calvinnme
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.
dougdoepke
Those fight crowds are about the last word in boisterous enthusiasm, making this one of the noisiest films of the period. Nonetheless, the production is expertly done by a crew of Warner Bros. veterans. Note how skillfully a humorous touch is blended into the screenplay, and how smoothly Flynn plays the brashly charming Irishman. Also, I really like the romantic angle between Corbett and Victoria (Smith). It's anything but the usual sappy Hollywood romance. They trade barbs throughout, but are still able to convey an underlying affection.The movie's also a good little glimpse of how prize fighting evolved into a sport using the Marquis of Queensbury rules. Corbett is able to best bigger and stronger opponents because of the boxing skills favored by the rules, skills especially evident in his match against the brawling Sullivan (Bond). To his credit, Flynn apparently did all the boxing moves himself without the aid of a double. Of course, the movie highlight is the wonderfully played reconciliation scene between the old champ and the new. There Bond and Flynn prove that if you have a basic level of sensitivity, you don't have to be an Oscar caliber actor to effectively move an audience.Anyway, I could have used a little less mock brawling among the Corbett family. But everything is brought off in such smooth light-hearted fashion, it's hard to complain too strongly. All in all, the movie shows the kind of seamless craftsmanship old Hollywood could occasionally come up with.
snollen63
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.)
