Gentleman Jim Page #4

Down.

Lower, gentlemen, lower.

Touch the floor, Mr.

Huntington. Touch the floor.

Slowly rising.

Up. Up.

That will be all, gentlemen. Relax.

Hello, Jack.

Well, I'm glad to see they got you fixed up.

Gentlemen, I want you to

meet an old friend of mine,

the one and only Jack Burke.

Former heavyweight champion of

the British Isles and Australia.

- How do you do, Mr. Burke?

- How do you do?

He just got off the boat this morning

so I asked him to drop

in and work out the kinks.

Well, I'm glad you did, Watson.

- How long you staying in town, Mr. Burke?

- Oh, I don't know, sir.

Ten days, perhaps a fortnight.

I'm fighting Jake Kilrain

in Chicago on the 25th.

Would you be willing to put

on a little contest for us?

- We'd see you were very well paid for it.

- But I have to be in Chicago.

You'd be doing the Club a

great personal favor, Mr. Burke.

Yes, indeed. Now why don't you stay

over and we'll pay you, say, $1,000?

- $1,000? How much is that? 200 guineas?

- That's right.

Would that satisfy you?

Not only satisfies me, gents,

but I'll satisfy you as well.

I get it, you wanna give somebody

a good drubbing, is that it?

As you say, Mr. Burke. That is it.

Paging Mr. Corbett. Paging Mr. Corbett.

Paging Mr. Corbett. Paging Mr. Corbett.

Look at you.

Well, I can't believe me eyes.

How do you like it? How does

it fit? How do I look, huh?

Just like you were melted and poured into it.

Anyone that says it ain't yours is a liar.

- Look at this, Pa. Five bucks extra.

- $5.

- You gonna fight in those clothes?

- No, Mary.

Well, George, what about it?

You look just like one

of Pop's $500 funerals.

That's a fine thing to say, and him

off to fight the ex-champion of England.

Well, why don't you say something, Pop!

Jim, me boy, you've set the

Corbetts ahead 1,000 years.

I'll go get the barouche. She's all polished.

- All right.

- Oh, Jim,

you're the handsomest man

of south San Francisco.

- Oh, now, Mary.

- I'm afraid Ma was right.

We have got one gentleman in family.

Yeah, but don't be too much of

a one. I got 20 bucks bet on you.

- Don't worry, boys. So long, Harry.

- Good luck, Jim.

- So long, George.

- We'll be waiting up for you.

Goodbye, kid. Goodbye, Ma.

Jim, don't let him hurt you.

Don't worry, Ma. He won't

even lay a glove on me.

- Oh, say, Ma. Look, how about this flower?

- Beautiful.

- Yeah, but is it big enough?

- Sure.

Okay, goodbye.

Careful of that suit, you know it's rented!

Hey, Walter, hang on to this,

will you? It belongs to Harry.

- Hello, Mr. Dewitt.

- Hiya, Corbett.

Miss Ware, Mr. Ware. How are you, Judge?

- Good luck.

- Hello, Mr. Huntington.

- Good luck, Jim. Remember that left.

- All right, Father.

Well, here I go.

Take the show away from him, darling.

Tell him you'll fight the winner.

Hello, Jim! There he is.

That's him. That's my boy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

we now have the pleasure of witnessing a 10

- round,

or perhaps shorter,

exhibition of the scientific art of self

- defense

between Mr. Jack Burke, former

heavyweight champion of England

and Mr. James J. Corbett of the Olympic Club.

Hello, Jim. There he is.

It may be of interest for you to know

that for the first time in America

this contest will governed by the

new Marquess of Queensberry rules.

The rounds will be of three minutes

duration, with one minute's rest.

A round will not end by a knockdown.

The man on the floor will have

10 seconds to regain his feet

or be counted out by the referee.

The referee, Mr. Harry Watson.

Now, gentlemen, you know the rules

as we discussed them. Obey them.

I want you to shake hands, go to

your corner and come out fighting.

Time!

Time!

That bloke jumps around

like a jack rabbit, Birdsey.

But I'll get him this round.

Mommy, why doesn't Daddy look

like that in his underwear?

He did once.

Time.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

- Well, what do you think of my protg?

- Well, I put him up, didn't I?

- I got him in.

- Sure.

Then you put up $1,000

to get him knocked out.

I'll take yours. This is

the easiest money I ever got!

You know, Miss Ware, here's

something I can't understand.

What is it, Mr. Corbett?

Well, how can I be dancing with

you? I'm supposed to be murdered.

- Feeling pretty good, aren't you?

- Oh, listen, I'm feeling fine.

I'm well aware of it. You

have a beautiful start.

Well, I figure if I can lick a

former world's champion that easy,

I'd ought to be able to take almost anyone.

Oh, Mr. Corbett, what a beautiful

swelled head you're going to have.

You'll be bouncing around like a balloon.

Miss Ware, you're wrong about that.

You see, a swelled head is a guy

who thinks he's good and isn't.

- Get the difference?

- Oh, I see.

Besides, didn't you say

just now I had a good start?

I did. But I wasn't referring

to your ring career, Mr. Corbett.

I was talking about the champagne.

If you're not used to it, it's tricky.

Champagne? Tricky? Listen. I

come from a long line of drinkers.

I can probably drink more

than anybody in the world.

- Miss Ware, that's for being so right.

- Thank you.

- Hello.

- Hello. How do you do?

Well. Thank you.

Pardon me. That was my drink you took.

It was? Well, then, this one must be mine.

- Have a drink, huh?

- I've got one, thanks.

And I'd like to introduce

myself. I'm Jim's...

I know you. You're

Corbett's friend, aren't you?

Friend? I've known Jim

ever since we were kids.

We went to school together and everything.

And let me tell you there

isn't a guy in Hayes Valley

that Jim can't lick

except maybe Joe Choynski.

- Oh, really?

- Did I ever tell you about the fight he had

with Joe on a barge down behind Ming's Wharf?

- Excuse me.

- Yeah, it's okay.

I'm gonna have a dance, anyway.

I haven't been on the floor yet.

I'll see you later.

You know, I've never really thanked

you for making all of this possible.

If you hadn't brought me here and

sort of sponsored me for membership,

well, I guess I never would have

seen this side of the tracks at all.

But, you know, there really aren't two

sides of the tracks to San Francisco.

There's only the lucky and the unlucky.

Those that happened to grab the

right moment and those that didn't.

And don't you let this Nob

Hill crowd deceive you, either.

After all, we all started out

with the same wooden washtubs.

I'd been hoping all night you'd

let your hair down with me.

- Why, you impertinent roughneck.

- Who? Me?

That was carrying your well-known nerve

just a little bit too far, Mr. Corbett.

Yeah, but what's the matter? I

thought you wanted me to kiss you.

I never said anything of the kind.

Well, I know you didn't say so, but you

brought me out here in the moonlight.

And you told me not to be scared.

What do you think I was gonna do?

- Why, you...

- Oh, you'll have to do better than that.

I hope some man knocks your block off.

Hey.

Hey, Judge. You remember me, don't you?

Walter Lowrie? You know, the

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