The cheeky cavalier

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Movie
German title The cheeky cavalier
Original title Gentleman Jim
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1942
length 105 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Raoul Walsh
script Vincent Lawrence
Horace McCoy
production Robert Buckner
for Warner Brothers
music Heinz Roemheld
camera Sid Hickox
cut Jack Killifer
occupation

The cheeky cavalier (original title Gentleman Jim , alternative title in Germany Gentleman Jim, the cheeky cavalier ) is a US American film biography by Raoul Walsh . The film, which retells the sporting career of the boxer James J. Corbett , was shot in 1942. Corbett's autobiography The Roar of the Crowds served as the basis for the script . Errol Flynn is cast in the title role of light-footed boxing champion "Gentleman Jim" , while Alexis Smith can be seen as the millionaire daughter Victoria Ware. Jack Carson and Alan Hale took on leading roles .

The film premiered on November 25, 1942 in New York. In Germany the film was first shown in cinemas on October 1, 1948, and in Austria on January 3, 1947.

action

In San Francisco in 1887 an illegal boxing match was broken up by the police. Among the spectators are the two bank employees Jim Corbett and Walter Lowrie as well as the judge Geary, who is also on the board of the bank. In order to polish up the bad reputation of boxing, which has led to a competition ban, Geary wants to let young men from good families fight as a member of an Olympic club. When Geary enters the bank the next day, Jim and Walter fear for their jobs. Geary just wants to thank Jim for his testimony in court, which explained why their presence in the fight was important.

Victoria Ware enters the bank to withdraw money for her poker-playing father Buck, also a member of the Olympic Club. Jim accompanies the young woman back to the club. Victoria shows him the club and goes to lunch with him. In the training hall, Jim practices a little boxing, which prompts the trainer to offer him membership in the club. Jim, whose father works as a coachman and his brothers in the port, becomes more self-confident but also a little arrogant through membership. The other members are upset and plan a fight between Jim and former British heavyweight champion Jack Burke in Salt Lake City. Surprisingly to everyone, Jim wins the fight with excellent footwork and quick punches. A party will be held after the fight. Jim's drunken friend Walter is told to leave. Jim is loyal to his friend and leaves too.

To finance her return trip to San Francisco, Jim goes through a professional match that he wins. With the help of the manager Delaney, Jim becomes a successful professional. His victorious bout against Joe Choynski is held on a barge to evade the performance bans. Jim gets the nickname "Gentleman Jim" because of his elegant fighting style and his fondness for elegant clothes. He is now moving to Nob Hill with his family. Victoria, whom Jim is in love with, is repulsed by his increasingly arrogant manner and wishes he lost a fight one day. In 1892, Jim had to raise $ 10,000 to challenge heavyweight champion John Sullivan . Victoria, hoping for Jim's defeat, sponsors him anonymously.

On the evening of the fight, Victoria is also in the audience. After 21 rounds, Jim can defeat his opponent with his technique. Victoria is pleased too. She buys Jim a special hat for his battered head. Sullivan comes to Jim's victory party to hand him the championship belt. The two opponents praise each other; Victoria is surprised and impressed by Jim's sensitivity. When Jim proposes to her, she happily accepts it.

production

prehistory

According to a report in the industry magazine The Hollywood Reporter in May 1940, three major studios were interested in the film rights to James J. Corbett's autobiography, which had been published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1924 . The director Lewis Milestone is said to have turned down an offer to direct the film because the script did not accept him. Director Raoul Walsh wanted Barry Fitzgerald to play Corbett's father and either Ann Sheridan or Rita Hayworth to play Vicki.

Filming

The film was shot between May 20 and July 23, 1942 in the Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanical Gardens area in Arcadia , California, as well as in Santa Ana and the Warner Brothers Burbank Studios .

background

Errol Flynn did without a double and did all the fight scenes himself. Even a mild heart attack during filming did not prevent him from continuing to fight himself after his recovery. Only one body double was used. The footwork was doubled by former junior welterweight champion Mushy Callahan . Actors Mike Mazurki and Ed "Strangler" Lewis used in the film were professional wrestlers.

The later director Don Siegel worked in the editing room on this film project. The stunts were performed by Yakima Canutt , among others . Walsh was taken by his father to meet the real Corbett when he was a boy and left a lasting impression. It was then that he decided to become boxing champion, he later revealed, unimaginable that one day he would film the life of Corbett.

Shortly after the film was released, Flynn had to stand trial against the " rape " charge, which generated a wide response. The actor was acquitted, it did not affect his career.

