''The Ruling Class'' is a 1972 British

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

film. It is an adaptation of Peter Barnes'

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, f ...

'' The Ruling Class'' which tells the story of a paranoid schizophrenic British nobleman (played by

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old V ...

) who inherits a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

. The film co-stars

Alastair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his ...

William Mervyn William Mervyn Pickwoad (3 January 1912 – 6 August 1976) was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the bishop in the clerical comedy ''All Gas and Gaiters'', the old gentleman in '' The Railway Children'' and Inspector Charles Rose ...

Coral Browne Coral Edith Browne (23 July 1913 – 29 May 1991) was an Australian-American stage and screen actress. Her extensive theatre credits included Broadway productions of ''Macbeth'' (1956), '' The Rehearsal'' (1963) and '' The Right Honourable Gent ...

Harry Andrews Harry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989) was an English actor known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in ''The Hill'' (1965) alongside Sean ...

, Carolyn Seymour,

James Villiers James Michael Hyde Villiers (29 September 1933 – 18 January 1998) was an English character actor. He was particularly known for his plummy voice and ripe articulation. He was a great-grandson of the 4th Earl of Clarendon. Early life Villie ...

and

Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 – 15 April 1982) was an English actor. His acting career spanned 36 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom '' D ...

. It was produced by

Jules Buck Jules Buck (July 30, 1917 – July 19, 2001) was an American film producer. Career He was a cameraman for John Huston's war documentaries and began producing as assistant to Mark Hellinger. In 1952 he moved to Paris, then London, where he creat ...

and directed by

Peter Medak Peter Medak (born Medák Péter, 23 December 1937) is a Hungarian-born film director and television director of British and American productions. Early life Born in Budapest, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Med ...

. The film has been described as a "commercial failure ...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

has since become a cult classic"; Peter O'Toole described it as "a comedy with

tragic Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ...

relief".

Plot

Following the death from accidental asphyxiation of Ralph Gurney, the 13th

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particu ...

of Gurney, Jack Gurney becomes the 14th Earl of Gurney. Jack, a paranoid schizophrenic, thinks he is

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

and shocks his family and friends with his talk of returning to the world to bring it love and charity, not to mention his penchant for breaking out into song and dance routines and sleeping upright on a cross. When faced with unpalatable facts (such as his identity as the 14th Earl), Jack puts them in his "

galvanized Galvanization or galvanizing ( also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are submerged ...

pressure cooker Pressure cooking is the process of cooking food under high pressure steam and water or a water-based cooking liquid, in a sealed vessel known as a ''pressure cooker''. High pressure limits boiling, and creates higher cooking temperatures whic ...

" and they disappear. His unscrupulous uncle, Sir Charles, marries him to his mistress, Grace, in hopes of producing an heir and putting his nephew in an institution; the plan fails, however, when Grace falls in love with Jack. Jack gains another ally in Sir Charles' wife, Lady Claire, who hates her husband and befriends Jack just to spite him. She also begins sleeping with Jack's

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

, Dr. Herder, to persuade him to cure Jack quickly. Herder attempts to cure him through intensive

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

, to no avail; Jack so thoroughly believes that he is the "God of Love" that he dismisses any suggestion to the contrary as insane. The night his wife goes into labour, Herder makes a last effort at curing Jack; he introduces Jack to McKyle, a patient who also believes himself to be Christ – or as the patient puts it, "The High Voltage Messiah" – who subjects an unwitting Jack to

electroshock therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive the ...

. The plan works, and as Grace is delivered of a healthy baby boy, Jack proclaims "I'm Jack, I'm Jack". His family takes this to mean that he has returned to his senses, but in reality he now believes himself to be

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...

. Sir Charles sends for a court-appointed psychiatrist to evaluate Jack, confident that his nephew will be sent to an asylum for life. He is once again thwarted when the psychiatrist discovers that Jack was a fellow Old Etonian, bonds with him and declares him sane. Jack murders Lady Claire in a fit of rage when the aging woman tries to seduce him. He frames the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

family butler, Tucker, for the murder. Sir Charles suffers a debilitating stroke shortly afterward, and Dr. Herder has a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

upon realizing what Jack has done. Jack assumes his place in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

with a fiery speech in favour of

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

and corporal punishment. His colleagues applaud wildly, completely unaware the speech is the ranting of a lunatic. When seen through his eyes, his colleagues – singing "

Onward, Christian Soldiers "Onward, Christian Soldiers" is a 19th-century English hymn. The words were written by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865, and the music was composed by Arthur Sullivan in 1871. Sullivan named the tune "St Gertrude," after the wife of his friend Erne ...

