''Diamond Jim'' is a 1935

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

based on the published biography '' Diamond Jim Brady'' by Parker Morell. It follows the life of legendary entrepreneur James Buchanan Brady, including his romance with entertainer Lillian Russell, and stars Edward Arnold, Jean Arthur, Cesar Romero and

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. She was known for as a leading lady in films such as ''The Private Life of He ...

. The screenplay by

Preston Sturges Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He is credited as being the first screenwriter to find success as a director. Prior to Sturges, other ...

never lets the lurid facts of Brady's life get in the way of the story.Erickson, Ha
Plot Synopsis (Allmovie)
/ref> Edward Arnold went on to play Diamond Jim Brady again five years later, opposite Alice Faye in '' Lillian Russell''.

Plot

Diamond Jim Brady ( Edward Arnold) is born to an Irish saloonkeeper and his wife in 1856, but is soon orphaned. At the age of thirty, working as baggage master at the Spuyten Duyvil train station, he rents a suit and a diamond from a pawn shop, and gets a job as a salesman; soon, he is the top salesman on the staff. While on a cross-continental sales trip, Brady rescues Mr. Fox ( Eric Blore) from a crooked salesman, but in the process they are forced to jump from the train. Brady soon discovers that Mr. Fox is trying to sell something called an "undertruck" to be used at railroad stations, so he takes on the product himself. With success, Brady wants to marry his sweetheart, Emma Perry ( Jean Arthur), but finds out that she is engaged. Heartbroken, he devotes all of his energy to the Brady-Fox Company. A grand success, Brady has ostentatious diamond jewelry designed for him, leading to his nickname, " Diamond Jim Brady". Brady spares no expense to indulge his every whim, lavishing money on wine, women, song and especially food. Brady sees singer Lillian Russell (

) perform, introduces himself, and soon he is promoting her career and flirting with her. Russell, however, is in love with businessman Jerry Richardson ( Cesar Romero). Brady soon meets Jane Matthews (Jean Arthur again), a lookalike for Emma, and is instantly smitten with her. They become engaged, but on the eve of their wedding, Brady gets drunk because of his suspicions about Jane's relationship with a banker named "Briggs" who is supposedly her "uncle", and the wedding is called off. Jane remains his friend, but refuses to give in to his occasional proposals – for one thing, she has fallen in love with Jerry, but neither want to tell Brady for fear of hurting his feelings. When the

stock market crash A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a major cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic selling and underlying economic factors. They often fol ...

es, Brady loses his fortune, and starts again from scratch, promoting a steel railroad car for its supposed safety. He is injured during a public demonstration of the car, and spends a year recovering in the hospital, while at the same time rebuilding his fortune. When he gets out, he plans a trip to Europe for himself, Jane, Lillian and Jerry, during which he believes he will finally get Jane to marry him. Instead, Jane and Jerry confess their love, the news of which shatters Jim. On the rebound, he proposes to Lillian, but she rejects him as well. Despondent, he returns home and prepares to eat himself to death, but not before burning up all the I.O.U.'s in his possession.

Cast

* Edward Arnold as Diamond Jim Brady * Jean Arthur as Jane Matthews / Emma *

as Lillian Russell * Cesar Romero as Jerry Richardson * Eric Blore as Sampson Fox *Hugh O'Connell as Charles B. Horsley *

George Sidney George Sidney (October 4, 1916May 5, 2002) was an American film director and producer who worked primarily at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His work includes cult classics '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) and '' Viva Las Vegas'' (1964). With an extensive back ...

as Pawnbroker *

Robert McWade Robert McWade (January 25, 1872 – January 19, 1938), was an American stage and film actor. Biography McWade was born in Buffalo, New York. He was the third actor named Robert McWade, after his father and grandfather. In 1902, McWade debut ...

as A.E. Moore *

Charles Sellon Charles A. Sellon (August 24, 1870 – June 26, 1937) was an American stage and film actor. Sellon appeared in more than 100 films and stage acts between 1901 and 1935. He played the blind Mr. Muckle in W. C. Fields' comedy '' It's a Gift' ...

as Touchey *

Henry Kolker Joseph Henry Kolker (November 13, 1874 – July 15, 1947) was an American stage and film actor and film director, director. Early years Kolker was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1874. (Some sources say 1870.) He came to America at age five and w ...

as Bank President * William Demarest as Harry Hill *

Albert Conti Albert Maroica Blasius Franz Maria, ''Ritter'' Conti von Cedassamare (29 January 1887 – 18 January 1967), commonly known as Albert Conti, was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American actor. He was a member of the noble Kaboga family. Biograph ...

as Jeweler * Armand Kaliz as Jewelry Salesman * Tully Marshall as Minister * Purnell Pratt as Physician *Helen Brown as Brady's Mother * Mabel Colcord as Brady's Aunt * Jack Mower as Man (uncredited) Cast notes: *This was the first film written by Preston Sturges in which William Demarest appeared, but it was not to be the last. Demarest would go on show up in ''nine'' other Sturges films: '' Easy Living'' (1937), '' The Great McGinty'' (1940), '' Christmas in July'' (1940), '' Sullivan's Travels'' (1941), '' The Lady Eve'' (1941), '' The Palm Beach Story'' (1942), ''

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek ''The Miracle of Morgan's Creek'' is a 1944 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring Eddie Bracken and Betty Hutton, and featuring Diana Lynn, William Demarest and Porter Hall. Brian Donlevy and A ...

'' (1944), '' Hail the Conquering Hero'' (1944) and '' The Great Moment'' (1944). Symphonic composer

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wrote a large amount of the score, yet remained uncredited on the movie.

Production

''Diamond Jim'', which had a working title of ''Diamond Jim Brady'', was based on the 1933 biography of Brady by Parker Morrell, to which Universal purchased the rights. However, prior to that,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

had bought the rights to a short story by Mike Simmons based on Brady's life, and had registered the title with the Hays Office. Paramount subsequently protested Universal's production, but how the matter was resolved is not known.TC
Notes
/ref> Brady died in 1917, but Edward Arnold had met him twice early in his acting career: once when Brady came to meet an actress who was performing in the show Arnold was in, and once when he came backstage to meet

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

, whose acting company Arnold was a part of.

Joseph Breen Joseph Ignatius Breen (October 14, 1888 – December 5, 1965) was an American film censor with the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America who applied the Hays Code to film production.Staff report (December 8, 1965). Joseph I. ...

, head of the Hays Office, objected to the sexual innuendo in the relationship between "Jane" and "Briggs", who was supposedly her uncle, and wanted it changed as it violated the Code. In addition, Dorothy Russell, the daughter of Lillian Russell, objected that the screenplay misrepresented the relationship between Brady and Russell, which she characterized as not a lifelong friendship, but a short term acquaintanceship that lasted only from 1902 to 1916. She also believed that the film used material from an article about her mother she had written which was published in a magazine. She engaged an attorney to file a lawsuit, but the outcome is unknown. ''Diamond Jim'' was in production from 3 April to 20 May 1935, at a cost of over $750,000. The filming of the train crash took place at a

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...

near

San Luis Obispo, California ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

with vintage cars donated by the Pacific Coast Railway. Jack Foley, head of Universal's sound effects department, recorded the crash. The film was released on 2 September 1935.

In popular culture

*In '' Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie'', "Diamond Jim" is the name of the movie within the movie, which serves as the opening scene, starring John Depp. *In the novel '' Jitterbug Perfume'', author Tom Robbins compares one of the principal characters to Diamond Jim: "When Madame Devalier raised her voice, it was like Diamond Jim raising a poker pot. Even the termites in the foundation paid attention."

Notes

External links