Ruggles of Red Gap

In Paris, the Earl of Bunstead (Roland Young) loses his faithful manservant Ruggles (Charles Laughton) in a poker game… to the boorish Egbert Floud (the confusingly named Charlie Ruggles) of Red Gap, Washington and his socially ambitious wife Effie (Mary Boland).  Egbert resists Effie’s attempts to class him up, and Ruggles is caught in the middle.  The situation gets more complicated when they return to Red Gap, and a comedy of manners becomes a comedy of errors as Ruggles inadvertently gets mistaken for a society figure himself.  He also starts to fall for the humble widow Mrs. Judson (Zasu Pitts).  Where will Ruggles land on the social map in this new land of opportunity?

First, let’s get the confounding nomenclature out of the way.  For the remainder of this review, when I say “Ruggles” I mean the Laughton character, and when I say Ruggles I mean the actor Charlie Ruggles.  Okay?  Okay.

I’m of two minds about this film.  At first I hated it.  Loathed it.  I kept waiting for something, anything to amuse me.  But there was nothing funny about Ruggles’s uncultured bumpkin routine, with his obnoxious whoopin’ and hollerin’ or his way of greeting an old friend with a series of “Why, you ol’ ____!” (horny toad, so-and-so, and so forth).  Nor did I find any humor in Boland’s flamboyantly stuffy pretensions.  I wasn’t even tickled by Laughton’s frustrated and disgusted facial expressions, though he pulls them off quite nicely.  I was dreading where this was heading, imagining it to be the downhome earthy American folk teach “Ruggles” a thing or two about not being so gosh-darned uptight.  When Laughton — doing some passable (but barely) drunk acting — started his own cries of “Yippeeeee!” my heart sank.

In a way, it is about “Ruggles’s” loosening up, but in fairly unexpected and rather charming ways.  The second act and especially the third won me over.  Although I’m not sure I want to sit through first 30 minutes again, I even warmed up to Ruggles eventually.  As “Ruggles” goes through his process of self-actualization, his interactions with the other characters are not only funnier but far more satisfying.  His kinship with Egbert becomes touching, and even more touching is his relationship with Mrs. Judson (a delightful performance by Pitts).  The film takes on Capra-esque tones, but without as much corn.  It’s not so much the triumph of the little guy over the fatcats, but of the individual over himself.  Without Laughton (thinner than I’ve ever seen him) in the role it would have been a lesser picture for sure, he’s a joy.  Except for that first act.  I almost considered the “Very Good” rating, but that initial hurdle is a rough one and diminishes the whole.  The rest of it is a lot of fun, though.  Rating: Good (77)

IMDb