The Ruling Class (1972)

Director:

Peter Medak

Writers:

Peter Barnes (screenplay)
Peter Barnes (play)

Release Date:

10 May 1972 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Plot:

A member of the House of Lords dies in a shockingly silly way, leaving his estate to his son. Unfortunately...

Plot Keywords:

House Of Lords | Murder | Wastrel | Hospital | Contraceptive

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

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
Carolyn Seymour	...	Grace
Neil Kennedy	...	Dr. Herder's Assistant
Nigel Green	...	McKyle
Cyril Appleton	...	McKyle's Assistant
Leslie Schofield	...	McKyle's Assistant
Joan Cooper	...	Nurse Brice
Declan Mulholland	...	Poacher
Graham Crowden	...	Truscott
James Grout	...	Inspector Brockett
James Hazeldine	...	Fraser
Ronald Adam	...	Lord
Julian D'Albie	...	Lord
Llewellyn Rees	...	Lord
Kenneth Benda	...	Lord Chancellor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Margaret Lacey	...	Midwife (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Medak

Writing credits
Peter Barnes		(screenplay)
Peter Barnes		(play)

Produced by
Jules Buck	....	producer
Jack Hawkins	....	producer
David Korda	....	associate producer

Original Music by
John Cameron

Cinematography by
Ken Hodges

Film Editing by
Ray Lovejoy

Production Design by
Peter Murton

Costume Design by
Ruth Myers

Makeup Department
Charles E. Parker	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Tim Hampton	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bert Batt	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Colin Chilvers	....	special effects technician
Roy Whybrow	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Herbert Smith	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Noel Rogers	....	assistant editor

Music Department
John Cameron	....	musical director

Other crew
Eleanor Fazan	....	choreographer
Maggie Unsworth	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Keep Films

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1972) (UK) (theatrical)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Nelson Entertainment (19??) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

154 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | Australia:M | Chile:(Banned) | Sweden:15 | USA:R (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Cliveden Estate, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Keep Films

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.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jack and Truscott sit after singing, and their positions change between shots.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Eton Boating Song

Jesus Christ or Jack the Ripper? Or Just Peter O'Toole?

No other actor has had a career filled with more idiosyncratic roles than Peter O'Toole, and his role in "The Ruling Class" is perhaps the most idiosyncratic of them all.

O'Toole plays the heir to a British House of Lords who dies accidentally (and bizarrely), leaving his family to hash out the estate. The family is much disturbed by the fact that O'Toole is the heir -- understandably so, since he believes that he's Jesus Christ. Much wackiness ensues, until O'Toole has a change of perspective and decides that instead of Christ, he's Jack the Ripper. More wackiness ensues, the film gets darker and darker in that way that only British films can, and the whole thing may leave you scratching your head but will no doubt also leave you gloriously entertained.

For O'Toole fans, this is a chance to see him single-handedly carry a delirious mess of a movie on his shoulders, and make a rousing success out of it. Much of it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's all a hoot, especially the impromptu musical numbers peppered throughout the film. There's some scathing satire aimed at the British class system, but it's nothing you haven't seen before, and the whole film has the feeling of being the pet project of an undisciplined director. But I highly recommend this, because you've never seen anything quite like it, and it's a chance to see one of our generation's greatest actors strutting his stuff like the pro that he is.

Grade: A