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Ruggles of Red Gap

  • 1935
  • Approved
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
4.8K
YOUR RATING
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
Ruggles Of Red Gap: I Intend To Try
Play clip1:35
Watch Ruggles Of Red Gap: I Intend To Try
1 Video
71 Photos
Screwball ComedyComedyMysteryRomanceWestern

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

  • Director
    • Leo McCarey
  • Writers
    • Harry Leon Wilson
    • Walter DeLeon
    • Harlan Thompson
  • Stars
    • Charles Laughton
    • Mary Boland
    • Charles Ruggles
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    4.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Leo McCarey
    • Writers
      • Harry Leon Wilson
      • Walter DeLeon
      • Harlan Thompson
    • Stars
      • Charles Laughton
      • Mary Boland
      • Charles Ruggles
    • 48User reviews
    • 35Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 5 wins & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Ruggles Of Red Gap: I Intend To Try
    Clip 1:35
    Ruggles Of Red Gap: I Intend To Try

    Photos71

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    Top cast50

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    Charles Laughton
    Charles Laughton
    • Ruggles
    Mary Boland
    Mary Boland
    • Effie Floud
    Charles Ruggles
    Charles Ruggles
    • Egbert Floud
    • (as Charlie Ruggles)
    Zasu Pitts
    Zasu Pitts
    • Prunella Judson
    • (as ZaSu Pitts)
    Roland Young
    Roland Young
    • George--Earl of Burnstead
    Leila Hyams
    Leila Hyams
    • Nell Kenner
    Maude Eburne
    Maude Eburne
    • 'Ma' Pettingill
    Lucien Littlefield
    Lucien Littlefield
    • Charles Belknap-Jackson
    Leota Lorraine
    Leota Lorraine
    • Mrs. Belknap-Jackson
    James Burke
    James Burke
    • Jeff Tuttle
    Dell Henderson
    Dell Henderson
    • Sam
    Clarence Wilson
    Clarence Wilson
    • Jake Henshaw
    Ernie Adams
    Ernie Adams
    • Dishwasher
    • (uncredited)
    Rafael Alcayde
    Rafael Alcayde
    • Clothing Salesman
    • (uncredited)
    Augusta Anderson
    Augusta Anderson
    • Mrs. Wallaby
    • (uncredited)
    Alyce Ardell
    Alyce Ardell
    • Lisette - French Maid
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Bernard
    Harry Bernard
    • Harry - Bartender #2
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Bowen
    Harry Bowen
    • Photographer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Leo McCarey
    • Writers
      • Harry Leon Wilson
      • Walter DeLeon
      • Harlan Thompson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews48

    7.64.7K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    9Mike-764

    Home of the Free

    Marmaduke Ruggles travels to Red Gap, Washington (circa 1908) after the Floud family wins him in a poker game. Ruggles, afraid he will not adjust to wild western life, has his fears come true. When he arrives in town, the citizens think he is a retired British Army officer, and Ruggles has to go on pretending to be something he is not. Originally believing that all he can ever be is a valet, he gets the idea of opening the town's first restaurant with the help of the widow Judson. However, the return of Ruggles' former employer (the Earl of Burnstead) may make Ruggles think of going back into servitude, making think of what Lincoln said is true about all men being equal. While what I wrote seems to play like a drama, don't be fooled it is quite a witty comedy with Laughton giving one of his most best (and surprisingly) best performances actually doing much of it with facial expressions & body language. Everyone else in the cast gives great stereotypical acting jobs, and the script gives plenty of chances for everyone, especially thanks to McCarey's lively direction. Best scene is obviously Ruggles reciting the Gettysburg address in the saloon, another driving point in the film's theme of all men being created equal. Rating, 9.
    Kalaman

    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!
    Film Dog

    Charles Laughton: one of the best ever.

