Editing Ruggles of Red Gap

{{Short description|1935 film by Leo McCarey}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Ruggles of Red Gap
| image          = Ruggles of Red Cap (1935 poster).jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Leo McCarey]]
| producer       = [[Arthur Hornblow Jr.]]
| screenplay     = [[Walter DeLeon]]<br />[[Harlan Thompson]]
| story          = Humphrey Pearson <!-- Credited in film as Adapted by"-->
| based_on       = {{Based on|''Ruggles of Red Gap''|[[Harry Leon Wilson]]}}<ref name=NYTimes>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B01EFD8133DE53ABC4F53DFB566838E629EDE |title=Movie Review: ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' |last1=Sennwald |first1= Andre|date= March 7, 1935 |publisher= [[Times Books|New York Times Books]]|access-date=March 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=1104|title = Home}}</ref>
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Charles Laughton]]
* [[Mary Boland]]
* [[Charles Ruggles|Charlie Ruggles]]
* [[ZaSu Pitts]]
}}
| music          = <!-- None Credited in film -->
| cinematography = [[Alfred Gilks]]
| editing        = <!-- None Credited in film --> [[Edward Dmytryk]]<ref name=DmytrykAuto>{{cite book |last= Dmytryk |first= Edward |author-link= Edward Dmytryk |date= 1978 |title= It's a Hell of a Life, but not a Bad Living|location= New York |publisher= The New York Times Book Company |isbn= 9780812907858 |page= [https://archive.org/details/itshelloflifebu00dmyt/page/34 34] |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/itshelloflifebu00dmyt/page/34}}</ref>
| distributor    = [[Paramount Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1935|03|08}}
| runtime        = 90 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = 
}}

'''''Ruggles of Red Gap''''' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by [[Leo McCarey]] and starring: [[Charles Laughton]], [[Mary Boland]], [[Charles Ruggles|Charlie Ruggles]] and [[ZaSu Pitts]] and featuring [[Roland Young]] and [[Leila Hyams]]. It was based on the best-selling 1915 novel by [[Harry Leon Wilson]], adapted by Humphrey Pearson, with a screenplay by [[Walter DeLeon]] and Harlan Thompson.

The story concerns a British [[Valet|gentleman's gentleman]] who discovers a "new birth of freedom" in a small Western American town in the early 20th century.<ref>Hooper and Poague, 1980 in Leo McCarey Filmography section, p. 307: Plot summary</ref><ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 9, p. 65, p. 119: Plot sketches</ref><ref>Silver, 2012: "...new birth of freedom..."</ref>

''Ruggles of Red Gap'' was "an immense commercial hit" and confirmed Leo McCarey's stature as Paramount's outstanding comedy filmmaker of his day.<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 23: "...the phenomenal critical and commercial success of Ruggles of Red Gap..." And p. 119: "...the breakout success of Ruggles of Red Gap..." And p. 127 "...immense commercial hit..."</ref>

==Plot==
Marmaduke Ruggles is valet to the Earl of Burnstead in 1908. Earl tells Ruggles that he has gambled him away in a drunken game of poker, and he is to report to his new masters – ''nouveau riche'' American millionaires Egbert and Effie Floud – immediately. Ruggles bemoans the idea of being relegated to "the land of slavery," but he takes his new occupation in stride.

Egbert slips away from Effie and takes Ruggles to a Parisian café. He explains to the valet that, in America, everyone is equal, and Ruggles should behave like a friend rather than a deferential servant. Ruggles is dismissive, but after a night of drinking with Egbert and his wild friend Jeff Tuttle, his "stiff upper lip" falls away as he follows the examples of Egbert and Tuttle. The three embark on an alcohol-fueled trip across Paris which ends with them returning to the Floud's hotel room. The next day Ruggles is embarrassed, and he apologizes to Effie for his behavior.

The Flouds return to the town of Red Gap in America. Ruggles meets the extended family of the Flouds, including "Ma" Pettingill, Effie's mother, and Charles Belknap-Jackson, a snooty relative of Effie's who treats Ruggles with disdain. A party held to receive the Flouds inadvertently turns into a warm welcome for Ruggles after Ruggles is mistaken for a wealthy retired Englishman. Ruggles also meets Mrs. Judson, a widowed housewife and cook. When Belknap-Jackson chastises Ruggles for dancing at the party with Mrs. Judson, Ruggles kicks him in the behind. He is almost fired, but his job is saved as a newspaper article describing Ruggles as an "honored houseguest" of the Flouds makes him a local celebrity.

