Ruggles of Red Gap Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Ruggles of Red Gap Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 31, 2012

Nominated for Oscar for Best Picture, Leo McCarey's "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new video interview with Charles Laughton biographer Simon Callow; three adaptations made for radio broadcast; and a promotional 78rpm recording of Charles Laughton reciting Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The disc also arrives with a 32-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic and filmmaker Dan Sallitt and rare archival imagery. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

I have something to tell you, Sir.

The beginning of the Century, Paris. The Earl of Burnstead (Roland Young, And Then There Were None) bets and loses his trusted butler, Marmaduke Ruggles (Charles Laughton, Island of Lost Souls), in a game of poker. The winner is Egbert Floud (Charles Ruggles, Bringing Up Baby), a wealthy American visiting the French capital together with his wife, Effie (Mary Boland, The Women).

On the day after the game, Ruggles’ services are officially transferred to Egbert. He does not need them and attempts to treat him as a good old friend, but Effie insists that the two men behave as they should, hoping that as time passes by Ruggles will manage to culture her husband.

Eventually, Egbert, Effie and Ruggles head back to Red Gap, Washington. After a long and exhausting trip, they arrive home and Egbert immediately introduces Ruggles to the local community as a retired colonel from the British Army. The ‘news’ about the special guest is quickly reported in the local newspaper.

Soon after, Ruggles impresses the residents of Red Gap when he recites President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in a pub. Someone suggests that he ought to run for president, mayor, or another important job. After some soul searching, Ruggles decides to open up a restaurant and teach the residents of Red Gap how to dine in style.

While negotiating a business loan, Ruggles is told that his former master is on his way to Red Gap to visit his poker friend. The news creates quite a bit of chaos as Effie becomes seriously concerned that Ruggles’ true identity will be exposed and her reputation destroyed.

There are parts of Leo McCarey’s film that are very charming. Ruggles’ attempts to continue acting as a butler after he is transferred to Egbert produce some truly entertaining debates that will surely put a smile on many faces. There is one particular sequence where Ruggles, Egbert and Effie visit an expensive tailor shop that is simply perfect. Effie’s sporadic attempts to culture her brash husband are also hilarious.

The scattered patriotic overtones, however, are very much out of sync - or at least they feel so today. The obvious highlights about the values and principles that make America a great nation, for instance, are delivered with a degree of seriousness that pushes the film close to essentially becoming a parody.

Thankfully, Ruggles’ character transformation is very convincing. It is easy to understand how he feels and why he makes mistakes while learning about America. The same is also true about his new friends, who also undergo important character transformation and learn a few things about the Old World, and supposedly culture.

Laughton is undoubtedly the star of the film. His lines and manners are excellent. The supporting cast, however, also matches the quality of his performance. Boland and Ruggles' acting in particular infuse the film with a very unique flavor.

Ruggles of Red Gap is based on the popular novel by Harry Leon Wilson. The film was completed in 1935, but there were two early silent versions released before it – the first was directed by Lawrence C. Windom in 1918, while the second was directed by James Cruze in 1923. In 1950, George Marshall also directed the musical Fancy Pants, with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball, which was also inspired by the same novel.

Ruggles of Red Gap Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Leo McCarey's Ruggles of Red Gap arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

Generally speaking, I certainly have more positive than negative things to say about the high-definition transfer. Portions of the film, for instance, boast rather pleasing detail and good clarity (see screencapture #5). Color grading is also convincing. Aside from a few normal for a film of this age shaky frame transitions, there are no serious stability issues either. A good dose of grain has been retained, but some of it is also mixed with light noise, which is one of the weaknesses the transfer has. This mixture of grain and noise often shifts and pulsates and occasionally creates some problems (take a look at Ruggles' face in screencapture #15). Fortunately, there are only a few selected close-ups where the side effects created by the noise become distracting. Additionally, some light edge-enhancement occasionally creeps in (see screencapture #17), but it never becomes a serious issue of concern. Finally, there are tiny flecks, marks, and even lines that pop up from time to time, but overall the high-definition transfer is indeed free of serious age-related issues. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Ruggles of Red Gap Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The lossless track is very good. There is virtually no background hiss and problematic pops and cracks. Naturally, the dialog is clean and easy to follow. The range of nuanced dynamics is limited, but this should not be surprising for a film from the '30s. Lastly, there are no high-frequency distortions or audio dropouts to report in this review.

Ruggles of Red Gap Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Simon Callow - Charles Laughton biographer Simon Callow (Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor) recalls his initial impressions of Ruggles of Red Gap and discusses the film's production history and unique qualities. In English, not subtitled. (18 min, 1080p).

• Ruggles on the Radio - three adaptations of Ruggles of Red Gap made for radio broadcast featuring Charles Laughton and Charlie Ruggles:
  
  -- The Lux Radio Theater, July 10, 1939. Audio only. Without subtitles. (58 min).
  -- The Screen Guild Theater, December 17, 1945. Audio only. Without subtitles. (30 min).
  -- Academy Award Theater, June 8, 1946. Audio only. Without subtitles. (32 min).

• Gettysburg Address - a promotional 78rpm recording of Charles Laughton reciting Lincoln's Gettysburg Address which was released in 1937. Audio only. Without subtitles. (3 min).

• Booklet - a 32-page illustrated booklet featuring an essay by Dan Sallitt (the author is a filmmaker and critic living in New York, whose writings have appeared in the Chicago Reader, Slate, Wide Angle, Senses of Cinema, etc.) and rare archival imagery.

Ruggles of Red Gap Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is great to see yet another film directed by Leo McCarey transition to Blu-ray. This time around it is the entertaining Ruggles of Red Gap, starring the great Charles Laughton. With My Son John also coming up, I think there is a good chance that my favorite McCarey film, The Awful Truth, will also eventually appear in high-definition. Eureka Entertainment's presentation of Ruggles of Red Gap is pleasing, but I noticed a few issues with their transfer. Nevertheless, this is a release worth picking up. RECOMMENDED.