The Toast of New York

After the Civil War, Jim Fisk lands in New York not as a refined financier but as a street smart opportunist who has learned to bend rules to his advantage. He arrives with two loyal if sometimes reckless partners, Nick and Luke, and the trio plunges into the era's booming but volatile markets. The film follows their bold gambles on new ventures, the pressure of rivals, and the social whirl surrounding a city hungry for wealth and spectacle. Rather than a dry ledger of numbers, it presents colorful personalities, sharp banter, and the temptations that come with quick fortunes, while hinting at the costs of bending truth for profit. Its tone blends humor with streetwise observation of greed and ambition.

Directed by Rowland V. Lee and released in 1937, The Toast of New York pairs an ensemble with a screenplay credited to John Twist, Bouck White and Matthew Josephson. It draws on post Civil War Wall Street lore and figures.

Box office data for The Toast of New York from 1937 is not readily available in modern catalogs. The film did not become a major box office landmark, and precise worldwide grosses are difficult to verify today.

Even today the film is mostly remembered for its strong ensemble and a young Cary Grant in a supporting turn alongside Frances Farmer and Edward Arnold. Frances plays Josie Mansfield with wit and grit, while the cast captures the flash and grit of a money hungry city ripe for satire.

Critics at the time praised the brisk pacing and lively dialogue, while some noted it blends satire with melodrama. The film hints that wealth and influence can distort judgment, and that loyalty and trust fray under pressure as ambition collides with personal costs. The postwar history framing gives prose weight.