Gentleman Jim

James J. Corbett, a bank clerk in San Francisco, talks his way into the boxing club, climbs, and eventually faces the legend of the era, John L. Sullivan. What Corbett brings is not power but technique: footwork, distance, timing. Boxing passes from bare knuckle brawling to a gloved sport through this man. Errol Flynn plays him light, vain and thoroughly enjoyable, and it is generally counted among his own favourite performances. Raoul Walsh builds the fights on rhythm rather than choreography. The best scene arrives after the last fight. The defeated Sullivan walks into the hall where Corbett is celebrating, and the two men have a brief conversation that turns the whole film over by showing how short winning lasts. Its flaws: the real Corbett's life is heavily softened, the Irish immigrant family runs on cliches, and the woman in the story has a narrow function. Who it is for: lovers of classic Hollywood and sports films. Who it is not for: anyone expecting realistic biography.