Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
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100% of critics liked it
(12 reviews) -
94% of users liked it
(384 ratings)
Previously filmed in 1918 and 1923, Harry Leon Wilson's novel achieved movie classic status when it was remade by Leo McCarey in 1935. The story opens in Paris, circa 1908. Ruggles, beautifully underplayed by Charles Laughton, is the ultra-obedient manservant to the bibulous Earl of Burnstead… More Previously filmed in 1918 and 1923, Harry Leon Wilson's novel achieved movie classic status when it was remade by Leo McCarey in 1935. The story opens in Paris, circa 1908. Ruggles, beautifully underplayed by Charles Laughton, is the ultra-obedient manservant to the bibulous Earl of Burnstead (Roland Young). During one of the Earl's nocturnal forays, nouveau riche American cattle baron Egbert Floud (Charles Ruggles) wins Ruggles in a poker game. Terrified at the prospect of being bundled off to the Wild West, Ruggles' resolve is weakened somewhat when he and the raucous but ingratiating Egbert spend a wild night on the town. (The besotted butler's periodic exclamations of "Whoopee!" are priceless.) Back in the frontier "boom town" of Red Gap, a misunderstanding obliges Egbert's social-climbing wife Effie (Mary Boland) to pass off Ruggles as an aristocratic British army officer, immediately arousing the suspicions of priggish social arbiter Charles Belknap-Jackson (Lucien Littlefield). The longer he spends in America, the more Ruggles grows to like the concept of democracy and self-determination. Of the film's many highlights, two are standouts: the scene in which Ruggles silences a rowdy saloon crowd with his recitation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and the droll, semi-improvised vignette in which dancehall girl Nell Kenner (Leila Hyams) teaches the Earl of Burnstead how to play the drums. Ruggles of Red Gap was filmed for a fourth time in 1950 as the Bob Hope-Lucille Ball musical Fancy Pants. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Leo McCarey
- Written By
- Harry Leon Wilson, Humphrey Pearson, Walter DeLeon, Harlan Thompson
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Classics, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1935 Wide
- Studio
- MCA Universal Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
With the egalitarian warmth of Jean Renoir (himself a huge fan of the film), director McCarey spoofs stereotypes while investing them with knowing asides.
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Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice
Fitting such a democratic film, there's no bad part here...
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Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine
Leo McCarey's masterpiece is a schizo, slack-jawed, preemptive rejoinder to Frank Capra's saintly sober "everyman."
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Gabe Leibowitz, Film and Felt
Alternately charming and deeply touching.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The film's main asset is the strong comical performance of Charles Laughton as the straitlaced and very proper English butler Marmaduke Ruggles.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Charles Laughton
as Marmaduke Ruggles
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Mary Boland
as Effie Floud
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Charlie Ruggles
as Egbert Floud
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Zasu Pitts
as Mrs. Judson
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Roland Young
as Earl of Burnstead
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Maude Eburne
as Ma Pettingill
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Leila Hyams
as Nell Kenner
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Lucien Littlefield
as Charles Belknap-Jackson
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Leota Lorraine
as Mrs. Belknap-Jackson
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James Burke
as Jeff Tuttle
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Clarence H. Wilson
as Jake Henshaw
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Augusta Anderson
as Mrs. Wallaby
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Brenda Sue Fowler
as Judy Ballard
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Sarah Edwards
as Mrs. Myron Carey
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Ernie S. Adams
as Dishwasher
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Alice Ardell
as Lisette
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Harry Bernard
as Bartender
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Harry Bowen
as Photographer
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George Burton
as Buck Squires
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Charles "Heinie" Conklin
as Waiter
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Charles Fallon
as Waiter in Paris Cafe
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Willie Fung
as Chinese Servant
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Dell Henderson
as Sam
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Armand Kaliz
as Clothing Salesman
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Lee Kohlmar
as Red Gap Jailer
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Edward J. Le Saint
as Patron
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Jack Norton
as Barfly
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Albert Petit
as Waiter at Carousel
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Victor Potel
as Curly
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Frank Rice
as Hank
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Henry Roquemore
as Frank Patron
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Rolfe Sedan
as Barber
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Rafael Storm
as Clothing Salesman
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Libby Taylor
as Servant
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William Welsh
as Eddie
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Frank O'Connor
as Station Agent
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Genaro Spagnoli
as Frank the Cabman
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Jim Welch
as Man in Saloon
- Charles Ruggles
