him dearly, but did not want to marry him). He died in 1917 of urinary problems due to his diet. His fortune was used to fund an important foundation at Johns Hopkins for the study of urology.

The script for this 1935 film was by Preston Sturgis, and was one of his best films (sans his own directed ones). Arnold does very well in it, playing the good natured, clever Brady as a sharp but decent person (which he was), who despite his great financial and social success never achieved his happiness. He dies when he sees that there is no point in pursuing the stringent diet that would prolong his lonely life, so after burning I.O.U.s from his friend, he insists he have the "normal" meal he enjoys. Arnold is last seen heading for the meal that will help kill him. He will eat himself to death. A really bizaare film conclusion - but with Sturgis's script and Arnold's acting it is successfully pulled off.

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.