GENTLEMAN JIM (Warner Bros. 1942) Warner Home Video


Errol Flynn was the undisputed star of the Warner Brothers’ swashbuckler. It is a rare actor who can make tights, a flounced shirt and a flying mane of wig hair appeal as the height of virile masculinity. Moreover, a good deal of Flynn's heroes spoke in soliloquy or with a cultured eloquence that, in lesser hands, would have translated into effeminacy. And although Flynn proved a man in cod piece could stir the dishonorable intentions of a good many women in the audience, he was equally revered by men who came to see his pictures, striving to emulate his slick charisma. Still, by 1942, the actor had grown weary of this reputation in period pictures. Perhaps, it was the strange similarity begun to creep into all of them that worried Flynn the most; the formula, foreshortening the longevity of his own aspirations to become a very fine actor. So too, did the studio aim to keep Flynn for as long as they could in this mold, only gradually to market him as more than just a romantic rogue. But Flynn could never entirely escape one tangible aspect of his on-screen persona - the virile he-man image encapsulated by his outwardly dashing good looks, at the expense of minimizing an inward strength that Flynn utterly lacked in reality.
A bout with malaria - contracted during Flynn's early years in Tasmania - and several venereal diseases acquired along the way, did much to weaken Flynn's overall health. Chronic back pain and lingering tuberculosis also left their mark. By the time Flynn was eligible for the draft, he was classified 4-F for failing to meet the army's minimum health requirements. Fans occasionally wondered why Flynn never enlisted. But Warner Brothers kept wraps on the real reasons, even as they continued to cast the actor as the all-American stud muffin in some of their timely WWII propaganda movies. But in 1942, Flynn got to play a part that, ostensibly, fit him like a glove...or rather two, of the boxing variety. Raoul Walsh’s Gentleman Jim (1942) casts Flynn as James J. Corbett, the first heavyweight boxing champion to win the world title under Queensberry rules. In years yet to come, Flynn would often remark that this was the favorite of all his movies. Endowed with striking similarities in temperament and fighting styles to the real Corbett, Flynn worked diligently with a boxing trainer to do justice to that noble titan of the ring and, on the whole, succeeded admirably. During filming of the climactic boxing tournament, Flynn suffered a mild heart attack. Studio leaks to the press downplayed it as 'physical exhaustion' brought on by Flynn's breakneck schedule (the actor had made 4 movies in 18 months). Yet, in hindsight it had already become apparent Flynn's health was failing him – conditions exacerbated by his self-destructive, after-hours’ hedonism. It didn't help matters that Flynn's private life was in shambles. Coupled with the actor's increasing dependency on morphine and – sometime later, heroin – for his chronic back pain, Errol Flynn would eventually die, bloated and barely recognizable, of a massive heart attack only seventeen years later, at the age of 50.
Gentleman Jim's screenplay by Vincent Lawrence and Horace McCoy charts Jim Corbett’s rise to prominence in the arena at a time when boxing was considered a nasty and unsanitary backroom brawl. We first meet Corbett as a mouthy bank teller. He is unhappy and bored and out of touch with his superiors. Yet, how to break into the world of fisticuffs? At first, Corbett does his boxing for the wealthy – a sort of staged amusement not unlike those indulged in by pleasure-seeking Romans attending the Coliseum. Eventually, Corbett gains the respect of his peers and is pitted against his boyhood hero - the undefeated, James L. Sullivan (Ward Bond). Corbett’s skill and stealth in the ring narrowly defeat this one-time champion. However, it is Flynn’s utterly poignant delivery of the final exchange in words – not body blows - with Sullivan that mark the moment and the movie with its meaningfulness. In between the melodrama, Flynn did some exceptional ‘play’ sparring that, if fake, nevertheless looked good for the camera. Far more problematic and damaging to the overall narrative arc, was director, Walsh’s mishandling of the contrived romance between Corbett and snooty, Victoria Ware (the leaden Alexis Smith) who – no kidding – warms to Corbett’s inimitable brand of masculinity faster than you can say ‘knock out.’
The forced bits of humor between Jack Carson (Walter Lowrey) and Alan Hale (Pat Corbett) do not fit the bill and occasionally seem sincerely strained and out of place. The picture is not a comedy. Even as comic relief, this pair are not at all a welcomed addition to the plot. Still, there remain less of these obvious misfires and much more of the noble spirit among this brotherhood of men to admire, particularly during the film’s exhilarating fight sequences. Gentlemen Jim is also blessed with exemplary production values; Ted Smith’s marvelous recreations of San Francisco, circa the gay 1890’s, exquisitely photographed by Sidney Hickox, provides a sumptuous backdrop where the melodrama becomes a little more than extraordinary.  In the end, Gentleman Jim provides us with more than just the opportunity to see Errol Flynn in more contemporary clothes and settings. It gives us the chance to see one of 20th century's truly inspired leading men of the silver screen, deftly immortalizing another from the recently bygone era.
Warner Home Video’s DVD exhibits exemplary quality. The gray scale has been beautifully rendered with deep solid blacks and very clean whites. The image is crisp with a good showing of fine details. Age-related artifacts are infrequent. A slight hint of edge enhancement is detected, though not distracting. The audio is mono but more than adequate for this presentation. Extras include Warner Night at the Movies, short subjects and cartoons and an audio only adaptation starring Flynn, Smith and Bond. Recommended.
FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)
3.5
VIDEO/AUDIO
4
EXTRAS

2

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