Ruggles becomes a fixture in society, as Effie and Belknap-Jackson use his status to advance socially. He begins a relationship with Mrs. Judson and reads about the history of the United States. One day, after the rest of the family have left on a trip, Belknap-Jackson fires Ruggles. While waiting for the train, Ruggles wanders into the local saloon where he finds Mrs. Judson, Egbert, and Ma. Egbert laughs off Belknap-Jackson's actions, but Ruggles explains that he wants to live as a free and independent person and, because of that, he won't return to work for the Flouds. Egbert compares this to "what Lincoln said at Gettysburg", but neither he, nor any of the other people in the saloon can remember the words. As they each try to remind themselves of what it says, Ruggles stands up and recites the entire Gettysburg Address from memory.

Ruggles decides to open a restaurant in Red Gap. As he is preparing the restaurant space with Mrs. Judson, Effie arrives with troubling news: the Earl of Burnstead is visiting Red Gap to buy Ruggles back from the Flouds. Ruggles reluctantly agrees to return to the Flouds, but Mrs. Judson is disgusted by his deference to his former employers. On the night of a party in the Earl's honor, Ruggles goes missing. Egbert convinces the Earl to slip out to another, more raucous party hosted by the beautiful young Nell Kenner, to whom the Earl instantly takes an interest. They eventually return to the Floud house, just as Ruggles returns and informs the Earl of his decision to "be someone" and live independently, on his own terms.

The restaurant opening proves to be a great success. All the friends he has made on his journey from England to America attend its gala opening. Belknap-Jackson also attends and insults Ruggles and his cooking to his face, so Ruggles throws him out. Ruggles retreats to the kitchen, sure that he has ruined his social standing in Red Gap. Outside, the diners begin to sing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," but Ruggles doesn't realize they are singing for him. Egbert pulls him out of the kitchen, saying: "Why, you old plate of soup, they're singing it for you!" As the song crescendos, Egbert pushes Ruggles back into the kitchen so that he can celebrate privately with Mrs. Judson.<ref>Poague, 1980 pp. 201-211</ref><ref>Hooper and Poague, 1980 in Leo McCarey Filmography section, p. 307: Plot summary</ref><ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 9, p. 65, p. 119: Plot sketches</ref>

==Cast==
* [[Charles Laughton]] as Marmaduke Ruggles
* [[Mary Boland]] as Effie Floud
* [[Charles Ruggles|Charlie Ruggles]] as Egbert Floud <!-- as credited in film -->
* [[ZaSu Pitts]] as Mrs. Judson
* [[Roland Young]] as Earl of Burnstead
* [[Leila Hyams]] as Nell Kenner
* [[Maude Eburne]] as "Ma" Pettingill
* [[Lucien Littlefield]] as Charles Belknap-Jackson
* [[Leota Lorraine]] as Mrs. Belknap-Jackson
* [[James Burke (actor)|James Burke]] as Jeff Tuttle
* [[Dell Henderson]] as Sam
* [[Clarence Wilson (actor)|Clarence Wilson]] as Jake Henshaw
* [[Heinie Conklin]] as Waiter (uncredited) 
* [[Willie Fung]] as Willie (uncredited)

==Production==

Based on the best-selling 1915 novel by [[Harry Leon Wilson]], Ruggles of Red Gap was adapted to screen by [[Humphery Pearson]], with a screenplay by [[Walter DeLeon]] and Harlan Thompson.<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 254: Filmography</ref><ref>Hooper and Poague, 1980 in Leo McCarey Filmography section, p. 307</ref> The story had twice been adapted to film in the [[Silent film|silent era]]: [[Ruggles of Red Gap (1918 film)|in 1918]] and again [[Ruggles of Red Gap (1923 film)|in 1923]].<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 119</ref>

Regarded as the most outstanding comedy director with Paramount at the time, studio executives provided Leo McCarey with top quality talent for the picture. Indeed, the "A" film or high production period of McCarey's career can be dated from ''Ruggles of Red Gap.''"<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 101: See here for quote And p. 119: re: "...top quality talent..."</ref>

According to film historian Wes D. Gehring, McCarey cast Charles Laughton in the lead role when he detected a "comedic flourish" in the actor's Academy Award-winning performance as the English king, in '[[The Private Life of Henry VIII]]' (1933).<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 121-122: "...Laughton's comic vulnerability reminds one or [[Oliver Hardy]]."</ref>