" – appear to be rotting corpses. Their enthusiasm contrasts with the unfavourable reaction when Jack believed he was Christ. That night, he murders Grace for expressing her love for him. Her terrified scream is matched by the sound of a baby cooing "I'm Jack, I'm Jack", suggesting that their son – the

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

– has inherited Jack's madness.

Cast

– Jack Gurney, 14th Earl of Gurney *

– Lady Claire *

– Sir Charles *

– Dinsdale, Sir Charles and Lady Claire's son *

– Tucker *

– Bishop Lampton * Carolyn Seymour – Grace * Michael Bryant – Dr. Herder *

Graham Crowden Clement Graham Crowden (30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his many appearances in television comedy dramas and films, often playing eccentric "offbeat" scientist, teacher and doctor characters. Ea ...

– Dr. Truscott *

– Ralph Gurney, 13th Earl of Gurney * Hugh Owens – The toastmaster * Hugh Burden – Matthew Peake *

Henry Woolf Henry Woolf, (20 January 1930 – 11 November 2021) was a British actor, theatre director, and teacher of acting, drama, and theatre who lived in Canada. He was a longtime friend and collaborator of 2005 Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, having st ...

, Griffith Davies, Oliver McGreevy – Inmates *

Kay Walsh Kathleen "Kay" Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband film director David Lean, with whom she worked on prestige productions such as ...

– Mrs. Piggott-Jones *

Patsy Byrne Patricia Anne Thirza Byrne (13 July 1933 – 17 June 2014) was an English actress, best known for her role as "Nursie" in '' Blackadder II'' as well as Malcolm's domineering Mother, Mrs Stoneway in all seven series of the ITV comedy '' Watchin ...

– Mrs. Treadwell *

Nigel Green Nigel McGown Green (15 October 192415 May 1972) was an English character actor. Because of his strapping build, commanding height () and regimental demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic 1960s ...

– McKyle *

Cyril Appleton Cyril Appleton (born 29 July 1930) is a British stage, television and film actor whose acting career spanned four decades. Appleton was born in Wigan in Lancashire in 1930. His first television role was Court Usher in the series ''Misleading Ca ...

Leslie Schofield Leslie Schofield (born 12 December 1938) is an English actor who is most famous in the UK for his role as Jeff Healy in the soap opera ''EastEnders'', whom he played from 1997 to 2000. His character was famous for unsuccessfully proposing to ...

– McKyle's assistants * Joan Cooper – Nurse Brice *

Declan Mulholland Thomas Declan Mulholland (6 December 1932 – 29 June 1999) was a Northern Irish character actor of film and television. He is known for his multiple appearances in ''Doctor Who'' and for his deleted portrayal of Jabba the Hutt in ''Star Wars'' ...

– A poacher *

James Grout James David Grout (22 October 1927 – 24 June 2012) was an English actor of radio and television. Early life Grout was born in London, the son of Beatrice Anne and William Grout. He trained to be an actor at RADA. Career His BBC Radio 4 appear ...

– Inspector Brockett *

James Hazeldine James Anthony HazeldineBillington, Michael. "Obituary – James Hazeldine. Gifted actor whose TV fame never dulled his love of theatre". In ''The Guardian'', 20 Dec 2002. (4 April 1947 – 17 December 2002) was a British television, stage an ...

– Fraser *

Ronald Adam General Sir Ronald Forbes Adam, 2nd Baronet, (30 October 1885 – 26 December 1982) was a senior British Army officer. He had an important influence on the conduct of the British Army during the Second World War as a result of his long tenure ...

, Julian D'Albie,

Llewellyn Rees Walter Llewellyn Rees (18 June 1901 – 7 January 1994) was an English actor. Career His television roles included appearances on ''Doctor Who'' (in the serial '' The Deadly Assassin'' (1976) playing the assassinated Time Lord President), '' T ...

– Lords *

Kenneth Benda Charles Kenneth Anton Benda (3 June 1902 – 26 July 1978) was an English actor often on television. He appeared in British television series ''No Hiding Place'', '' The Saint'', '' The Avengers'', ''Z-Cars'', ''The Prisoner'', ''Doctor Who'', '' ...

– Lord Chancellor

Production

O'Toole held the rights to Barnes's play;

approached O'Toole repeatedly about exercising those rights. According to Medak, the project got started one night that he and O'Toole were returning from the theatre, which "meant stopping at every pub between

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...

and

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, and it didn't matter if it was after closing hour because he would knock on the door and just say 'Peter's here,' and every door opened for him". Later on, at O'Toole's apartment, the deeply inebriated actor phoned his manager and said, "I'm with the crazy Hungarian and I know I'm drunk but I give you 24 hours to set this movie up." The next day, Medak received a call from United Artists and a deal was put together to shoot ''The Ruling Class''. Peter Barnes adapted the screenplay from his 1968 original, with few major changes. Filmed at the sprawling estate of

Harlaxton Manor Harlaxton is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the edge of the Vale of Belvoir and just off the A607, south-west from Grantham and north-east from Melton Mowbray. History A ...