    I thought I saw everything until I saw Charles Laughton do comedy. His range is phenomenal. In one film he is playing Captain Bligh, and here he plays a shy, insecure British butler who ends up out west. Some scenes, although subtle, are hilarious. Laughton, besides being an actor, gave performances in oral reading and recital. Here he does a recital of the Gettysburg Address that is just fantastic. I mean, who would think something every grade school kid had to memorize could be moving. But it is. This movie is for anyone who really appreciates a truly gifted actor.
    10glenndmiller

    A wonderful, winning film.

    Charles Laughton was an incomparable actor (did anyone else ever go over the top as much as he did, yet still give brilliant performances?), and he's at the peak of his form in this classic. Laughton is just right as the staid butler who is won in a poker game by a couple from the Old West, circa 1908. Everyone is excellent--Mary Boland and Charlie Ruggles were one of the more popular screen couples of the day, and you'll see why--but it is Laughton who steals the film. His recitation of the Gettysburg Address is a demonstration of his mastery. It should fall flat, but it plays beautifully. See it.
    Chuck-185

    Heartwarming and Sentimental Comedy of the 1930's

    "Ruggles of Red Gap" is the kind of comedy film that is rarely made by Hollywood anymore: a film with the emphasis on characterization without the cheap and obvious jokes of today's films. The plot is a good one. The services of a third-generation English Butler (Charles Laughton) are won in a poker game to an American couple (a very funny Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland) who reside in Red Gap, Washington. Ruggles' former employer, Lord Burnstead (a fine Roland Young) reluctantly gives him up to the couple but assures him that he will come back for him as soon as possible. Once in America, however, Ruggles gets a newfound sense of freedom and after being inadvertantly fired by the uncouth American couple, decides to open up his own restaurant with the help of a widow (Zasu Pitts) who he has much affection for. The movie was nominated for Best Picture and the performances are outstanding, particularly Charles Laughton as the butler/servant who sees freedoms and opportunities in America that he never would have had if he remained in England. The standout scene in the movie is when Laughton is in a local Red Gap bar and someone mentions Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. When no one in the bar can seem to remember what Lincoln said, Laughton (the Englishman)recites the speech in its entirety with enough emotion and dramatic flair to bring tears to one's eyes. The underlying theme of the movie is basically about Anglo American relations and the common ground and friendship between both nations. This is a "must see" for anyone still interested in how great Hollywood was in its heyday, and particularly how wonderful and original the comedies were in that early and Golden Age of film-making.

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    Related interests

    Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal in What's Up, Doc? (1972)
    Screwball Comedy
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
    John Wayne and Harry Carey Jr. in The Searchers (1956)
    Western

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Edward Dmytryk, the film's editor, said that Charles Laughton became so emotional during the scene in the saloon where he recites the Gettysburg Address that it took director Leo McCarey 1½ days to complete shooting it. According to Dmytryk, the preview audiences found Laughton's closeups in the scene embarrassing and tittered through the speech. When substitute shots of Laughton from behind were inserted, the audience found the reaction shots of the other people reacting to him very moving, and the second preview was extremely successful.
    • Goofs
      Though the film takes place in 1908, the postage stamps on the letters are the general issue of 1923.
    • Quotes

      [Ruggles and Prunella are looking at the rough and cluttered store space that Ruggles will use for his restaurant]

      Prunella Judson: It's a mess isn't it?

      Ruggles: It's wonderful.

      Prunella Judson: Well, I don't see anything wonderful about it.

      Ruggles: You don't?

      Prunella Judson: No.

      Ruggles: You don't? My father was a gentleman's gentleman... and his father before him. And from that heritage of service miraculously there comes a man. A person of importance, however small. A man whose decisions and whose future are in his own hands.

      Prunella Judson: It's wonderful, isn't it?

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits are shown over various silhouettes of a butler.
    • Connections
      Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      By the Light of the Silvery Moon
      (uncredited)

      Music by Gus Edwards

      Lyrics by Edward Madden

      Played during the opening credits

      Also sung by Leila Hyams and others

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 8, 1935 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Ein Butler in Amerika
    • Filming locations
      • Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 30m(90 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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