Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)

In this fish out of water tale, Charles Laughton is a gentleman’s gentleman whose gentleman loses him in a poker game to a bunch of nouveau riche Americans. Laughton’s Ruggles finds himself spirited away to rural Washington where he unwittingly finds himself a local celebrity and embracing American ideas of freedom and self-determination. It’s a sweet tale where Laughton really sells the loosening of his prescribed British service role to finding his own way in the world. 

Oscar Nomination: Best Picture