Gentleman Jim (1942)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Vincent Lawrence (screenplay) and
Horace McCoy (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 November 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

The grandest story of the Naughty "Nineties" becomes the gayest picture of the Fighting "Forties!"

Plot:

As bareknuckled boxing enters the modern era, brash extrovert Jim Corbett uses new rules and dazzlingly innovative footwork to rise to the top of the top of the boxing world.

Plot Keywords:

Conceit | Waldorf Astoria Hotel | Marquis Of Queensbury | Bank Teller | Pugilism

Cast

Errol Flynn	...	James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim
Alexis Smith	...	Victoria Ware
Jack Carson	...	Walter Lowrie
Alan Hale	...	Pat Corbett
John Loder	...	Carlton De Witt
William Frawley	...	Billy Delaney
Minor Watson	...	Buck Ware
Ward Bond	...	John L. Sullivan
Madeleine LeBeau	...	Anna Held
Rhys Williams	...	Harry Watson
Arthur Shields	...	Father Burke
Dorothy Vaughan	...	Ma Corbett

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (No. 8440) | Norway:A (1950) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Baldwin Estate, Santa Ana, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Former Junior Welterweight champion Mushy Callahan not only trained Flynn for the film's fight sequences, his feet doubled for the actor in the shots that showed off his famous footwork.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the fight scene at the beginning of the movie, when the police swarm in and begin beating the two fighters with their night sticks, you can clearly see several of them flexing as they are being swung. This is particularly evident with the officer on the left as he repeatedly hits "The Mauler". It's obvious they are made of rubber.

Quotes:

Victoria Ware: You're thinking about Sullivan?
James J. Corbett aka Gentleman Jim: Yeah. I can see him now walking back to his room, alone, lying there all night and thinking, 'What's the use of ever getting up again?' John L! He'll never thump another bar and shout, 'I can lick any man in the world.' He must be lost.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in My Wicked, Wicked Ways... The Legend of Errol Flynn (1985) (TV)

One of the Most Enjoyable of Flynn's Films; Intelligent and Lively Fun

James J. Corbett's autobiography "The Roar of the Crowd" was the starting point of this lively and well-remembered fictionalized biography. The author was heavyweight champion of the world, succeeding John L. Sullivan, before the turn of the century. The events of the narrative depict Corbett as a brash but likable and intelligent young man whose conquest of the world of boxing and social prejudice in his time, when he was considered merely the son of Irish immigrants, a lowly bank teller and a nobody surprised everyone. It took him several hours of exciting and often amusing screen-time to prove his compeers were wrong. He is an bank teller when the film opens, but he somehow wangles an invitation to a sporting club for the well-to-do. He falls in love with a beautiful but snobbish girl, with whom he always seems to be quarreling, and he lives at home with a brawling clan of Corbetts who seem to fight with one another as often as with others. When he defeats the club's best and a professional fighter borough in to embarrass him, he finally decides to become famous by fighting. he sets out on the road with his friend, who acts as manager and trainer, and despite a few near setbacks, he wins all his bouts and attracts attention. Coming home to pursue his girl again, he contrives to annoy the Boston Strongboy, mighty John L. Sullivan, who enters bars and claims he can "lick any man in the world". Few believe he can win a bout against Sullivan, but Corbett, dubbed "Gentleman Jim" for his gracious manners and patrician appearance surprises everyone by moving, dancing out of range, and negating the furious Sullivan's power. The film's finest scene perhaps comes when a beaten Sullivan comes to congratulate Corbett. The new champion rises to the moment, tells Sullivan a few years before it might have been different, and shows him nothing but admiration and respect. He gets his girl as a result of his two performances, but by the end of the film, as they visit his s parents, his manager is able to tell the world, "The Corbetts are at it again". The films is attractive and has a consistent style without being flashy. The script was written by veteran Horace McCoy and Vincent Lawrence from the Corbett novel. Sidney Hickox did the cinematography, with period set decorations by Clarence Steensen and art direction by Ted Smith. Heinz Roemheld did the music and Milo Anderson the gowns. The film was ably directed by action-film specialist Raoul Walsh. Flynn also liked working with Walsh but did not care for the other director he worked for most often, Michael Curtiz. Among the cast,were Ward Bond as John L. Sullivan, in one of his best performances lovely Alexis Smith a bit spotty but intelligent as the girl Corbett loves and a very able Errol Flynn as Corbett, a young man he seemed to relish playing--he later said it was his favorite role from the period...Jack Carson was his manager, Alan Hale his charismatic father, John Loder a rich foe, with William Frawley, Minor Watson, Madeleine LeBeau, Rhys Williams, Arthur Shields, Dorothy Vaughn and Mike Mazurki along for the enjoyable proceedings. It is hard to say enough about the logic and light-hearted fun this movie's makers have generated; it is one of the best-liked of all sports biography films, and by my standards one of the most enjoyable as well.