, with the interiors reconstructed on sound stages, the production cost $1.4 million, with O'Toole working for free (he was instead paid a great deal for the big-budget ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cerva ...

'', released by the same studio later the same year). ''The Ruling Class'' was the official British entry at the

1972 Cannes Film Festival The 25th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 19 May 1972. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian films ''The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' by Elio Petri and '' The Mattei Affair'' by Francesco Rosi. The festival opened with the French fi ...

Reception

The film divided critics. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described it as "fantastic fun" and ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it "brilliantly caustic", but the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' called it "

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class ...

-slow, shrill and gesticulating" and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' said it was a "sledgehammer

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

Jay Cocks John C. "Jay" Cocks Jr. (born January 12, 1944) is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is a graduate of Kenyon College.Alastair Sim Alastair George Bell Sim, CBE (9 October 1900 – 19 August 1976) was a Scottish character actor who began his theatrical career at the age of thirty and quickly became established as a popular West End performer, remaining so until his ...

and

, but reserved most of his praise for O'Toole, saying his performance is of "such intensity that it may trouble sleep as surely as it will haunt memory. All actors can play insanity; few play it well. O'Toole begins where other actors stop, with the unfocused gaze, the abrupt bursts of frenzied high spirits and precipitous depressions. Funny, disturbing, finally devastating, O'Toole finds his way into the workings of madness, revealing the anger and consuming anguish at the source." John Simon described The Ruling Class as a "delightful satire". Despite mixed critical reaction to the film, O'Toole's performance was universally praised and garnered numerous prestigious awards and prizes, including an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

. Reportedly, when

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

, its North American distributor, told producer

that it would be cutting the film extensively for US release, Buck punched the company's London representative and bought the film back.

Avco Embassy Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution studio responsible for such films as ''The Graduate'', '' The Produc ...

then bought the distribution rights and cut the film's 154-minute running time by six minutes. The film was banned by the South African Publications Control Board. In a review nearly 30 years after ''The Ruling Class'' was first released, Ian Christie said the film is "unashamedly theatrical, and it emerges from a particularly interesting period in English culture when theatre and cinema together were mining a rich vein of flamboyant self-analysis. Many stage works of this period cry out for filmic extension—in fact, Medak had just filmed a very different play that mingled fantasy and reality by a writer often bracketed with Barnes, Peter Nichols’ ''

A Day in the Death of Joe Egg A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

''. But what makes ''The Ruling Class'' exceptional (and difficult for some) are its outrageous mixing of genres and its sheer ambition. Not only are there allusions to

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and

Marlowe Marlowe may refer to: Name * Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist, poet and translator * Philip Marlowe, fictional hardboiled detective created by author Raymond Chandler * Marlowe (name), including list of people and characters w ...

, but also to

Wilde Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * '' Wilde'' a 1997 biographical film about Oscar Wilde * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canad ...

and

Whitehall farce The Whitehall farces were a series of five long-running comic stage plays at the Whitehall Theatre in London, presented by the actor-manager Brian Rix, in the 1950s and 1960s. They were in the low comedy tradition of British farce, following the ...

; to the gentility of

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...

, with a plot that distantly evokes that other great

Kind Hearts and Coronets ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime black comedy film. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ''Israel Rank: The Auto ...

'', and to Hammer's gore-fests."

Awards and nominations

* 1972 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures - Won NBR Award (Best Actor) - Peter O'Toole *

- Nominated for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

* 1973 Academy Awards - Nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...

- Peter O'Toole * 1973 Golden Globe Awards - Nominated for the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

for Best English Language Foreign Film

Subsequent history

In 1974, following an earlier-than-normal TV screening of the film on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

that broke a

gentlemen's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding agreement between two or more parties. It is typically oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or th ...

allowing a 'window' of theatrical distribution before any TV screening, the UK's Cinematograph Exhibitors' Association (the theatrical distributors' association) recommended its members blacklist all future movies produced by Jules Buck.

Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution studio responsible for such films as '' The Graduate'', '' The Prod ...

re-released the film in May 1983.

References

External links

* * *
A Grade One, Galilee Miracle
from yoism.org, with a film clip in which the O'Toole character claims that he is Jesus Christ and presents a "miracle"
''The Ruling Class''
an essay by Ian Christie at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruling Class, The Films directed by Peter Medak British black comedy films 1972 comedy-drama films British films based on plays British comedy-drama films 1972 films British plays British satirical films Films set in country houses Films set in England Films set in London Films scored by John Cameron Embassy Pictures films United Artists films 1972 comedy films 1972 drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films