The film was shot on locations in Humboldt County, California.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hesseltine|first1=Cassandra|title=Complete Filmography of Humboldt County|url=http://humboldt.filmhumboldtdelnorte.org/filmography|website=Humboldt Del Norte Film Commission|access-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref>

==Reception==

Both director Leo McCarey and actor Charles Laughton received overwhelming critical accolades for their work in ''Ruggles of Red Gap''.<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 120: "Coupled with the critical raves for Laughton were comparable kudos for McCarey.</ref> Film historian Wes D. Gehring reports that "The press was so good on ''Ruggles'' that references to the picture began to turn up in reviews of other pictures."<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 120-121</ref>

The ''[[Hollywood Reporter]]'' titled their effusive review of the picture "McCarey, Laughton and Ruggles Tops."<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 120</ref> [[Richard Watts, Jr.]] at the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'' described Laughton's Ruggles as "the most sympathetic hero since [[Rip Van Winkle]], and Laughton's acting was favorably compared to that of  [[Charlie Chaplin]].<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 120: See here critical sources for Chaplin comparisons.</ref>

The ''[[New York Tribune]]'''s Howard Barnes wrote: "Leo McCarey, who may be remembered gratefully for ''Ruggles of Red Gap'', has produced and directed the film with courage, power and imagination."<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 138</ref>
So consistently positive were the reviews that Paramount simply issued a statement directing the public to refer to press reports concerning the movie, without further comment.<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 121: The statement was accompanied by an image of Laughton as Ruggles "with a shushing finger to his mouth." And "...the reviews so consistently strong..."</ref>

===Box office===
It was one of the most popular films at the British box office in 1935.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55724940 |title=Sex Does Not Appeal To Talkie Fans |newspaper=[[The Mail (Adelaide)]] |volume=21 |issue=1,239 |location=South Australia |date=22 February 1936 |accessdate=18 April 2025 |page=21 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Retrospective appraisal==

Describing the film as "an odd little masterpiece," ''[[Museum of Modern Art|Moma]]'' film curator Charles Silver places Ruggles of Red Gap within the realm of [[Screwball comedy|screwball]] produced during the 1930s and praises "McCarey's genius for directing actors and his exquisite sense of timing." Silver adds that "the film's dramatic high point is Laughton's barroom recitation of the [[Gettysburg Address]] and its assertion of "a new birth of freedom."<ref>Silver, 2012</ref>

Leland Poague declares that "''Ruggles'' is arguably McCarey's most ''personal'', most ''social'', and most ''idealistic'' film" in his ''oeuvre''.<ref>Poague, 1980 p. 202: Italics in Poague.</ref>

==Theme==
McCarey locates the film's central thematic element in the natural discord between "personal and social imperatives" and the struggle to bring these into balance. Ruggles of Red Gap demonstrates  the reciprocity required to allow the flourishing of each in a democratic republic. "In Ruggles, McCarey explores the relationship between personality and society and does so in an idealistic literary context which asserts the essential (and necessary) identity of personal and social imperatives."<ref>Poague, 1980 p. 202</ref>

===Gettysburg address scene===

Film historian Wes D. Gehring describes ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' as "the story of a proper British butler, lost in a poker game to a ''nouveau riche'' American, evolves into a free man."<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 119</ref>

The origins of the film sequence arose from an event in McCarey's own life. During an alcohol-fueled social gathering, the topic of the Gettysburg Address came up; everyone agreed as to its importance, but no one present could recite a word of the iconic document.<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 119-120</ref>

The film fully takes shape as a "populist classic" with the sequence in which Laughton, the former [[Body man|body servant]] to a wealthy English gentleman, recites the [[Gettysburg Address]], a speech delivered by [[Abraham Lincoln]] in 1863, announcing a "new birth of freedom" for the people of the American republic.<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 119: "...Lincoln's watershed speech..." And p. 126: "...mix of populism and parody..."</ref>

Ruggles, an immigrant to the United States, delivers the speech in the Silver Dollar saloon occupied entirely by "All-American Western types." The moving content of the address comes as a revelation and a liberation to most of the denizens of Red Gap.<ref>Gehring, 2005 p. 119-120</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
[[Charles Laughton]] won the [[New York Film Critics Circle Awards 1935|New York Film Critics' Circle Awards]] for ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' (with ''[[Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)|Mutiny on the Bounty]]'') in 1935. The [[National Board of Review Awards 1935|National Board of Review]] named the film the ninth best of 1935. That year, Laughton's other two films, ''[[Les Misérables (1935 film)|Les Misérables]]'' and ''Mutiny on the Bounty'', were sixth and eighth on the list, respectively. The film was nominated for the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and competed against two other Laughton films that were also nominated: ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (which won the award) and ''Les Misérables''.

