A wonderful biopic of Jim Corbett, a character brimming over w/braggadocio who becomes the bare knuckle boxing champion in the late 19th century. Reuniting w/his go to director Raoul Walsh, Errol Flynn plays Corbett as a family man, boaster of the highest order & someone who fights anyone at the drop of a hat. We meet him as a bank teller who frequents an illegal public boxing match w/his co-worker only to get pinched by the law in a sweep where he meets the high & mighty of the San Francisco gentry who have no qualms observing or laying a bet on the occasional pugilist match. When one in particular invites him to be a member of a hotel's social club, he takes the opportunity to be a loudmouthed boor (occasionally having himself paged to bring attention to himself or showing up a visiting boxer in a match) garnering the eye of a judge's daughter played by Alexis Smith who's attracted to him but his haughty, supercilious nature keeps him at arm's length. As his stature as a boxer excels, John L. Sullivan (Ward Bond) the world champion, becomes the next logical step to his world domination. Never letting his nature be a turnoff to the audience, Flynn commands the screen even at his most preening (during the climatic fight between he & Sullivan, at every break in between rounds, Flynn gives his corner man hell to make sure his hair looks great). As always when Flynn works w/a director that he gels with, the sparks fly for the film & its audience.
Review of Gentleman Jim
