Errol Flynn

Alexis Smith

Jack Carson

Alan Hale

John Loder

William Frawley

Minor Watson

Ward Bond

Madeleine Lebeau

Rhys Williams

Monte Blue

Pat Flaherty

Arthur Shields

Dorothy Vaughan

Hooper Atchley

Milton Kibbee

Richard Kipling

Charles Lang

Edwin August

Eric Mayne

Charles Meakin

Count Stefenelli

Clara Blandick

Winifred Harris

Wade Boteler

Walter Byron

Hal Craig

Robert Fiske

Georgia Caine

Mary Gordon

Johnny Calkins

Lon McCallister

Davison Clark

Wallis Clark

Joseph Crehan

Freddie Steele

Dick Wessel

Harry Crocker

Wade Crosby

William B. Davidson

William 'Wee Willie' Davis

Jean Del Val

Joe Devlin

Dudley Dickerson

Peggy Diggins

Joan Winfield

Lester Dorr

Lew Harvey

Victor Zimmerman

James Flavin

Art Foster

Jack Gardner

Frank Hagney

Creighton Hale

Mathew McCue

Bert Hanlon

Carl Harbaugh

Jack Herrick

Herbert Heywood

Si Jenks

Tor Johnson

Fred Kelsey

Joe King

Ed Lewis

George Lloyd

Charles Marsh

John Maxwell

Frank Mayo

Mike Mazurki

Pat McKee

Wilmuth Merkyl

Leo White

Jack Wise

Frank Moran

Pat Moriarity

Wedgwood Nowell

Pat O'Malley

Lee Phelps

Emory Parnell

Jack Roper

Syd Saylor

Edwin Stanley

Sammy Stein

Dan Tobey

Charlotte Treadway

Emmett Vogan

Charles C. Wilson

Raoul Walsh

Horace McCoy

Vincent Lawrence

Robert Buckner

Russell Saunders

Sam Perry

Hugh Cummings

Sidney Hickox

Frank Mattison

Mushy Callahan

Heinz Roemheld

C.A. Riggs

Leo F. Forbstein

Yakima Canutt

Ted Smith

Perc Westmore

Don Siegel

James Leicester

Paul Stader

Ray Heindorf

Jack Killifer

Clarence Steensen

Milo Anderson

Buster Wiles

Drama

Comedy

Gentleman Jim

Warner Bros. Pictures

United States of America

If I get lost, I'll send up a rocket. 

Loosely based on the James J Corbett biography "The Roar Of The Crowd", Gentleman Jim is a wonderfully breezy picture that perfectly encapsulates not only the rise of the pugilistic prancer that was Corbett, but also the wind of change as regards the sport of boxing circa the 1890s.

It was like trying to hit a ghost!

The story follows Corbett (a perfectly cast Errol Flynn) from his humble beginnings as a bank teller in San Fransico, through to a chance fight with an ex boxing champion that eventually leads to him fighting the fearsome heavyweight champion of the world, John L Sullivan (beefcake personified delightfully by Ward Bond). Not all the fights are in the ring though, and it's all the spin off vignettes in Corbett's life that makes this a grand entertaining picture. There are class issues to overcome here (perfectly played out as fellow club members pay to have him knocked down a peg or two), and Corbett has to not only fight to get respect from his so called peers, but he must also overcome his ego as it grows as briskly as his reputation does. 

Along with the quite wonderful Corbett family, and all their stoic humorous support, Corbett's journey is as enthralling as it is joyous, yet as brash and as bold as he is, he is a very likable character, and it's a character that befits the tagged moniker he got of Gentleman Jim. The film never sags for one moment, and it's a testament to director Raoul Walsh that although we are eagerly awaiting the final fight, the outer ring goings on are keeping us firmly entertained, not even the love interest sub plot hurts this picture (thank you Alexis Smith). The fight sequences stand up really well, and they perfectly show just how Corbett became the champ he was, his brand of dancing rings round slugger fighters is now firmly placed in boxing history. 

As the final reel rolls we all come down to earth as an after fight meeting between Sullivan and Corbett puts all the brutality into context, and it's here where humility and humbleness becomes the outright winner, and as far as this viewer goes, it will do for me to be sure to be sure. 9/10 for a truly wonderful picture.

English

Gentleman Jim (Official Trailer 1942)