The Toast of New York (FR)

The Toast of New York (FR) (DVD) (*)

~~$27.99~~ $21.97

Language Selections:
English ( Mono )
French ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
109 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1937 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Rowland V. Lee

Written By:
Bouck White
Matthew Josephson

Actors:
Edward Arnold ..... James 'Jim' Fisk Jr.
Cary Grant ..... Nicholas 'Nick' Boyd
Frances Farmer ..... Josie Mansfield
Jack Oakie ..... Luke
Donald Meek ..... Daniel Drew
Thelma Leeds ..... Mlle. Fleurique
Clarence Kolb ..... Commodore Cornelius 'Corneel' Vanderbilt
Billy Gilbert ..... Portrait photographer
George Irving ..... Broker selling gold
Russell Hicks ..... Fisk's lawyer
Dudley Clements ..... Jed Collins
Lionel Belmore ..... President of the board
Robert McClung ..... Bellhop
Robert Dudley ..... Sam, a janitor
Dewey Robinson ..... 'Beef' Dooley

Synopsis:

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!

The story starts just before the Civil War, showing Fisk (Arnold), Boyd (Grant), and Luke (Oakie) conning Southern townsfolk into buying bars of soap that, might, have a $10 gold piece inside. Found out, they're chased out of town and escape across the Mason-Dixon Line just as the war starts. Fisk hatches a plan for him and Boyd to return to the South and buy cotton then smuggle it to the North where Luke is to sell it to the Northern textile mills. By the end of the war they have made millions, only to find out that Luke had been re-investing their money into Confederate Bonds. This fact-based movie shows Jim Fisk as one of the greatest con-men and entrepreneur's in history. It concludes with his involvement in 'Black Friday', the Financial Panic of 1869, with fellow financier Jay Gould (who's not represented in the movie) and their attempt to corner the U.S. gold market. There's a love triangle between Fisk, Boyd and Mansfield (Farmer), which is also based on historical accounts.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 08 October, 2008.

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