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Diamond Jim

1935, Movie, NR, 90 mins

Diamond Jim: Review

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The combination of a great subject and a great character actor should have produced a minor masterpiece, but DIAMOND JIM misses the mark. Arnold, a golden-tongued thespian who never gave a bad performance, plays the title role with elan, first a baggage man for the railroads, then a salesman, then a supplier of equipment to every railroad in the nation. (Actually Diamond Jim made his fortune on the sale of barbed wire first, then railroad equipment.) Only about fifteen minutes is spent on chronicling Diamond Jim's rise, when most of the movie should have been given over to this colorful career. The script and director Sutherland, who was always more at home with comedy, introduce several love themes that simply don't work, or, at least, they don't work for Arnold. He proposes early to hometown girl Arthur, and she rejects him for another man; in fact, following his humble proposal, Arthur cold-bloodedly replies by asking him if he would like to attend her wedding to another. Arnold goes off to make his fortune and falls in love with Arthur's spitting image, which is logical because it's Arthur again in another role. Again she is having nothing to do with gracious, kind-hearted, open-pocketed Arnold. She's in love with Romero. Arnold then woos Barnes, who plays the famous Lillian Russell, but she doesn't want him either. She's also in love with Romero. Romero is kept busy spurning both ladies as he makes his playboy rounds. The rejection is simply too much for Arnold. A man with a bad stomach--his doctors have warned him to lay off the munchies--he decides to commit suicide by eating himself to death (shades of George Arliss in OLD ENGLISH). It is true that Brady embraced gluttony, and the great quantity of rich foods he consumed contributed to his death in 1917, but the manner in which Arnold meets his fate is ludicrous at best. Arnold nevertheless gives a bravura performance, and he glitters like the walking Christmas Tree that was Diamond Jim Brady, expansive, awarding wonderful gifts, plunging on any kind of crazy bet. The facts might not be straight, but the colorful character is wholly captured, and it is that enactment by Arnold that saves the film. leave a comment
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