Gentleman Jim

Great biopic of boxer James 'Gentleman Jim' Corbett. The movie covers his life from pre-boxing days up to his championship boxing match with John L. Sullivan. Errol Flynn has a field day with the part. He's immensely charming and does most of his own boxing in this. Ward Bond is great as Sullivan, one of his best roles outside of his John Ford films. Alexis Smith is fine as the love interest. Fun support from Alan Hale, Jack Carson, and William Frawley. As with most of the great old Hollywood biographical films, attention is paid more to telling an entertaining story than being historically accurate. That doesn't bother me but your tastes may vary. Nice Warner Bros. production with period sets and costumes. A fun, light movie well-directed by frequent Flynn collaborator Raoul Walsh.

It is sometimes odd to think how many historical figures who were the subjects of film biographies from 1927 to 1950 were actually still alive in the start of the talking film period. Marie Curie was - is there some long forgotten piece of newsreel film with her in it (from Pathe, naturally) where we see her in a laboratory, and she is talking in French or Polish or even English? George M. Cohan - he actually was in some silent films, but there were two sound films he starred in, one of which (THE PHANTOM PRESIDENT) is in tact, and is worth watching. It turned out the Yankee Doodle Boy could sing and act on celluloid. How about the subject of GENTLEMAN JIM, the great pugilist James J. Corbett?

Well, actually, there are some films with Corbett in them from the early sound period. People forget that he followed his boxing career with a fairly successful stage career (including the lead role in George Bernard Shaw's THE ADMIRABLE BASHFUL, a play about pugilism based on Shaw's novel CASHEL BYRON'S PROFESSION). This is barely touched on in GENTLEMAN JIM, except in one scene where Errol Flynn mentions Shaw's writings. Anyway, Corbett would remain in the vaudeville and legitimate theatre until he died in 1931. And he did appear in one or two early sound films [so did the first African-American heavyweight boxing champ, Jack Johnson].

Actually GENTLEMAN JIM wisely stuck to the rise of Corbett to the heavyweight championship. It also was able to make much humor out of his contentious family and his social pretensions (constantly punctured by Alexis Smith, as the socialite he would like to marry). Supported by an able cast, including William Frawley, Jack Carson, and Alan Hale Sr. the film goes along rapidly, and you never get bored. Raoul Walsh's direction is first rate here. And there are moments of great humor, such as the fat members of the Olympic Club exercising, or the way the Corbetts seem to be preparing for their next fight at the drop of a hat (to which Carson yells "THE CORBETTS ARE AT IT AGAIN!" each time). Some of Walsh's camera tricks are nice too - in a montage showing the rise of Corbett in a series of successful fights, Walsh uses photos of the boxers in a bar that are stills from the next scene of the fight the boxers lose or win.

Corbett was one of the first articulate and well-read men to achieve boxing fame. He also championed the Marquess of Queensberry rules, including boxing gloves. The latter had already achieved acceptance (begrudgingly) from Sullivan, whose defeat of Paddy Kilraine in 1889 was the last great bare-knuckle fight. But the final scene of Sullivan (Ward Bond, possibly in his finest moment on the screen) passing his heavyweight belt to Corbett, no matter how moving it really is, brings to mind one of the real problems of Corbett's victory in 1892. Sullivan, a large man with a heavy drinking problem, was not in tip-top shape when he fought Corbett, who was faster and younger. Bond says he does not know what would have been the result if they had met five years earlier, and Flynn agrees it would be hard to call. We'll never really know. Sullivan dominated the heavyweight fight game from 1881 to 1892. Corbett was champ from 1892 to 1897. One wonders which of the two champs was really the greater boxer.

This is one of Errol's best films and performances as Gentleman Jim Corbett. He's loose and lively with his movie star charm and charisma in full evidence. He's also well matched with Alexis Smith one of the most undervalued of golden era actresses. They made four films together with this being the best of the bunch. Well directed by Walsh with a quick pace and a great group of the Warners stock company assembled. Ward Bond in particular stands out in a nice scene as John L. Sullivan passing the torch of championship on to the next generation. An excellent example of the studio system working at peak efficiency where all the components fall into place and turn an average script into something more.

