Ruggles of Red Gap

Charles Laughton. A god amongst men. The grandaddy of leading 'character' actors. Ruggles of Red Gap is a delightfully funny tale of class differences that features the great Laughtster in one of his best and most entertaining roles (and that's saying something) as the unassuming Marmaduke Ruggles. It's very much a madcap big event comedy in the 1930s vein, and a lot of the humour still stands up today due to the fact that it's driven primarily by performances and character-interplay. Modern viewers might find it's patriotic-American stance a little too untarnished but I'll take this gently patriotic and idealistic film over any war or action movies, and the message of equality and independence is a pretty easy one to cheer for.

Lord Burnstead (Roland Young) loses his personal butler Ruggles (Laughton) in a poker game whilst holidaying in Paris. Much to Ruggles' resigned horror, he finds that his new master is one Egbert Floud (Charles Ruggles), a practical self-made businessman from the pioneer town of Red Gap back in America. Ruggles struggles to maintain his quiet dignity whilst under the tutelage of the uncultured and extroverted Egbert. JHis master is very much a good ol' boy of the west who does everything in his power to resist his wife's cultural pretensions and the various attempts to elevate his social standing. Cut off from his old master, Ruggles is put out in the wild west and under the influence of free-spirited American cowboys. He even begins to enjoy his newfound freedom and gets quite carried away with himself - enjoying life for the first time as he moves beyond his standing as a lowly cipher, though there are those who would stand in his way.

The laughs arise primarily from Ruggles' predicament as a fish-out-of-water and the differences betweem Americans and the British when it comes to perceptions of class. Playing out against a backdrop of the 1900s west, an era when civilisation was evolving from rough frontiersman sensibilities, Ruggles of Red Gap contrasts the rambunctious egalitarianism of America with the stiff classism of Europe. Ruggles' butlerish attitude is mistaken for lordly quirkiness by the would-be socialites of Red Gap, and his development starts out as a misjudged attempt to emulate his 'betters' (it really is a marvellously multi-layered performance from Laughton) before developing towards a self-sufficiency and sense of independence inspired by the American forefathers and the American dream of democracy.

Laughton's performance stands the test of time as both funny and original. It's not just the bemused indifference, understated shock or the carefully controlled timbre of his voice, it's also the reserved body language and perfect poise. A good example is the scene where Ruggles is called by his new mistress, and he's so quick down the stairs but also remains perfectly upright and controlled. His first attempt at a smile near the film's beginning is horribly awkward and strained, but by the third act he's grinning with infectious enthusiasm. He's an underdog you'll want to cheer for, a subdued nobody who doesn't even realise he's missing a real life. A real gem of a film.

DIRECTOR: Leo McCary
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by Walter Deleon and Harlan Thompson, based on a stage adaptation by Humphrey Pearson, which was in turn based on a novel by Harry Leon Wilson.
KEY ACTORS: Charles Laughton, Charles Ruggles, Roland Young, Zasu Pitts, Mary Boland, Leila Hyams, Maude Eburne

RELATED TEXTS
- Ruggles of Red Gap started life as a newspaper serial by Harry Leon Wilson that became a novel in 1915.
- It was adapted into a stage musical in 1915, also called Ruggles of Red Gap.
- The famous literary valet, Jeeves, was actually predated by the character of Ruggles. Jeeves featured in a series of comedy novels by P. G. Wodehouse and the name has become synonymous with butlers and valets.
- The first film version of Ruggles of Red Gap was a silent film made in 1918. It was filmed again as another silent film in 1923.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - nominated Best Film.