some say about the play be the most important thing and or something like that and be attribute to that old bard of avon and himself and william shakewspeare . if it wasn not old will and it may well have be our own and super veteran film director and mr. raoul walsh . there be a large number of his film that would support this hypothesis . none be more appropriate than gentleman jim ( warner brother and 1942 ) . the film also rack up another award and be name a errol flynn favourite of his own starring vehicle . it clearly give on screen evidence that would easily lead viewer sit in the darkened theatre and or view it on their home tv or dvd and to conclude same . to be sure and the story be a semi serious biopic and which take a portion of factual material and blend it with a liberal dose of the old imagination to bring u a very satisfying and albeit somewhat fictionalized ( what biopic isn not . ) occurrence . the casting be excellent and a it make good use of the natural athleticism of our lead and mr. errol flynn . though not a swashbuckler and a western or a war picture and this gentleman jim be perhaps the star role that be the best fit for the rugged australian . errol be a member of the australian olympic box team in either 1928 or 1932. his training and skill in the weet scienceare clearly in evidence throughout the film and especially in the big fight for the world heavyweight box championship with the great john l. sullivan and himself . ( play in expert fashion by ward bond ) the cast read like a duty roster of warner brother resident support player . it feature alan hale a jim corbet father and a livery wagon operator . his two brother be harry and george ( pat flaherty and james flavin ) and the two blue collar men of the family and their occupation be state a be longshormen . the great jack carson do his usual masterful serio comic performance in support a jim corbett friend and fellow bank teller . the rest of those we can both recognize and remember be representjohn loder and william frawley and madeleine lebeau and minor watson and rhys williams and arthur shield and dorothy vaughn to name but a few . director walsh also use a number of pro wrestler in role of various boxer . hence we have ed strangler lewis and an unknown grappler be feature a the 2 waterfront pug in the opening scene . others be sammy stein and mike mazurki ( ever hear of him . ) and wee willie davis . these guy have a powerful and yet unpolished look about them that the old pier 9 brawler would have possess . we haven not forget lead lady and alexis smith . she be powerful in her characterization of an independent woman and yet maintains enough true ability a a comic player in many of the scene . she display quite a range in her part a poor little rich girl and victoria lodge . with all these ingredient at hand and the trick be how to mix the element in proper proportion to give it the just right blend . well and director walsh do so with a reckless abandon . because he be look for and above all and a great film . his treatment show all of the skill he have hone to a fine tuning start with his day a a player with d. w. griffith . mr. walsh seem to have a special fondness for that period and the 1890 . mr. walsh direction move through the script at a fairly fast clip and break up the exposition scene with a humorous punch line and the corbett be at it again . hence and he be able to maintain a light and even humorous touch to a story which could become too drab and serious . furthermore and in an almost unnoticed element and brother walsh give u an authentic look of a san francisco of the 1890 . and a a further example of his fondness for that period and he create wide and dynamic image of the historic prize fight . there be a vibrant and joyful mood convey in those box scene . a a crown glory to this great and perhaps underrated film and director walsh give the image a look a if it be an illustration from the police gazette and which cover such event in those old day . but there just one thing to remember before view . if it be for the first time and or if your see it once more representthe corbets be at it again . in my humble opinion a a historian of both film and pro wrestling and it look like tor johnson and who year later be a favourite of director ed wood . a livery be a somewhat archaic term for a vehicle for hire for local city transportation . it true . mr. raoul walsh be a griffith veteran player . he be the actor to portray john wilkes booth in the birth of a nation ( 1915 ) . be bear in 1887 and raoul walsh be old enough to have his own memory of the 1890 and of the sullivan corbett championship bout and what it mean to the sport life in the america of those day .