''Gentleman Jim'' is a 1942 film directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent cinema actor George Walsh. He wa ...

and starring

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

as heavyweight boxing champion

James J. Corbett James John Corbett (September 1, 1866 – February 18, 1933) was an Americans, American professional Boxing, boxer and a World Heavyweight Champion, best known as the only man who ever defeated John L. Sullivan (hence the "man who beat the man" ...

(1866–1933). The supporting cast includes

Alexis Smith Margaret Alexis Smith (June 8, 1921 – June 9, 1993) was a Canadian-born American actress, pin-up girl and singer. She appeared in several major Hollywood films in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Aw ...

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963), known as Jack Carson, was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including '' The Strawberry Blonde'' ...

, Alan Hale,

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best known for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the sitcom ''I Love Lucy.'' Frawley also played "Bub" O'Casey during the first five seasons of t ...

, and

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert th ...

as John L. Sullivan. The movie was based upon Corbett's 1894

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''The Roar of the Crowd''. The role was one of Flynn's favorites.Tony Thomas, Rudy Behlmer * Clifford McCarty, ''The Films of Errol Flynn'', Citadel Press, 1969 p 116-117

Plot

In 1887

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, boxing is illegal. James J. Corbett (

), a brash young bank teller, attends a match with his friend Walter Lowrie (

). When a police raid nets Judge Geary, a member of the board of directors of Corbett's bank, Corbett's fast talking gets his superior out of trouble. The judge is looking to improve the image of boxing by recruiting men from more respectable backgrounds and having them fight under the

Marquess of Queensberry Rules The Marquess of Queensberry Rules, also known as Queensberry Rules, are a set of generally accepted rules governing the sport of boxing. Drafted in London in 1865 and published in 1867, they were so named because the 9th Marquess of Queensberry ...

. He has even imported British coach Harry Watson ( Rhys Williams) to evaluate prospects. Watson finds that Corbett, raised in a combative Irish immigrant family headed by Pat Corbett ( Alan Hale), has excellent fighting skills; Geary likes his protégé's seemingly-polished manner. However, Corbett's arrogance irritates many of the upper class, particularly Victoria Ware (

). They clash frequently, but Corbett is attracted to her, and his limitless self-confidence and charm eventually overcome her distaste for him. Meanwhile, Corbett becomes a professional prizefighter. He acquires a manager, Billy Delaney (

), and introduces a new, more sophisticated style of boxing, emphasizing footwork over the unscientific brawling epitomized by world champion John L. Sullivan (

). After winning several matches, Corbett finally gets the opportunity to take on the great man. Corbett's method of boxing baffles Sullivan, and Corbett wins not only the title, but also Victoria. Corbett is crowned as the new heavyweight champion. His victory party is unexpectedly interrupted by the defeated Sullivan, who has come to personally present the championship belt to Corbett.

Cast

as Victoria Ware *

as Walter Lowrie * Alan Hale as Pat Corbett * John Loder as Carlton De Witt *

as Bill Delaney *

Minor Watson Minor Watson (December 22, 1889 – July 28, 1965) was a prominent character actor. He appeared in 111 movies made between 1913 and 1956. His credits included '' Boys Town'' (1938), '' Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942), ''Kings Row'' (1942), '' Guad ...

as Buck Ware *

as John L. Sullivan *

Madeleine Lebeau Marie Madeleine Berthe Lebeau (, 10 June 1923 – 1 May 2016) was a French film actress who also appeared in American films, most notably ''Casablanca''. Early life Lebeau married actor Marcel Dalio in 1939; it was his second marriage. They had ...

Anna Held Helene Anna Held (19 March 1872 – 12 August 1918) was a Polish-born French stage performer of Jewish origin on Broadway. While appearing in London, she was spotted by impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, who brought her to America as his common-law ...

* Rhys Williams as Harry Watson *

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born in Portobello, Dublin into a family who were members of the Church of Ireland, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre w ...

as Father Burke * Dorothy Vaughan as Ma Corbett * Harry Crocker as

Charles Crocker Charles Crocker (September 16, 1822 – August 14, 1888) was an American railroad executive who was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and took ...

(uncredited) * Art Foster as Jack Burke (uncredited) * Pat Flaherty as

Harry Corbett Harry Corbett Order of the British Empire, OBE (28 January 1918 – 17 August 1989) was an English Magic (illusion), magician, puppeteer and television presenter. He was best known as the creator of the glove puppet character Sooty in 1952 ...

