IMDb RATING
7.6/10
4.5K
YOUR RATING
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.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 1 nomination total
Charles Ruggles
- Egbert Floud
- (as Charlie Ruggles)
Zasu Pitts
- Prunella Judson
- (as ZaSu Pitts)
Ernie Adams
- Dishwasher
- (uncredited)
Rafael Alcayde
- Clothing Salesman
- (uncredited)
Augusta Anderson
- Mrs. Wallaby
- (uncredited)
Alyce Ardell
- Lisette - French Maid
- (uncredited)
Harry Bernard
- Harry - Bartender #2
- (uncredited)
Harry Bowen
- Photographer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaEdward 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.
- GoofsWhen 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 husband's hands without any pause in her lines.
- Quotes
Earl of Burnstead, aka George: I say, do you believe in love at first sight?
Nell Kenner: No. Do you?
Earl of Burnstead, aka George: No. That's why I'd like to stay for a while, if I may.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits are shown over various silhouettes of a butler.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997)
- SoundtracksBy 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
Featured review
Really good
American comedy was at its strongest in the 1930s and '40s. Ruggles of Red Gap is a great representative of that era. There hasn't been an American movie in the past two, maybe three decades that's as funny as this one. Ruggles of Red Gap begins with one of the funniest premises imaginable: a British butler, Marmaduke Ruggles (Charles Laughton), is won from his lord (Roland Young) in a poker game by a wily American (Charlie Ruggles) whose pretentious wife (Mary Boland, Ruggles' constant co-star) wants the butler to teach him some manners. The first half-hour is easily the strongest section in the film, with Ruggles (I'll be referring to the actors) the fish-out-of-water in Paris, trying to sidestep his conniving wife and teach Laughton, steeped in the servant tradition, to let himself go and have some fun. When the two men are supposed to be at the Louvre, Ruggles drags his new manservant to a sidewalk establishment and orders them some beers. A fellow resident of Red Gap (the town in Washington State where Ruggles and Boland live, and to where they will later take Laughton) sees Ruggles there and they cause a huge scene with their Wild West antics. They even get poor Laughton drunk, for perhaps the first time in his life, and he learns the most useful of American phrases: "Yippee!" He also learns how to smile. Boland is at her strongest in the first section, as well. Her attempts to speak French are hilarious. "Trays amazing!" she bungles.
When the crew arrives in America, the film loses a bit of its steam, but not much. It has a great story, unlike many of the other great comedies being made at the time (which relied on caricatures like W.C. Fields and the Marx Brothers), and that keeps it entertaining. Laughton is such a delight to behold, and he meets up with a lovely woman played by the undervalued character actress Zasu Pitts, best remembered for her neurotic wife role in Erich von Stroheim's 1925 masterpiece Greed. I have only seen her in two non-Greed movies, counting Ruggles of Red Gap, but she's obviously a huge comic talent. Laughton may be the star, but Charlie Ruggles, also a semi-forgotten comic master, steals the movie from him. Boland is funniest when the film is in Paris, but she's still pretty good afterwards. Another scene stealer is Roland Young. I love his mumbling way of speaking. He comes back later in the movie and has a great scene where he learns to play the drums. Leo McCarey is one of comedy's finest directors in comedy's finest era. What a wonderful film this is! 9/10.
When the crew arrives in America, the film loses a bit of its steam, but not much. It has a great story, unlike many of the other great comedies being made at the time (which relied on caricatures like W.C. Fields and the Marx Brothers), and that keeps it entertaining. Laughton is such a delight to behold, and he meets up with a lovely woman played by the undervalued character actress Zasu Pitts, best remembered for her neurotic wife role in Erich von Stroheim's 1925 masterpiece Greed. I have only seen her in two non-Greed movies, counting Ruggles of Red Gap, but she's obviously a huge comic talent. Laughton may be the star, but Charlie Ruggles, also a semi-forgotten comic master, steals the movie from him. Boland is funniest when the film is in Paris, but she's still pretty good afterwards. Another scene stealer is Roland Young. I love his mumbling way of speaking. He comes back later in the movie and has a great scene where he learns to play the drums. Leo McCarey is one of comedy's finest directors in comedy's finest era. What a wonderful film this is! 9/10.
helpful•431
- zetes
- Dec 14, 2002
- How long is Ruggles of Red Gap?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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