Gentleman Jim (1942)

A different way of telling a story

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Blistering performances.

A classic boxing drama based on the life of James J Corbett, this is one Erroyl Flynn's finest performances, with magnificent supporting performances Alexis Smith ,Alan Hale, William Frawly, with special kudos to Ward Bond for his magnificent portrayal of the great John L. Sullivan. This gem of a film features some of the finest boxing sequences and cinematic history.

My opinion---Raoul Walsh is definitely a virtuoso and has realized a true masterpiece of the 7th art in every respect, it is an elegant film and wonderfully realized by this great master of the cinema, the film is also the representation and the incarnation of the American dream of the time. This film was also and wonderfully served by the masterful interpretation of Errol Flynn which deploys all his charisma and all the elegance of his character, his ardor and his sympathy splashes the screen of his whole class representing the life of the boxer James J. Corbett, of which Raoul Walsh was inspired. Superb scenes of unforgettable pugilates will also be of a purity. This masterpiece of cinema will forever be eternal for all the wonderful points I have just written, a film to discover or rediscover. In conclusion; For me it's one of the best boxing movies ever made by Hollywood, an unforgettable film both for its realization, its incredibly beautiful interpretation of an unforgettable Errol Flynn.

It appears that, like many biopics of the era, this one has little in common with the true story of Gentleman Jim Corbett. But who cares? This is a wonderfully entertaining flick! And, it's sadly interesting that Errol Flynn had a mild heart attack during the filming.The movie begins in San Francisco before the turn of the century. Boxing is illegal, but of course, that doesn't stop it from taking place. James J. Corbett (Flynn) plays an irrepressible bank teller who likes attending fights. Through a series of coincidences, following a raid on a boxing match he is invited to join an upper class men's club, though he and his family are decidedly not upper class. His brassy attitude annoys some members of the club, and they arrange a boxing match for him with the former champion of England. He wins. And slowly he boxes more and more leading fighters...all the time having his eye on Alexis Smith, who has the same feelings, although she doesn't yet realize it. William Frawley plays his manager, who eventually gets him a fight with the world champion -- John L. Sullivan (Ward Bond). Corbett beats Sullivan and wins Alexis Smith.There are solid performances by all the principals in this film. Errol Flynn is...well...Errol Flynn, but he gives a great performance and is particularly well understated in the climax of the film -- the meeting with John L. Sullivan after Corbett has defeated him. Alexis Smith is wonderful as the romantic interest. Ward Bond is superb as John L. Sullivan...always an underrated actor. Alan Hale, Sr. is great as Crobett's father. Jack Carson must have felt cheated; although he got third billing, his role was very minor. And, there are a whole group of character actors you'll recognize...my favorite being Minor Watson (father of the child actor). William Frawley is the usual as the fight manager.Recommended for great, if not accurate, entertainment, with some great boxing scenes.

In Warner Bros.' "Gentleman Jim" (1942), Ward Bond gives one of his finest performances as world heavyweight champion boxer John L. Sullivan to Errol Flynn's James J. Corbett, under the direction of Raoul Walsh. Corbett (1866-1933), a San Francisco bank clerk and first boxer to honor the Marquess of Queensberry rules, was nicknamed "Gentleman Jim" because of his handsome features and scientific method of fighting. Born in Boston to Irish immigrant parents, Sullivan (1858-1918), the last heavyweight to hold the bare-knuckle title, also reigned as the first champion of gloved boxing from 1881 to 1892. He also was the first athlete in the United States to become a national celebrity. In New Orleans on September 7, 1892, Corbett defeated the much-heavier Sullivan during a grueling, 21-round upset, gaining the championship title. Corbett subsequently appeared in several plays and 16 films, including the features "The Man from the Golden West" (1913) and "The Prince of Avenue A" (1920), and the serial "The Midnight Man" (1919). For "Gentleman Jim," producer Robert Buckner hired Ed Cochrane, sports editor of the Chicago Herald-American and a Corbett aficionado, as technical adviser. "Mushy" Callahan was one of the trainers who worked with Flynn and Bond, and he also served as a "dancing" double for Flynn in close-ups detailing Corbett's famous footwork. Some location shooting was done at the Baldwin Estate at Santa Anita. The boxing scenes are extremely well shot (by Sid Hickox) and edited (by Jack Killifer), with Flynn, Bond, Sammy Stein, Wee Willie Davis and others making a lot of real contact during the fights. The impressive montage sequences, directed by Don Siegel, are an example of economical storytelling at its best. With all the Irish-American blarney, and veterans of Ford films (Bond, Stein, Alan Hale, John Loder, Minor Watson, Rhys Williams, Arthur Shields, James Flavin, Frank Hagney and Mary Gordon), Gentleman Jim is a lot like a John Ford production stripped of its socio-political subtext. As the self-confident Corbett,Flynn's fluid combination of graciousness and cockiness provides the ideal counter to Bond's egotistical, blustery Sullivan, supremely convinced that he "can lick any man in the world!" When Jim knocks John L. off his throne, the former champ approaches his conqueror at the post-fight reception, hands over his engraved championship belt and, in quiet, even whispered, tones, discusses Corbett's new style of "gentlemanly" boxing before turning and gallantly walking back through the crowd, triumphant in defeat. As demonstrated by Corbett afterward,during his conversation with Victoria Ware (Alexis Smith), his sponsor and object of his affection, both proud men have been humbled by the experience. And Walsh doesn't spoil the mood with a typical Hollywood romantic embrace; he shows Jim and the fiery, independent Victoria having yet another argument.Although the real Sullivan had pawned his belt years before his fight with Corbett, this fictional event provides an impeccable climax for the film. It is the most subtly moving scene in all of Bond's films and, arguably, Walsh's as well. It is difficult to find a bad film performance by Bond, but Sullivan, his first fully realized period characterization involving the use of an accent (which never falters), provides a rare example of perfect casting. Ward's solid beefcake physical condition (which was superior to Sullivan's)also adds to the authenticity of his acting. The real Sullivan died at age 59, from the effects of prizefighting and a longtime overindulgence in both food and alcohol. In the film, Bond is shown regularly drinking beer as part of Sullivan's training exercises. (His own later life—and death—would eerily parallel Sullivan's.) In today's award-ridden culture, this performance, perhaps his finest in a non-Ford film, could be called "Oscar worthy." Flynn, six years younger, nearly 50 pounds lighter, and only an inch shorter than Bond, was an equally fine choice. He was an excellent, if underrated, actor and clearly as handsome as it gets. Though every detail in the film may not be historically accurate, these two actors capture the very essence of the real men. In fact, all the roles are well cast, providing a rock-solid element in a great Walsh film. As Sullivan's father, Alan Hale is at his apex, as is Jack Carson, whose gift for physical comedy is well on display. (Excerpted from a working draft of the forthcoming book THREE BAD MEN: JOHN FORD, JOHN WAYNE AND WARD BOND by Scott Allen Nollen.)