RUGGLES OF RED GAP (1935) B/W 76m dir: Leo McCarey

w/Charles Laughton, Mary Boland, Charlie Ruggles, ZaSu Pitts, Roland Young, Leila Hyams, Maude Eburne, Lucien Littlefield, Leota Lorraine, James Burke

Hilarious tale of the English valet (Laughton) who suddenly finds himself in the American West after he is won in a poker game. Laughton, at his best, and a superb cast make this one of the all-time great comedies.

The Movie Guide calls the film "a great source of pleasure" and adds: "Laughton had already shown himself to be a superb dramatic actor in MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY and HENRY VIII, but few knew that he could be funny as well as pompous, underplay as well as emote, and show a subtle comedic side, which he did masterfully in this film. The versatile Leo McCarey deftly directs the picture, making it one of his best films. Harry Leon Wilson's 1915 novel was first done by Essanay [Studios] as a silent starring Taylor Holmes in 1918, and again by Paramount in 1923, with a youthful Edward Everett Horton in the lead. The picture was remade as FANCY PANTS, starring Bob Hope, but the remake was a tepid imitation of McCarey's hilarious version."