In 2014, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2014/14-210.html|title=Cinematic Treasures Named to National Film Registry|website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

==Other adaptations==
Harry Leon Wilson's novel ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' was adapted for the Broadway stage as a musical in 1915, the same year that it was published.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=8250 |title = ''Ruggles of Red Gap'' Production Credits |publisher= Internet Broadway Database| access-date = June 7, 2008}}</ref> It was first made into a silent film [[Ruggles of Red Gap (1918 film)|in 1918]] and again [[Ruggles of Red Gap (1923 film)|in 1923]] (the latter with [[Edward Everett Horton]] as Ruggles).

A musical adaptation called ''[[Fancy Pants (film)|Fancy Pants]]'' starring [[Bob Hope]] and [[Lucille Ball]] was released in 1950.<ref>[[Robert Osborne|Osborne, Robert]]  Outro to the Turner Classic Movies showing of the 1935 film (March 3, 2014)</ref>

''Ruggles of Red Gap'' was adapted as a radio play several times. First on the July 10, 1939 episode of ''[[Lux Radio Theater]]''; second on the December 17, 1945 episode of ''[[The Screen Guild Theater]]''; and third on the June 8, 1946 episode of ''[[Academy Award Theater]]''. All of these adaptations found Charles Laughton and Charlie Ruggles reprising their film parts.

A television musical version was produced on ''[[Producer's Showcase]]'' in 1957, starring [[Michael Redgrave]], [[Peter Lawford]], [[David Wayne]] and [[Jane Powell]]. The songs were created by [[Jule Styne]] and [[Leo Robin]].

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
*Gehring, Wes D. 2005. ''Leo McCarey: From Marx to McCarthy.'' [[The Scarecrow Press]]. Lantham, Maryland, Toronto, Oxford. {{ISBN|0-8108-5263-2}}
*Hooper, Gary and Poague, Leland. 1980. Leo McCarey Filmography in ''The Hollywood Professionals: Wilder and McCarey'', Volume 7. The Tanvity Press, A. S. Barnes and Company, Inc. San Diego, California. pp.&nbsp;295–314 {{ISBN|
978-0498021817}}
*Poague, Leland. 1980. ''The Hollywood Professionals: Wilder and McCarey'', Volume 7. The Tanvity Press, A. S. Barnes and Company, Inc. San Diego, California. {{ISBN| 978-0498021817}}
*Silver, Charles. 2012. ''Leo McCarey's Ruggles of Red Gap.'' Inside/Out, ''[[Museum of Modern Art|Moma]]'' October 2, 2012. https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2012/10/02/leo-mccareys-ruggles-of-red-gap/ Retrieved 7 April 2024.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Ruggles of Red Gap (1935 film)}}
* {{AFI film|1104|Ruggles of Red Gap}} – 1935 film
* {{IMDb title|0026955|Ruggles of Red Gap}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=88738|title=Ruggles of Red Gap}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|ruggles_of_red_gap|Ruggles of Red Gap}}
* [http://www.oldies.com/product-view/9803ED.html DVD availability](from Universal Vault Series)

'''Streaming audio'''
* [https://archive.org/download/Lux04/Lux_39-07-10_Ruggles_of_Red_Gap.mp3 ''Ruggles of Red Gap''] on [[Lux Radio Theater]]: July 10, 1939 
* [https://archive.org/download/ScreenGuildTheater/Sgt_45-12-17_ep276_Ruggles_of_Red_Gap.mp3 ''Ruggles of Red Gap''] on [[Screen Guild Theater]]: December 17, 1945  
* [https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Academy_Award_Theater_Singles/Academy_Award_46-06-08_ep11_Ruggles_of_Red_Gap.mp3 ''Ruggles of Red Gap''] on [[Academy Award (radio)|Academy Award Theater]]: June 8, 1946

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{{Leo McCarey}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruggles Of Red Gap}}
[[Category:1935 films]]
[[Category:1935 comedy films]]
[[Category:American Western (genre) comedy films]]
[[Category:1930s Western (genre) comedy films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Leo McCarey]]
[[Category:Films set in 1908]]
[[Category:Films set in Paris]]
[[Category:Films set in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Heinz Roemheld]]
[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
[[Category:1930s American films]]
[[Category:English-language Western (genre) comedy films]]