Ruggles of Red Gap

 

Charles Laughton had one heck of a year in 1935. All three films he starred in that year were nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture and he himself was nominated for the lead actor award for one of them, Mutiny on the Bounty. His portrayal of Inspector Javert in Les Miserables was equally deserving of a nomination. The most downplayed of his performances, though, is that of Marmaduke Ruggles, the put upon butler who’s uprooted from his proper British upbringing and transplanted in America against his will. Laughton’s character is so soft spoken and genteel that it gets completely overshadowed by the pompous bombastic Captain Bly of the USS Bounty and the dogged determination of Javert. But, of the three characters, it’s that softness, that gentleness that makes this the more interesting one to look at. 

Ruggles (Charles Laughton) is a gentleman’s gentleman for The Earl of Burnstead (Roland Young). During a trip to Paris, The Earl loses Ruggles to Egbert Floud, an American millionaire, over a drunken hand of Poker. Ruggles, a third generation gentleman’s gentleman immediately bemoans the very idea of relocating to a land he considers to be a land of slavery and inequality. His takes his new lot in life with stride, though, and, with the over-the-top Effie Floud (Mary Boland), Egbert’s wife, accompanies then on a series of errands designed to transform the uncouth Egbert into a proper gentleman, whether he likes it or not.

Once back in America, Ruggles clashes with Charles Belknap-Jackson (Lucien Littlefield), a relative of the Flouds who takes an instant disliking of him. When Ruggles is unable to reign in Egbert and keep him away from a social gathering involving a large supply of liquor and dancing, Charles attempts to fire him. But Ruggles has already made an impression on the citizens of Red Gap and the newspaper runs an article naming him an honorary guest of the Flouds so he is allowed to stay for the time being. A chance encounter with Mrs. Judson (ZaSu Pitts), a widow serving food at the social gathering earlier, sparks an interest to turn cooking, a personal passion of Ruggles’s, into a career of his own, something that will allow him to be independent for the first time in his life.

Ruggles of Red Gap begins on a farcical note, playing up the silliness of the plot with scenes of Egbert battling his wife over how she thinks he should look. There are scenes in the tailor’s shop and the barber shop that are played for broad laughs. It feels farcical and, at times, disjointed. There is a moment just over halfway through this film, though, that finally cements the themes of the film. After Charles finally manages to fire Ruggles, he, Ruggles, finds himself at a bar bemoaning his future now that he has made friends and established himself among the citizens of Red Gap. There at the bar he runs into Egbert, Mrs. Jordan, and others who try and lift his spirits. Egbert reminds Ruggles that Charles isn’t his boss, Egbert is and therefore he isn’t fired after all and can stay. He tries to quote Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address but cannot remember any of the words, nor can anyone else in the bar. Ruggles, however, can and does recite it word for word in his quiet and unassuming way, realizing as he quotes him what Lincoln meant when he stated that all men are created equal. For the first time in his life he has an opportunity to be something other than a servant. It took coming to America to grant him the freedom to choose for himself what he wants to be.

This was the third adaptation of Ruggles of Red Gap, a novel by Harry Leon Wilson. The first, a silent film, was released in 1918 followed five years later by a second version, also silent. Both versions are currently considered lost films with no surviving prints known to exist. Later, in 1950, Bob Hope and Lucille Ball made their own version of the story, modifying the concept heavily and making it a musical called Fancy Pants. It’s impossible to compare the 1935 version to the previous ones since they can no longer be viewed. However, the 1950’s version is still around and, despite having bigger named actors and better production values, is inferior in every way. There is a simple charm to Ruggles of Red Gap that more money, flair, and catchy show tunes cannot eclipse. 

The central message of equality and freedom is one that still resonates today. So is the broader world’s perception of America. When Ruggles is first told he will be going to America he envisions a land of savagery and unsophistication, filled with indentured servitude. He mentions to his former master the plight of the slaves and has to be told that slavery was abolished in America after the Civil War. What Ruggles doesn’t see is that he himself is a form of a slave to The Earl, not free to choose any life other than that in which he was born. It’s this message that endeared Ruggles of Red Gap to readers of the novel and then later to the three film adaptations. The Civil War was not that far in the past and there were plenty of people still alive in 1935 who remembered that war and what it was for. Ruggles represented to anyone, regardless of their station in life, that this was the land of freedom and they could do with that in whatever way they could. 

Ruggles has some choices once he gets to the final act, choices that will impact the remainder of his life. First, The Earl comes back into his life to reclaim him. Later, when Ruggles’s restaurant is in full swing, he has to stand up to Charles and kick him out, even if doing so might doom his budding business. The film ends with the rest of the town folk, most of them supporting what Ruggles has done, singing For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow to the emotionally overwhelmed man, showing him that he has earned their respect and friendship. It’s a touching moment that brings tears to his eyes and closes out a movie that started out feeling like a farce but slowly and deftly morphed into a morality tale about human rights and freedom. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Outstanding Production: Arthur Hornblow Jr.

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Release Date: March 8, 1935

Running Time: 90 Minutes

Not Rated

Starring: Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles and ZaSu Pitts

Directed By: Leo McCarey