The Toast of New York (1937)

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

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.

I am always on the lookout for the products of the Golden Age of Hollywood, especially ones that I haven't seen before. In a lifetime of watching classic films, I had never seen this one. The opening credits indicate that this film was based on a story called *Robber Barons,* which gives you some idea of the subject matter. The three anchoring parts are played by Edward Arnold as Jim Fisk, Cary Grant as his partner Nick Boyd, and Jack Oakie as Luke, seeming a bit "country bumpkinish" I thought in the company of the other two bons vivants. The love interest, in the form of showgirl Josephine Mansfield, is filled by lovely Frances Farmer. I must give a special mention to old reliable supporting actor Donald Meek - usually seen as a fixture in MGM features. Here he is given one of the ripest supporting roles I have ever seen him in as Bible-spouting, aphorism-quoting, shipping magnate "Uncle Daniel" Drew. I will say no more for now, so as to avoid spoilers, but I found his performance truly wonderful. The film is lensed beautifully in stunning black and white, features smooth direction by *Son of Frankenstein* and *Tower of London* director Rowland V. Lee, and most especially the cast are supported by a literate, witty script featuring some of the juiciest dialog that has been my pleasure to indulge in in years. This film is right up there with such classics of the era as *His Girl Friday* (*The Front Page*), with the difference that the effervescence takes place in the historical setting of the latter half of the 19th. Century. I am not surprised to find out that the film takes liberties with the facts - but with such polished actors and literate script, it presents an idealized version with consummate technique. Since it really is a star vehicle and tour de force for Edward Arnold rather than Grant, I am left wondering why he wasn't given more such opportunities to steal the show - which he does rather handily.

Toast of New York was the Heaven's Gate and/or Cleopatra of its day, a film which almost sank its studio, RKO. RKO invested well over $1 million (a huge sum in 1937) into this film and it shows in every frame--incredible sets and costumes and the kind of polish you don't see anymore. The film was beset with pre-production problems, going through several announced stars (Spencer Tracy, Ginger Rogers, etc.) before settling on Farmer, Grant and Arnold. Writer Dudley Nichols was fired and re-hired as the production began shooting. The film, despite its pedigree, was greeted with decidedly mixed reviews and had lukewarm boxoffice response. Uneven in tone and historically inaccurate, it still is grand entertainment in the late 30s manner, with high drama and low comedy interspersed with about equal measure, and excellent performances by Farmer, Arnold and Oakie. Only Cary Grant seems somewhat ill at ease in a role quite different from his usual screen persona. The press materials on Toast are almost as lavish as the film itself, capitalizing on Farmer's recent success in "Come and Get It." The song Farmer sings, "The First Time I Saw You," was a chart hit for Bunny Berigan (who also charted with the theme from another Farmer film, "Ebb Tide") in 1937.

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"