The Toast of New York

1937 film by Rowland V. Lee

For the racehorse, see Toast of New York.

The Toast of New York

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Rowland V. Lee
Screenplay by|

* Dudley Nichols
* John Twist
* Joel Sayre

Based on| The Book of Daniel Drew
by Bouck White and "Robber Barons"
by Matthew Josephson
Produced by| Edward Small
Starring|

* Edward Arnold
* Cary Grant
* Frances Farmer
* Jack Oakie

Cinematography| Peverell Marley
Edited by| George Hively
Samuel E. Beetley
Music by| Nathaniel Shilkret

Production
company

RKO Radio Pictures

Distributed by| RKO Radio Pictures

Release date

* July 22, 1937 (1937-07-22)

[1]

Running time

| 109 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $1.07 million[2]
Box office| $1.05 million[2]

The Toast of New York is a 1937 American biographical film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Edward Arnold, Cary Grant, Frances Farmer, and Jack Oakie. The film is a fictionalized account of the lives of financiers James Fisk and Edward S. Stokes.[3] The screenplay was based on the book The Book of Daniel Drew by Bouck White and the story "Robber Barons" by Matthew Josephson.

## Plot

[edit]

In post-Civil War America, unscrupulous, ambitious partners Jim Fisk and Nick Boyd talk tight-fisted businessman Daniel Drew into selling them his shipping company, paying with worthless Confederate bonds. Later, worried that his longtime rival, Cornelius Vanderbilt, is trying to take control of his railroad, Drew seeks help from Fisk, only to have him turn the situation to his own advantage. Fisk and Boyd eventually become powers to be reckoned with on Wall Street.

Meanwhile, both men fall in love with entertainer Josie Mansfield. Mansfield agrees to marry Fisk out of gratitude, but really loves Boyd.

Fisk's greed grows beyond all reason and he tries to corner the market in gold. When Fisk ignores Boyd's warnings, Boyd turns against him, worried that the resulting panic threatens the financial system of the whole country. The federal government finally intervenes by releasing its gold reserves, bankrupting Fisk in the process.

## Cast

[edit]

* Edward Arnold as Jim Fisk
* Cary Grant as Nick Boyd (based on Edward S. Stokes)
* Frances Farmer as Josie Mansfield
* Jack Oakie as Luke
* Donald Meek as Daniel Drew
* Thelma Leeds as Fleurique
* Clarence Kolb as Vanderbilt
* Billy Gilbert as Photographer
* George Irving as Broker
* Russell Hicks as Lawyer
* Dudley Clements as Collins
* Lionel Belmore as President of Board
* James Finlayson \- uncredited
* Robert McClung as Bellhop
* Robert Dudley as Janitor
* Dewey Robinson as Beef Dooley
* Stanley Fields as Top Sergeant

## Production

[edit]

The film was originally announced as The Robber Barons to star Robert Donat who had just made Count of Monte Cristo for producer Edward Small.[4]

Filming was meant to take four weeks but ended up taking fifteen with Arnold on $10,000 a week, half of which went to B. P. Schulberg who owned his contract. Costing Small this much money gave satisfaction to Arnold, who had been rejected by the producer seeking his representation as an agent in 1918.[5] Costs blew out on the production and there ended up being at least seven writers on the script.[6]

## Reception

[edit]

Reviews were mixed. Frank S. Nugent wrote that it was "only moderately entertaining" and "a familiar formula Arnold show."[7] Variety called it "good entertainment despite its inanities, extravagances and exaggerations."[8] Harrison's Reports wrote that it was "lacking in dramatic force" and had unsympathetic characters but offered "several thrilling moments."[9] Russell Maloney of The New Yorker called the story "fumbling and aimless" and found "shocking anachronisms" in the dialogue, concluding, "Not recommended."[10]