(uncredited) * Frank Mayo as Gov. Stanford (uncredited) * Henry O'Hara as Collis Huntington * George Lloyd as Harrigan (uncredited) *

Mike Mazurki Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990, born Markiian Yulianovych Mazurkevych) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. Although educated as an attorney, his hulking 6 ft 5 ...

as Jake Kilrain (uncredited) *

Tor Johnson Karl Erik Tore Johansson (19 October 1903 – 12 May 1971), better known by the stage name Tor Johnson, was a Swedish professional wrestler and actor. As an actor, Johnson appeared in many B-movies, including some famously directed by Ed Wood. ...

as The Mauler (uncredited) * Sammy Stein as Joe Choynski (uncredited)

Production

Development

In July 1941 it was announced that Warner Bros had purchased the rights to make a film of Corbett's life from his widow, Vera.

was intended to star. Aeneas MacKenzie and Wally Kline were signed to write the screenplay.

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937), '' Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), '' They Drive by Night'' (1940), '' ...

was announced as female co-star. Director Raoul Walsh had met Corbett when he was a young boy. Filming was to start in January 1942, after which Flynn was to make ''The Sea Devil'', a remake of '' The Sea Beast'' (Warner's version of ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

''). Bill Morrow and Ed Beloin, gag writers for

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

, did some work on the script.

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly 60 years. He achieved major popularity w ...

was announced in the support cast. Flynn was very keen to make the movie and undertook extensive boxing training, working with Buster Wiles and Mushy Callahan. However, when the US officially entered World War II it was decided to postpone the movie so Flynn could be rushed into ''

Desperate Journey ''Desperate Journey'' is a 1942 American World War II action and aviation film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan. The supporting cast includes Raymond Massey, Alan Hale Sr., and Arthur Kennedy. The melodramati ...

''. While he did this

Horace McCoy Horace Stanley McCoy (April 14, 1897 – December 15, 1955) was an American writer whose mostly hardboiled stories took place during the Great Depression. His best-known novel is '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1935), which was made into a ...

rewrote the script.

Vincent Lawrence Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

then wrote some drafts and

Robert Buckner Robert Buckner (May 28, 1906 – August 18, 1989) was an American film screenwriter, producer and short story writer. Biography Buckner studied at the University of Virginia and the University of Edinburgh. He began his professional writing car ...

was assigned to produce. There was some doubt the film would be made if Flynn enlisted in the army, but his application was rejected on the grounds of ill-health. Filming began in May 1942.

Shooting

In his somewhat unreliable 1959 'autobiography' '' My Wicked, Wicked Ways'', Flynn details how he suffered a mild heart attack while making this movie. He collapsed on set on 15 July 1942, while filming a boxing scene with Ward Bond. Filming had to be shut down while he recovered; he returned a week later. Flynn took the role seriously, and was rarely doubled during the boxing sequences. Alexis Smith recounted in the biography ''The Two Lives of Errol Flynn'' by Michael Freedland how she took the star aside and told him, "'It's so silly, working all day and then playing all night and dissipating yourself. Don't you want to live a long life?' Errol was his usually apparently unconcerned self: 'I'm only interested in this half,' he told her. 'I don't care for the future.'"

Reception

Box office

This was the third Errol Flynn movie to gross at least $2 million for Warner Bros. in 1942, according to ''Variety''.Glancy, H. Mark. "Warner Bros film grosses, 1921–51." ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television''. March 1995 According to Warners records, the film earned $1,775,000 domestically and $2,067,000 foreign.

Critical response

''Filmink'' magazine called the film "terrific fun and Flynn is splendid – he rarely acted with such infectious enjoyment and is obviously having the time of his life in the title role, a part which obviously was close to his real life personality: big headed, cocky, a bit of a prat, the sort of person who has himself paged all the time at a gym just for the thrill of hearing his name spoken out loud, but with a likeable sheen."

References

External links

* * * * {{Raoul Walsh 1942 films 1940s biographical drama films 1940s sports drama films American biographical drama films American sports drama films Biographical films about sportspeople American black-and-white films American boxing films 1940s English-language films Films based on biographies Films directed by Raoul Walsh Films set in San Francisco Films set in the 1890s Warner Bros. films Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Cultural depictions of boxers Cultural depictions of American people 1940s historical drama films American historical drama films 1940s American films English-language biographical drama films English-language historical drama films English-language sports drama films