Director: Raoul Walsh
Star: Errol Flynn playing James ‘Gentleman Jim’ Corbett (1866-1933)
Awards: None, although it did earn an impressive $2 million at the box office

What's the story? Set in 1890s San Francisco, Flynn plays cocksure and charismatic bank teller James Corbett as he’s drawn into the shady world of boxing – still illegal in many states and viewed as a harsh, brutal sport – before a judge, keen to improve the sport’s image, chooses him as a potential poster boy for the more technically accomplished Marquess of Queensberry form of fisticuffs. He swiftly excels at the new version of the sport, helping to popularise it and picking up a handy nickname along the way. Then he takes on well-liked world champ John L. Sullivan (Ward Bond) and beats him fair and square. Plus, what with him being Errol Flynn, he’s so damn attractive and beguiling that he also wins sophisticated dame Victoria’s heart (as well as the championship belt).

Real boxing? Errol Flynn was proud of his role, and rightly so. This is one of his finest pictures, helped in no small measure by his dedication in preparing for the fighting scenes. Sure, he used junior welterweight champion ‘Mushy’ Callahan for some of the footwork footage, but the praise should all go to Errol. In fact, he was so dedicated that he suffered a minor heart attack halfway through the shoot, which delayed production for a time. The lesson? See your doctor before tackling any role that involves boxing.

How far from the truth? Though it’s a rip-roaring, feel good ‘40s classic, it’ll have any boxing history buffs climbing the walls. For one thing, ‘Gentleman Jim’ was self-effacing in reality, not larger-than-life and cocky as shown here; for two, Sullivan and Corbett had fought years before the famed championship fight. To make matters worse, Sullivan hated Corbett, selling the championship belt before Jim could get his hands on it – meaning the emotional meeting between the two after the fight in the film just ain’t true.