The film was a commercial disappointment, losing $530,000, making it RKO's biggest money loser of the year.[2] This led to Edward Small leaving RKO and returning to United Artists.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hanson, Patricia King, ed. (1993). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1931-1940. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 2223\. ISBN 0-520-07908-6.
2. ^ a b c Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p57
3. ^ "The Toast of New York". Turner Classic Movies.
4. ^ "Robert Donat, Jack Oakie and Other Stars to Glisten on R.-K.-O. Program: Small Closes Deal for Reliance Films Kiepura's Next European Feature in Charge of "Casta Diva" Director; Jean Arthur and Melvyn Douglas to Join Talents" Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 27 Jan 1936: A15.
5. ^ "HOLLYWOOD PICKET LINE: The Industry Watches the C. I. O.--Satisfaction--R. Halliburton Flynn" by DOUGLAS W. CHURCHILL. New York Times 18 Apr 1937: 169.
6. ^ "HOLLYWOOD ON THE ROAD" by DOUGLAS W. CHURCHILL. New York Times 21 Mar 1937: 173.
7. ^ The New York Times Film Reviews, Volume 2: 1932-1938. The New York Times & Arno Press. 1970. p. 1411.
8. ^ "Film Reviews". Variety. New York. July 14, 1937. p. 20.
9. ^ "The Toast of New York". Harrison's Reports. New York: 127. August 7, 1937.
10. ^ Maloney, Russell (July 31, 1937). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. p. 49.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Toast of New York.

* The Toast of New York at IMDb
* The Toast of New York at Rotten Tomatoes

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Rowland V. Lee

* A Thousand to One (1920)
* Blind Hearts (1921)
* The Sea Lion (1921)
* Cupid's Brand (1921)
* The Cup of Life (1921)
* The Men of Zanzibar (1922)
* His Back Against the Wall (1922)
* Mixed Faces (1922)
* Shirley of the Circus (1922)
* Alice Adams (1923)
* Gentle Julia (1923)
* Desire (1923)
* You Can't Get Away with It (1923)
* In Love with Love (1924)
* The Man Without a Country (1925)
* Havoc (1925)
* The Outsider (1926)
* The Silver Treasure (1926)
* Barbed Wire (1927)
* The Whirlwind of Youth (1927)
* The Secret Hour (1928)
* Doomsday (1928)
* Three Sinners (1928)
* Loves of an Actress (1928)
* The First Kiss (1928)
* The Wolf of Wall Street (1929)
* A Dangerous Woman (1929)
* Ladies Love Brutes (1930)
* The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930)
* Derelict (1930)
* A Man from Wyoming (1930)
* Paramount on Parade (1930)
* The Ruling Voice (1931)
* The Guilty Generation (1931)
* That Night in London (1932)
* Zoo in Budapest (1933)
* I Am Suzanne (1933)
* The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
* Gambling (1934)
* Cardinal Richelieu (1935)
* The Three Musketeers (1935)
* One Rainy Afternoon (1936)
* Love from a Stranger (1937)
* The Toast of New York (1937)
* Service de Luxe (1938)
* Mother Carey's Chickens (1938)
* Son of Frankenstein (1939)
* Tower of London (1939)
* The Sun Never Sets (1939)
* The Son of Monte Cristo (1940)
* Powder Town (1942)
* The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944)
* Captain Kidd (1945)

* v
* t
* e

Films by Dudley Nichols

As director|

* Government Girl (1944)
* Sister Kenny (1946)
* Mourning Becomes Electra (1947)

As writer|

* Men Without Women (1930)
* Born Reckless (1930)
* A Devil with Women (1930)
* Seas Beneath (1931)
* The Black Camel (1931)
* Hush Money (1931)
* She Wanted a Millionaire (1932)
* Robbers' Roost (1932)
* Pilgrimage (1933)
* You Can't Buy Everything (1934)
* The Lost Patrol (1934)
* Judge Priest (1934)
* The Informer (1935)
* The Arizonian (1935)
* The Crusades (1935)
* Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)
* The Three Musketeers (1935)
* Mary of Scotland (1936)
* The Plough and the Stars (1937)
* The Toast of New York (1937)
* The Hurricane (1937)
* Bringing Up Baby (1938)
* Carefree (1938)
* Stagecoach (1939)
* The Long Voyage Home (1940)
* Man Hunt (1941)
* Swamp Water (1941)
* The Battle of Midway (1942)
* Air Force (1943)
* This Land Is Mine (1943)
* Bataan (1943)
* For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)
* It Happened Tomorrow (1944)
* And Then There Were None (1945)
* The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
* Scarlet Street (1945)
* The Fugitive (1947)
* Pinky (1949)
* Return of the Texan (1952)
* The Big Sky (1952)
* Prince Valiant (1954)
* Run for the Sun (1956)
* The Tin Star (1957)
* The Hangman (1959)
* Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
* Escape from Zahrain (1962)

* v
* t
* e

Films produced by Edward Small

1910-20s|

* Who's Your Neighbor? (1917)
* The Sporting Lover (1926)
* The Cohens and Kellys (1926)
* The Gorilla (1927)
* McFadden's Flats (1927)
* Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath (1928)
* The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris (1928)
* My Man (1928)
* Companionate Marriage (1928)
* Song of Love (1929)

