User Reviews

Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight, The (1897)

Filmed March 17, 1897, this thing runs just eleven-seconds and features the heavyweight match between "Gentleman" Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons. Considering this thing runs so short there's really not too much that we see except for a few punches being thrown but this thing is a part of history so it's certainly worth watching if you're a fan of boxing or just early cinema. Corbett is best known as being played by Errol Flynn in GENTLEMAN JIM but the events in this film took place after that 1942 movie. From what I've read the entire fight was recorded, although not all of it has survived. This eleven-seconds must have been some sort of tease for the entire thing so it's important to keep that in mind and realize that this length is pretty typical for the times. The film was also shot in a way that would have given it an aspect ratio of 1.75:1 which would probably make this the first widescreen film.

The first known feature film! A very unusual filmed record of the Corbett-Fitzsimmons fight originally ran over 90 minutes in length. (The one I saw went for around 19 minutes.) The first feature film and the first film in widescreen, shown as early as 1897. That is rather remarkable considering how primitive many of the 1896 films we have preserved today look. This was a huge leap forward.

What is also interesting is the boxing technique. While I am not well-versed in boxing, what I see here does not look all that different from modern fights. My understanding was that boxing used to be more of an underground thing, but if this film is any indication that is clearly not the case.

Interestingly, Wyatt Earp was a reporter for The New York World at the time, which published his commentaries on the fight on March 14 and March 18. He disagreed with referee George Siler's decision when Fitzsimmons allegedly hit Corbett in the jaw, which should have resulted in a foul, coming after a knockout blow to Corbett's solar plexus.

There are often several claims to the title of the world's first feature length movie ever made. Some say the first such movie was 1906's "The Story of the Ned Kelly Gang", by Charles Tait, of which only fragments survive; some believe it to actually be "Dante's Inferno" of 1911, which was in truth the first feature length Italian spectacle. Sadly, none of the credit ever really goes to this 1897 boxing feature starring James Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons, directed by Enoch J. Rector. The lack of recognition is surprising; after all, in 1897 most films didn't even run two minutes and the motion picture industry was merely a novelty, a fad, and not especially a form of entertainment. But I digress...

"The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight", sadly, does not exist in its entirety anymore. Bits and pieces of the original hour-and-a-half run-time survive to be seen on the internet, but they are in poor condition. The footage is blurry, deteriorated, and washed out, there are splices and it is very difficult to see any real detail except the action within the picture. What you basically can see left now are the two figures, Corbett and Fitzsimmons, in the middle of the ring throwing intense punches right and left at eachother. As each round is about three minutes, you also get to see the minute-long rest break between each round, in which the two retire to the side of the screen where they are fanned feverishly by the men at the side of the ring. Certain details (or what can be seen of them) include a huge crowd in the background watching the match, reporters at the side of the ring viewing (one of them possibly Wyatt Earp?) and the referee circling the boxers.

This is also the first widescreen movie ever made, and one would think it was done that way to capture more of the ring. (Even so, they tried to cut the ring down the night before the match, but couldn't get away with it). Curiously enough, towards the end of the footage surviving there appears to be a separate camera filming the view, as it later looks closer to the action and also does what appears to be panning. I have no idea how something like that could have been accomplished considering how stationary cameras were at this point in history, but because of the degraded condition of the material I could just be under that impression.

Further historical accounts state how popular the film was. Boxing, at the time, was an extremely low-brow practice that remained an increasing fascination with audiences. This may explain why the Edison company made so many Kinetoscope boxing movies back in 1894, since such violence was said to be illegal in parts of the United States. As a result, boxing matches had to be done very much undercover, and, through films like these, were thus promoted further. Additionally, the short was also remade by producer Siegmund Lubin, who wanted to cash in on the popularity, yet he was almost sued by Veriscope as a result. Even so, a remake is a remake, and despite the success of the original movie this version was scornfully rejected.