Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)

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A Townsman Comes to Mr. Deeds

Ruggles is a delightful twist on the Mr. Deeds style of fish-out-of-water comedy, where an unsophisticated protagonist scandalizes polite society. Marmaduke Ruggles (Charles Laughton) is a gentleman's gentleman, fourth-generation butler to the Earl of Burnstead, whose feckless master loses him in a poker game to a rich American frontiersman and his pretentious wife.

It's hilarious, for the most part, though its insistence on pushing themes of equality means a degeneration into patriotic masturbation by its end. The lowest point involves a lengthy recitation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Still, it's a lot of fun.

- Sam - 2007-08-24 09:26:50