Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)

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

Director:

Leo McCarey

Writers:

Harry Leon Wilson (novel), Walter DeLeon (screenplay)

Stars:

Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charles Ruggles

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins.

Cast

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

Storyline

While visiting Paris in 1908, upper class Lord Burnstead loses his butler playing poker. Egbert and Effie Floud bring Ruggles back to Red Gap, Washington. Effie wants to take advantage of Ruggles' upper class background to influence Egbert's hick lifestyle. However, Egbert is more interested in partying and he takes Ruggles to the local 'beer bust'. When word gets out that "Colonel Ruggles is staying with his close friends" in the local paper, the butler becomes a town celebrity. After befriending Mrs. Judson, a widow who he impresses with his culinary skills, Ruggles decides to strike out on his own and open a restaurant. His transition from servant to independent man will depend on its success.

---

Plot Keywords:

valet | self discovery | washington state | culture clash | national film registry | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

8 March 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Det begyndte i Paris

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Laughton referred to his reading of the "Gettysburg Address" in the film as "one of the most moving things that ever happened to me" Laughton recited the address to the cast and crew of Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) on the last day of shooting on Catalina Island and again on the set of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939).

---

Goofs

When Effie tells Ruggles to take her husband to the art museums she shows him a book that he uses to record his impressions of the art he's viewed, when the camera angle changes the book has changed from her hands to her husbands hands without any pause in her lines.

---

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.

---

Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown over various silhouettes of a butler.

---

Connections

Version of Ruggles of Red Gap (1918)

---

Soundtracks

Quintet in E Major, Op.13(11) No. 5, Minuet
(uncredited)
Music by Luigi Boccherini
Played before the dinner for the Earl of Burnstead

User Reviews

A McCarey classic

"Ruggles of Red Gap" is one of Leo McCarey's greatest masterpieces, a witty and trenchant commedia dell'arte, based on a 1915 play by Harry Leon Wilson. It stars the charismatic Charles Laughton as the well-mannered, eccentric English manservant Marmaduke Ruggles who is hilariously Americanized in an American Wild West town of Red Gap, Washington. Ruggles is the devoted servant of the Earl of Burnstead, George Van Bassingwell (Roland Young), who unfortunately loses his efficient servant in a poker game to a wealthy American cattle baron Egbert Floud (Charles Ruggles). Marmaduke leaves his master and moves to Red Gap, where he opens a restaurant and learns to admire the wild west and American mannerisms.

Charles Laughton is nothing short of perfection in one of his wittiest and warmest roles. His extraordinary recital of Lincoln's Gettysburg address to a barroom of speechless cowboys, along with Roland Young and Leila Hyams hysterical rendering of "Pretty Baby," is unforgettable. A must-see!