The Toast of New York

Drama about Jim Fisk, a poor man who hit the big time in business in the 19th century., Romantic drama based on the life of the flamboyant ‘Jubilee Jim’ Fisk, from his beginnings as a small-time con man at the time of the American Civil War through his fabulous success on Wall Street in the 1880s. In his climb to the top, he smuggles cotton during the War, befriends an unscrupulous millionaire, and dupes a wealthy industrial magnate. But press rumours and a beautiful showgirl threaten his extravagant lifestyle., A rowdy robber baron financier of the 1880s sets his sights on cornering the gold market, as well as the affection of a gorgeous, young actress., Allegedly based on two factual works, Bouck White’s The Book of Daniel Drew and Matthew Josephson’s The Robber Barons, RKO’s The Toast of New York is a largely fanciful account of the career of 1870s financier “Jubilee Jim” Fisk. As played by Edward Arnold in his usual “tycoon” mode, Fisk was a likable scoundrel who finagled his way into the upper rungs of Wall Street as much for fun as for profit. The film conveniently ignores Fisk’s involvement with the infamous Tweed Ring, and skims over his complicity in 1869’s “Black Friday,” one of the most disastrous events in American economic history. We are also offered a sanitized version of Fisk’s notorious mistress Josie Mansfield, who as played by Frances Farmer is an apple-cheeked lass who regards Fisk only as a loyal friend. Cary Grant is along for the ride as “Nick Boyd,” a thinly disguised version of Fisk’s actual partner in crime Ned Stokes. Too costly to post a profit, Toast of New York is nonetheless fine non-think entertainment, kept alive by a superb supporting cast ranging from Donald Meek as Daniel Drew and Clarence Kolb as Cornelius Vanderbilt to such bit players as Laurel & Hardy perennial James Finlayson, who plays the inventor of a self-tipping hat!