The Ruling Class (film)

The Ruling Class
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Medak
Written byPeter Barnes
Based onThe Ruling Class
by Peter Barnes
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyKen Hodges
Edited byRay Lovejoy
Music byJohn Cameron
Distributed by
Release date
  • 13 September 1972 (1972-09-13)
Running time
154 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.4 million

The Ruling Class is a 1972 British black comedy film.[1] It is an adaptation of Peter Barnes' satirical 1968 stage play The Ruling Class, which tells the story of a paranoid schizophrenic British nobleman (played by Peter O'Toole) who inherits a peerage. The film co-stars Alastair Sim, William Mervyn, Coral Browne, Harry Andrews, Carolyn Seymour, James Villiers and Arthur Lowe. It was produced by Jules Buck and directed by Peter Medak.

The film has been described as a "commercial failure ... [that] has since become a cult classic";[2] Peter O'Toole described it as "a comedy with tragic relief".[3]

  1. ^ Variety film review; 19 April 1972, page 18.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference tcm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The Independent on Sunday (London), 23rd July 2001". 23 July 2001. Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2007.