1930s|

* Clancy in Wall Street (1930)
* Igloo (1932)
* I Cover the Waterfront (1933)
* Palooka (1933)
* The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
* Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)
* Let 'Em Have It (1935)
* Red Salute (1935)
* The Melody Lingers On (1935)
* The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
* The Bride Walks Out (1936)
* We Who Are About to Die (1937)
* Sea Devils (1937)
* New Faces of 1937 (1937)
* Super-Sleuth (1937)
* The Toast of New York (1937)
* The Duke of West Point (1938)
* King of the Turf (1939)
* The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

1940s|

* My Son, My Son! (1940)
* The Son of Monte Cristo (1940)
* South of Pago Pago (1940)
* Kit Carson (1940)
* International Lady (1941)
* The Corsican Brothers (1941)
* A Gentleman After Dark (1942)
* Twin Beds (1942)
* Miss Annie Rooney (1942)
* Friendly Enemies (1942)
* Up in Mabel's Room (1944)
* Abroad with Two Yanks (1944)
* Brewster's Millions (1945)
* Getting Gertie's Garter (1945)
* Temptation (1946)
* The Return of Monte Cristo (1946)
* T-Men (1947)
* The Black Arrow (1948)
* The Fuller Brush Man (1948)
* Raw Deal (1948)
* Walk a Crooked Mile (1948)
* Black Magic (1949)

1950s|

* Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950)
* The Iroquois Trail (1950)
* Valentino (1951)
* Lorna Doone (1951)
* The Texas Rangers (1951)
* Indian Uprising (1952)
* Scandal Sheet (1952)
* The Brigand (1952)
* Cripple Creek (1952)
* Kansas City Confidential (1952)
* The Bandits of Corsica (1953)
* Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953)
* Dragon's Gold (1953)
* Gun Belt (1953)
* The Neanderthal Man (1953)
* 99 River Street (1953)
* Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953)
* Sabre Jet (1953)
* The Steel Lady (1953)
* Wicked Woman (1953)
* Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl (1954)
* Khyber Patrol (1954)
* The Lone Gun (1954)
* Overland Pacific (1954)
* Return to Treasure Island (1954)
* Southwest Passage (1954)
* Down Three Dark Streets (1954)
* New York Confidential (1955)
* The Naked Street (1955)
* Top Gun (1955)
* Comanche (1955)
* Gun Brothers (1956)
* UFO (1956)
* Chicago Confidential (1957)
* 5 Steps to Danger (1957)
* Gun Duel in Durango (1957)
* The Iron Sheriff (1957)
* Monkey on My Back (1957)
* Curse of the Faceless Man (1958)
* Hong Kong Confidential (1958)
* It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
* Toughest Gun in Tombstone (1958)
* Witness for the Prosecution (1958)
* The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)
* Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1959)
* Inside the Mafia (1959)
* Invisible Invaders (1959)
* Pier 5, Havana (1959)
* Riot in Juvenile Prison (1959)
* Solomon and Sheba (1959)
* Timbuktu (1959) (had name removed from credits)
* Vice Raid (1959)

1960s|

* Cage of Evil (1960)
* A Dog's Best Friend (1960)
* Gunfighters of Abilene (1960)
* The Music Box Kid (1960)
* Noose for a Gunman (1960)
* Oklahoma Territory (1960)
* Three Came to Kill (1960)
* The Walking Target (1960)
* Boy Who Caught a Crook (1961)
* The Cat Burglar (1961)
* Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)
* Frontier Uprising (1961)
* Five Guns to Tombstone (1961)
* The Flight That Disappeared (1961)
* The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
* Gun Fight (1961)
* Mary Had a Little... (1961)
* Operation Bottleneck (1961)
* Police Dog Story (1961)
* Secret of Deep Harbor (1961)
* The Snake Woman (1961)
* Three on a Spree (1961)
* When the Clock Strikes (1961)
* You Have to Run Fast (1961)
* The Greengage Summer (1961)
* Beauty and the Beast (1962)
* The Clown and the Kid (1962)
* Deadly Duo (1962)
* Gun Street (1962)
* Incident in an Alley (1962)
* Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
* Saintly Sinners (1962)
* Tower of London (1962)
* Diary of a Madman (1963)
* Twice Told Tales (1963)
* I'll Take Sweden (1965)
* Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966)
* Frankie and Johnny (1966)
* The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)
* The File of the Golden Goose (1969)
* The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970)

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