Film music

publication

The film was first released in the US on November 14, 1942, and premiered in New York on November 25, 1942. It started in Mexico in 1942, in Sweden in 1943, in Finland in 1944 and in Portugal and Hong Kong in 1945. In 1947 it was published in the following countries: Turkey, Denmark and Japan, and in 1948 in France and Italy. In Spain, the film was shown in Barcelona in July 1967 and in Madrid in November 1967. It was presented in Greece in October 2003 at the Panorama of European Cinema. It premiered on West German television on January 29, 1974.

The film was also released in Argentina, Brazil, the Soviet Union and Venezuela.

Discrepancies

Articles at the time highlighted discrepancies between the Jim in the film and the actual Corbett. For example, Variety wrote that the heavyweight champion had a reserved, calm personality in contrast to the film Jim. In addition, Sullivan, from whom Jim took the title, hated Corbett and under no circumstances gave him his world champion belt himself. Corbet's marriage, entered into in 1886, was disregarded for a romance with the beautiful daughter of a wealthy bank client.

history

James J. Corbett

James J. Corbett (1866-1933) was 1892 heavyweight boxing champion against John L. Sullivan. He was the first successful boxer to apply the rules of the Marquis of Queensberry . In addition to his good looks, his way of boxing earned him the nickname "Gentleman Jim". In 1886, Corbett married actress Olive Lake. After the couple divorced, Corbett married Jessie Taylor of Omaha. In 1903, Corbett ended his career as a boxer and starred in several plays, including Gentleman Jack and The Naval Lieutenant and films. He died on February 18, 1933 at the age of 66.

criticism

TMP stated in its review in the New York Times that with Errol Flynn in the title role and other quality features of entertainment, the film was an asset for everyone. The film is as close as possible to the facts, even if the family life of Corbett is drawn rather inappropriately. Ward Bond plays the most fruitful role of his long career as a boastful and rumbling Sullivan. Alexis Smith is very entertaining in the romantic part and the smaller roles are also rendered captivating. The film is definitely a well-mixed pun (s) ch.

For the lexicon of international film , it is an "entertaining film biography between drama and comedy, which conveys a vivid picture of the early days of boxing before it became socially acceptable".

The TV broadcaster SWR apostrophizes the event with a “winking narrated film” and means “a lively review of those early years in which boxing was not yet quite socially acceptable and a rather traditional folk amusement”. Director Walsh succeeded in creating a "timeless and spirited sportsman film about cunning, lust for life and honor".

The conclusion of the magazine Cinema is: “It fits like a fist!” And stated: “Errol Flynn plays Corbett, the first 'modern' boxing champion (1866–1933), with charm and chutzpah; it was his favorite role. "

Also prism spoke as well as other sources of Flynns "said [r] favorite role" in a boxing film, the "with pace and wit" entertain. Even if the story is "only vaguely based on Corbett's biography", Walsh has succeeded in creating a "timeless and spirited sportsman film about cunning, lust for life and honor". At the same time, “the film told with a twinkle in his eyes is also a lively look back at those early years when boxing was not quite socially acceptable and a rather traditional folk amusement”.

In Filmsgraded.com is talk of a well-made and entertaining sports epic, most male viewers have with which one felt already on board. The relationship between Flynn and Smith was remarkably similar to that between Flynn and Olivia de Havilland in numerous previous Warner Bros. films and was intended to help attract female viewers who may already know his charm from previous films.

Journeys in Classic Film stated that gentleman Jim was supposed to show Flynn's range outside of elaborate costume films and with swords. It can be said that Flynn's portrayal of the boxer is completely anachronistic, but not without a certain charm. The weakest element in the film is probably the cast of the female lead with Alexis Smith, a role for which Walsh actually wanted Rita Hayworth . When you watch the film, you know why. All in all, Gentleman Jim is a thoroughly entertaining film that pays homage not so much to the boxing match but to the masculinity associated with the sport, even if boxing is not as elegant as Jim made it look.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gentleman Jim. The Cheeky Cavalier Movie Poster
  2. ↑ Gentleman Jim see script info at tcm.turner.com - Turner Classic Movies (English)
  3. ↑ a b c d Gentleman Jim see Notes at tcm.turner.com (English)
  4. ↑ The cheeky cavalier see trivia in the IMDb
  5. ↑ a b Gentleman Jim (1942) sS journeysinclassicfilm.com (English). Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  6. ↑ a b Gentleman Jim (1942) see Articles at tcm.turner.com (English)
  7. ↑ TMP: Gentleman Jim In: The New York Times . November 26, 1942 (English). Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  8. ↑ The cheeky cavalier. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  9. ↑ The cheeky cavalier see cinema.de. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  10. ^ Gentleman Jim, the cheeky cavalier sS prisma.de. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  11. ↑ Gentleman Jim sS filmsgraded.com (English, incl. Movie poster). Retrieved October 30, 2018.