Along with Come and Get It, made the year before, The Toast of New York provided Farmer with her best role. She stars with Cary Grant and Edward Arnold in a colorful story of nineteenth century rugged individualism on Wall Street. Arnold plays the financial tycoon, Jim Fisk, whose real life, rags to riches biography this is, and Grant plays his partner, Nick Boyd. As Josie Mansfield, Fisk's mistress, Farmer is involved with both partners. The New York Times review notes that Farmer lends vitality to a "trite romantic set-up," and adds that "presenting Josie Mansfield in the person of Frances Farmer immediately inclines us to believe only the best of Josie..." In her article, "Frances Farmer's Dark Victory" in the Village Voice, Carrie Rickey writes, "In Toast of New York, she fought to interpret the role of Josie Mansfield, 'Big Jim' Fisk's mistress, as a tough cookie, but was told to soften it up. 'I don't understand,' Frances complained, 'why you want to plaster sweetening over the character when it's so much more interesting to tell the truth.'"