If you like Flynn, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, Alexis Smith, William Frawley and/or Ward Bond, then this is the film for you. This film is a biopic about the boxer, James "Gentleman Jim" J. Corbett, who was one of the first boxers to fight under the modern boxing rules. This film deals with his ascent to stardom, courtesy of his brash cockiness and natural talent as a boxer. Carson portrays his less attractive friend who enjoys the perks involved in being friends with a star. Hale is his Irish father who is hilarious.

Smith plays a woman whom Flynn courts throughout the entire film. She pretends to loathe him, mostly because of his arrogance, but throughout the film, you can tell that she's got the hots for him (and who wouldn't?) even though she tries to suppress it. Frawley is Flynn's boxing manager who tries to keep him a serious boxer, but struggles at times. Finally Bond plays John Sullivan, the reigning heavyweight boxing champion who Flynn ends up challenging. Their fight is the climax of the film. There's a very touching scene between Flynn and Bond at the end of the film. It's followed by a very funny scene involving Hale and Carson. Highly recommended. Even if you're not a boxing fan, you'll find this film enjoyable. Flynn so effortlessly makes his "cock of the walk" character utterly charming. In lesser hands the part of Jim Corbett could have easily become obnoxious, but Flynn's personality and charisma makes the audience root for his character.

Although the mention of Errol Flynn most often evokes images of his bravura Golden Age performance in "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (his portrayal of that character was ranked the 18th greatest American film hero by the American Film Institute), 1942's "Gentleman Jim," with Flynn as old-time boxer James J. Corbett waging his most famous fight against the great champion John L. Sullivan, is my favorite among Flynn's estimable body of work.

Flynn, considered the successor to Douglas Fairbanks as the screen's king of the swashbucklers, lived up to that promise with starring roles in films like "Captain Blood," "The Charge of the Light Brigade," "They Died with Their Boots On," "Dodge City," "Santa Fe Trail" and "San Antonio."

But "Gentleman Jim," based on Corbett's autobiography, "The Roar of the Crowd," and directed by the great Raoul Walsh, is quintessential Flynn, the sleek, daring young man on the rise and at the top of his game, here supported by a deep, perfectly cast group of actors that included frequent Flynn sidekick Alan Hale (this time as Flynn's father), Ward Bond (as a barrel-chested Sullivan), Alexis Smith (as his smitten but sassy love interest) and Jack Carson (as his well-meaning but gullible and socially awkward best bud).

And, yes, that's William Frawley a decade before "I Love Lucy" and Fred Mertz, stealing scenes in a pivotal role as a cigar-chomping, opportunistic but sometimes disbelieving little fight promoter.

Alas, the real-life Flynn, who had trained so hard to be in shape as Corbett, died at the young age of 50 in October 1959, his body aged well beyond its years, his personal life and film career in tatters, victims of a burn-the-candle-at-both-ends and all too often scandalous lifestyle (see his autobiography with ghostwriter Eric Conrad, "My Wicked, Wicked Ways," and David Niven's memoir, "Bring on the Empty Horses," for a glimpse of his complex and troubled life).

As for Corbett (1866-1933), who graduated from Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco and was "rumored" to have a college education, he's been called the "Father of Modern Boxing" for his athletic dodging, dancing and weaving technique in the ring, Muhammad Ali before there was a Muhammad Ali. That entertaining and often harrowing style against sometimes bigger and stronger opponents, plus being blessed with a natural sense of theatricality and movie-star good looks that led to a second career in stage acting, resulted in his being christened Gentleman Jim by an admiring press eager to capitalize on his charisma.

But this was Flynn at his best, as he should be remembered, a match with character made in cinematic heaven.

If you haven't seen "Gentleman Jim," or if it's been a while, have a look.