The Ruling Class

1972 2h 34m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 102

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When the Earl of Gurney dies in a cross-dressing accident, his schizophrenic son, Jack, inherits the Gurney estate. Jack is not the average nobleman; he sings and dances across the estate and thinks he is Jesus reincarnated. Believing that Jack is mentally unfit to own the estate, the Gurney family plots to steal Jack's inheritance. As their outrageous schemes fail, the family strives to cure Jack of his bizarre behavior, with disastrous results.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Peter O'Toole
Jack 14th Earl of Gurney
Alastair Sim
Bishop Lampton
Arthur Lowe
Tucker
Harry Andrews
13th Earl of Gurney
Coral Browne
Lady Claire Gurney
Michael Bryant
Dr. Herder
Nigel Green
McKyle
William Mervyn
Sir Charles Gurney

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Medak
Writers: Peter Barnes
Languages: German, English, French, Italian, Latin
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 154 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: German, English, French, Italian, Latin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Medak, shot by Ken Hodges. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Cameron. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ray Lovejoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter O'Toole and Alastair Sim and Arthur Lowe carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0069198 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Medak directs. Ken Hodges behind the camera. John Cameron scores. Ray Lovejoy cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in German, English, French, Italian, Latin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 154 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
254 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 5 languages: German, English, French, Italian, Latin.
4Directed by Peter Medak, shot by Ken Hodges. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Cameron. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ray Lovejoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Peter O'Toole and Alastair Sim and Arthur Lowe carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0069198 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "schizophrenia", "great britain", "asylum", "delusion".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ken Hodges
Original score: John Cameron
Editing: Ray Lovejoy
Production design: Peter Murton
Costume design: Ruth Myers
Makeup / hair: Eric Allwright
Runtime: 154 min · 2h 34m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Ruling Class (1972)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Peter Medak

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-05-28
★ 7/10
The isn't actually a very good film, I felt - but it is does feature an extraordinary performance from Peter O'Toole as the "Earl of Gurney", about to take his seat in the house of Lords after his father has an untimely accident involving a noose and a tutu. His family are horrified at the prospect. Why? Well, that's because the new peer happens to believe he is Jesus. He spends much of his day contemplating or sleeping erect on his cruciform ornament in the great hall whilst the remainder of his rather eccentric family, and their boozy butter "Tucker" (Arthur Lowe) go about their business. They decide the only way to deal with him is to marry him off, beget an heir, then parcel him off to the asylum so they can resume their ordinary lives... What's probably most notable about this very theatrical black comedy is that it deals with just about everything from religion to vivisection, blasphemy (for many) to insinuendo (that's insidious innuendo in case you didn't know) and almost certainly would not be made now, 50 years on - being about as politically incorrect as it conceivable to be. British cinema always seems to take rather dim view of the church when it comes to comedy, and here Alastair Sim nobly continues with that tradition; Lowe is super as the butler - who's inherited £30,00 from the deceased so is in clover (when he is sober) and the two performances from William Mervyn and Coral Browne as his principal protagonists are amusing as their dastardly scheme takes shape. Sadly, though, it's all way too intense a pace to sustain, and despite the Oscar-nominated efforts of the star, the story begins to run out of steam quite quickly and the joke to wear a bit thin. There is nothing at all subtle about the humour and after a while I just stopped laughing. It is a beautifully shot film, the former Astor residence of Cliveden providing the setting for the ancestral family home, and the score from John Cameron mixes the original with just about everything from sea shanty fo high opera to ably support this preposterous swipe at the class system. It is too long, indeed it is far too long, but at times it shows creative British film making at it's most innovative and amusing and fans of O'Toole will probably appreciate (as would he, I suspect) the wedding scenes near the end... Fun, but over-stretched.

Production companies