Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers:

Harry Leon Wilson (novel)
Humphrey Pearson (adaptation)

Release Date:

8 March 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

SH-H-H-H! TONIGHT'S YOUR NIGHT TO HOWL! And howl you will at this funniest of all comedies...

Plot:

An English valet brought to the American west assimilates into the American way of life.

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | English | Widow | Gettysburg Address | Saloon

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Charles Laughton	...	Marmaduke Ruggles
Mary Boland	...	Effie Floud
Charles Ruggles	...	Egbert Floud (as Charlie Ruggles)
Zasu Pitts	...	Prunella Judson (as ZaSu Pitts)
Roland Young	...	George Vane Bassingwell, the Earl of Burnstead
Leila Hyams	...	Nell Kenner
Maude Eburne	...	'Ma' Pettingill
Lucien Littlefield	...	Charles Belknap-Jackson
Leota Lorraine	...	Mrs. Charles Belknap-Jackson
James Burke	...	Jeff Tuttle
Dell Henderson	...	Sam, bartender (as Del Henderson)
Clarence Wilson	...	Jake Henshaw, reporter

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 (re-release) | USA:Approved (PCA #537)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Ruggles of Red Gap" by Harrison Rhoades opened at the Fulton Theater on Decemebr 25, 1915 and ran for 33 performances.

Quotes:

Ruggles: I'm putting out your light grey, my Lord. There is something in the air this morning which calls for light grey, I think.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Pretty Baby

Heartwarming and Sentimental Comedy of the 1930's

"Ruggles of Red Gap" is the kind of comedy film that is rarely made by Hollywood anymore: a film with the emphasis on characterization without the cheap and obvious jokes of today's films. The plot is a good one. The services of a third-generation English Butler (Charles Laughton) are won in a poker game to an American couple (a very funny Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland) who reside in Red Gap, Washington. Ruggles' former employer, Lord Burnstead (a fine Roland Young) reluctantly gives him up to the couple but assures him that he will come back for him as soon as possible. Once in America, however, Ruggles gets a newfound sense of freedom and after being inadvertantly fired by the uncouth American couple, decides to open up his own restaurant with the help of a widow (Zasu Pitts) who he has much affection for. The movie was nominated for Best Picture and the performances are outstanding, particularly Charles Laughton as the butler/servant who sees freedoms and opportunities in America that he never would have had if he remained in England. The standout scene in the movie is when Laughton is in a local Red Gap bar and someone mentions Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. When no one in the bar can seem to remember what Lincoln said, Laughton (the Englishman)recites the speech in its entirety with enough emotion and dramatic flair to bring tears to one's eyes. The underlying theme of the movie is basically about Anglo American relations and the common ground and friendship between both nations. This is a "must see" for anyone still interested in how great Hollywood was in its heyday, and particularly how wonderful and original the comedies were in that early and Golden Age of film-making.