The Ruling Class

Sep 15 1972 PG 2h 34m
Comedy, Drama, Musical

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.

Plot

A member of the House of Lords dies in a shockingly silly way, leaving his estate to his son. Unfortunately, his son is insane: he thinks he is Jesus Christ. The other somewhat-more respectable members of their family plot to steal the estate from him; murder and mayhem ensue.

Written by

Peter Barnes

Directed by

Peter Medak

Cast

Peter O'Toole, Alastair Sim, Arthur Lowe

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United Kingdom

Production Companies

Keep Films

Languages

Latin, English, Français, Italiano, Deutsch

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 4 nominations total

Trailers
Criterion Trailer 132: The Ruling Class
Scores
# of Votes
7,015
Average Rating
7.2 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA