The Ruling Class (1972)

A member of the House of Lords dies in a shockingly silly way, leaving his estate to his son. Unfortunately, his son is insane: he thinks he is Jesus Christ. The other somewhat-more ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Medak

Writers:

Peter Barnes (screenplay), Peter Barnes (play)

Stars:

Peter O'Toole, Hugh Owens, Arthur Lowe

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter O'Toole	...	Jack Arnold Alexander Tancred Gurney - 14th Earl of Gurney
Hugh Owens	...	Toastmaster
Harry Andrews	...	13th Earl of Gurney
Arthur Lowe	...	Tucker
William Mervyn	...	Sir Charles
Coral Browne	...	Lady Claire
James Villiers	...	Dinsdale
Alastair Sim	...	Bishop Lampton
Hugh Burden	...	Matthew Peake
Michael Bryant	...	Dr. Herder
Henry Woolf	...	Inmate
Griffith Davies	...	Inmate
Oliver MacGreevy	...	Inmate
Kay Walsh	...	Mrs. Piggot-Jones
Patsy Byrne	...	Mrs. Treadwell

Storyline

A member of the House of Lords dies in a shockingly silly way, leaving his estate to his son. Unfortunately, his son is insane: he thinks he is Jesus Christ. The other somewhat-more respectable members of their family plot to steal the estate from him. Murder and mayhem ensues.

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Plot Keywords:

house of lords | murder | wastrel | hospital | contraceptive | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 1972 (France)

Also Known As:

La clase dirigente

Filming Locations:

Cliveden Estate, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Keep Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

154 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alastair Sim modeled his characterization of Bishop Lampton on the Primate of All England (chief religious figure in the Church of England), Michael Ramsey (subsequently Baron Ramsay of Canterbury). Portraits of Ramsay in the National Gallery bear a likeness to the physical aspects of Sim's character.

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Goofs

Claire puts her arms around Jack's neck, but in next shot they are on his shoulders.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Toastmaster: My Lords. Gentlemen. Pray silence for Ralph Douglas Christopher Alexander Gurney, the thirteenth Earl of Gurney.
13th Earl of Gurney: The aim of the Society of Saint George is to keep Gurney a memory of England. We were once the rulers of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Ruled not by superior force or skill, but by sheer presence.

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Connections

Featured in The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003)

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Soundtracks

"All Things Bright and Beautiful"
(uncredited)
Music by William H. Monk
Lyrics by Cecil F. Alexander
Arranged by John Cameron

User Reviews

"My name is Jack!"

A scathing and profoundly witty attack on Britain's social and political institutions with Peter O'Toole on his best ever form as Jack, the Son of an English Earl who inherits his Father's estate when the old man accidentally kills himself via auto-erotic asphyxiation. The only problem for Jack's relatives is that he's a paranoid Schziophrenic who thinks he's Jesus and they're quick to move for his indefinite committal when he starts to talk about the relinquishing of material possessions and tolerance toward all men. The Ruling Class is a film of two halves. The first is some of the best character comedy you'll ever see. As "JC" who wears glasses because he's cold, O'Toole commands every scene benefiting from some superbly written monologues and one liners, the standout being his pre-wedding speech on the cross and he's assisted by the creme de la creme of British character actors, Arthur Lowe a standout as the newly liberated Trokskyite Butler Tuck with a blatant contempt for his old masters. The second half however, is dark stuff indeed - jet black in fact. Apparenty 'cured' after an arranged confrontation with the AC-DC messiah, Jack dresses as a Victorian gentleman, talks about capital punishment and superior breeding and concerns no-one, the fact he believes himself to be Jack the Ripper going completely unnoticed by his peers who prime him for his climatic accession to the House of Lords. The conceit is milked for all its worth and the final scenes with a hallucinatory Jack looking at his fellow peers in the House as decayed corpses is a particularly chilling postscript to the story. Subtle? No way but its sledgehammer to the concept of patronage and privilege as a criteria for governance and influence. Like the best satire its savage, angry stuff - possibly overlong and too conscious of its theatrical origins but ultimately no less caustic or inventive for it. Class indeed.