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.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
4K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Harry Leon Wilson(novel "Ruggles of Red Gap")
- Walter DeLeon(screenplay)
- Harlan Thompson(screenplay)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Harry Leon Wilson(novel "Ruggles of Red Gap")
- Walter DeLeon(screenplay)
- Harlan Thompson(screenplay)
- Stars
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 1 nomination total
Ernie Adams
- Dishwasheras Dishwasher
- (uncredited)
Augusta Anderson
- Mrs. Wallabyas Mrs. Wallaby
- (uncredited)
Harry Bowen
- Photographeras Photographer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Harry Leon Wilson(novel "Ruggles of Red Gap")
- Walter DeLeon(screenplay)
- Harlan Thompson(screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
While visiting Paris in 1908, upper class Lord Burnstead loses his butler playing poker. Egbert and Effie Floud bring Ruggles back to Red Gap, Washington. Effie wants to take advantage of Ruggles' upper class background to influence Egbert's hick lifestyle. However, Egbert is more interested in partying and he takes Ruggles to the local 'beer bust'. When word gets out that "Colonel Ruggles is staying with his close friends" in the local paper, the butler becomes a town celebrity. After befriending Mrs. Judson, a widow who he impresses with his culinary skills, Ruggles decides to strike out on his own and open a restaurant. His transition from servant to independent man will depend on its success. —Gary Jackson <garyjack5@cogeco.ca>
- Taglines
- Here they are right from the pages of Harry Leon Wilson's book! See Red Gap society take to Ruggles, the English valet, and see Ruggles take Red Gap! (Print Ad-Daily Times, ((Rochester, Penna.)) 21 May 1935)
- Genres
- Certificate
- Approved
- Parents guide
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 1-1/2 days to complete shooting it. According to Dmytryk, the preview audiences found Laughton's close-ups 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 husbands hands without any pause in her lines.
- Quotes
Egbert Floud: I can be pushed just so fur and no futher.
- 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
Top review
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.
helpful•312
- Chuck-185
- May 20, 2002
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Ein Butler in Amerika
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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