The Ruling Class is a 1972 British film, an adaptation of the satirical play by Peter Barnes , which talks about the mentally abnormal English aristocrat Jack Gourney (played by Peter O'Toole ). The film also starred: Alastair Sim , Arthur Low , Harry Andrews , Corel Brown , Michael Bryant , Nigel Green , William Mervyn , Carolyn Seymour and James Willers . The producer of the film was Jules Bak , and directed by Peter Medak . Peter O'Toole described this film as “ a comedy with tragic relief” [1] .
| Ruling class | |
|---|---|
| The ruling class | |
 | |
| Genre | tragicomedy |
| Producer | Peter Medak |
| Producer | Jules bac Jack hawkins |
| Author script | Peter Barnes |
| In the main cast | Peter O'Toole Alastair Sim |
| Operator | Ken Hodgis |
| Composer | John Cameron Edward Elgar |
| Film company | Keep films limited |
| Duration | 154 minutes |
| Budget | $ 1.4 million |
| A country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Year | 1972 |
| IMDb | ID 0069198 |
Story
After a meeting in the House of Lords, the thirteenth lord Gurney of the house asks the butler to put up a ladder and hang a noose on the ceiling. When the job is done, the lord sends the butler for whiskey and soda, and he puts on a ballet tutu, gets up on the stairs and makes a solemn speech, and then sticks his head into the noose. He jumps down the stairs, tries to reach her with his feet, but only pushes her and dies.
The notary publicizes the testament of Gurney, who bequeaths all his inheritance and the title of the fourteenth Lord Gourney to his son Jack, who sincerely considers himself Jesus Christ and is being treated in a psychiatric clinic. Jack arrives at his father’s mansion and runs around the house and garden. Other lords do not like this at all, and they decide to marry Jack, get a son from him, set him on the throne, and declare Jack crazy.
However, Jack says he is married to a “lady with a camellia,” a fictional character. Then the Lords send a woman to Jack, who must impersonate a "lady with camellias." Jack believes her, and soon the wedding will take place, and on the wedding night, Jack fertilizes her. On the night of the birth of the child, the Lords decide on a dangerous experiment. After him, Jack thinks he is Jack the Ripper: Jack kills women, which is perceived as a completely normal phenomenon, and at the end of the film becomes a member of the House of Lords.
Production, Output, and Criticism
The script was written by Peter Burns based on his play, but he made several significant changes there. The film’s budget was $ 1.4 million, and Peter O'Toole starred for free (it was his donation to the film “ A Man from La Mancha ”, Released by the same studio later that year).
This is the first British film to be seen at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972 , but critics are divided. The New York Times described the film as "amazing entertainment," and the Los Angeles Times called it very stretched. Despite the controversy, the film received widespread acclaim, and Peter O'Toole's performance was awarded the National Council of Film Critics Award. Studio Avco Embassy Picture later bought the rights to this film and cut it for 6 minutes - the total duration of the film was 154 minutes [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 The Independent on Sunday (London), June 23, 2001 (unavailable link) . Date of treatment September 23, 2007. Archived January 7, 2008.