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The Ruling Class is a 1972 British black comedy. It is an adaptation of Peter Barnes' satirical stage play The Ruling Class which tells the story of a paranoid schizophrenic British nobleman (played by Peter O'Toole) who inherits an Earldom (a high-ranking aristocratic title).
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.In a review nearly 30 years after The Ruling Class was first released, critic Ian Christie said the film is "unashamedly theatrical, and it emerges from a particularly interesting period in English culture when theatre and cinema together were mining a rich vein of flamboyant self-analysis.
Many stage works of this period cry out for filmic extension—in fact, Medak had just filmed a very different play that mingled fantasy and reality by a writer often bracketed with Barnes, Peter Nichols’ A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. But what makes The Ruling Class exceptional (and difficult for some) are its outrageous mixing of genres and its sheer ambition. Not only are there allusions to Shakespeare and Marlowe, but also to Wilde and Whitehall farce; to the gentility of Ealing Studios, with a plot that distantly evokes that other great black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, and to Hammer's gore-fests.
Lurcio becomes involved in attempts to prevent Pompeii from going to war with the Barbarians. One of his anti-war activities involves trying to persuade the women of Pompeii to deny conjugal rights if their husbands get involved in the war.
Chauvelin's scheme to capture the Countess de Monsants before she can escape to England succeeds and she and her servant fall into his trap. Sir Percy hears about it and hatches his own scheme, rescuing the Countess and her servant from under Chauvelin's nose and smuggling them to England. Outraged, Chauvelin travels to England, planning to kidnap the countess and bring her back to France. Meanwhile, the Prince has hired a Chinese decorator to remodel a wing of the palace, and Sir Percy decides to use the man in his plan to thwart Chauvelin's plot.
Hogan sneaks out of camp to a local German Hofbrau House to get the details of a nearby German army unit.
Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War is a British comedy-drama film from 2002, directed by Ian Sharp and starring Pauline Collins, John Alderton and Peter Capaldi. It is based on a 1993 novel with the same name by Vernon Coleman.
It is the story about a woman, Thelma Caldicot, who is coerced by her manipulative son Derek and daughter-in-law to move into a run-down nursing home, owned by Derek's employer, after the death of her bullying husband. Derek also gets her to sign over her house to him. However, she doesn't like it at the nursing home and shows her frustration. After having been medicated by the staff to stay calm, she finally incites her fellow inmates to revolt.
An uncle's will dictates that Ludicrus Sextus must have a child named after him, doubts about being up to the job send Lurcio to the local sorceress, and Erotica has something to hide from her parents.
Mr Grace has surprises in store after learning some new tricks on his holiday to America and is keen to implement changes.
Joan's mother comes to visit and Eddie puts his foot down and kicks her out. Joan leaves with her.
Innocent newlyweds are falsely arrested and sentenced to death. The Scarlet Pimpernel comes to the rescue.
Stars: Tom Breneman, Bonita Granville, Beulah Bondi, Zasu Pitts
Director: Harold D. Schuster
Based on the old radio series of the same name, we see the lives of several people attending a popular radio show, including a young couple who meet and fall in love at the show. Great musical acts including Nat King Cole and Spike Jones, but ZaSu Pitts almost steals the show!
When a family visits Grandma's house on Christmas Eve, they leave their dog at home alone. And when burglars try to take the presents from under the tree, the dog must use every trick it knows to stop them.
(2013)