interested in acting since his youth (he made his first stage appearance at the age of 12 as lorenzo in "the merchant of venice)", arnold made his professional stage debut in 1907. he found work as an extra for essanay studios and world studios, before landing his first significant role in 1916's "the misleading lady". in 1919, he left film for a return to the stage, and did not appear again in movies until he made his talkie debut in "okay america!" (1932). he recreated one of his stage roles in one of his early films, "whistling in the dark" (1933). his role in the 1935 film "diamond jim" boosted him to stardom. he reprised the role of diamond jim brady in the 1940 film "lillian russell". he also played a similar role in "the toast of new york" (1937), another fictionalized version of real-life business chicanery, for which he was billed above cary grant in the posters with his name in much larger letters.