The Ruling Class (1972)

Harry Andrews: 13th Earl of Gurney

Photos 

Quotes 

• 13th Earl of Gurney : A judge can't be unreasonable, so how can he be a lover?

• [first lines] 

  Toastmaster : My Lords. Gentlemen. Pray silence for Ralph Douglas Christopher Alexander Gurney, the thirteenth Earl of Gurney.

  13th Earl of Gurney : The aim of the Society of Saint George is to keep Gurney a memory of England. We were once the rulers of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Ruled not by superior force or skill, but by sheer presence.

• 13th Earl of Gurney : I give you: England. This teeming womb of privilege. This feudal state, who's shores beat back the turbulent sea of foreign anarchy. This ancient fortress, still commanded by the noblest of our royal blood. This ancient land of ritual. This precious stone set in the silver sea.

  Toastmaster : The toast is: England, this precious stone set in the silver sea.

• 13th Earl of Gurney : Englishmen like to hear the truth about themselves.

• 13th Earl of Gurney : Not one of 'em buried in England. Never seen their graves.

  Tucker : You could do that on your honeymoon, my Lord.

• 13th Earl of Gurney : It's Miss Grace Shelly.

  Tucker : Is she anyone, my Lord?

  13th Earl of Gurney : No one. But, Charles recommends her. She's good breeding stock. Family foals well, sires mostly. There's always room at the top for brains, money or a good pair of titties.

  Tucker : Miss Shelley seems well endowed, my Lord.

• 13th Earl of Gurney : Close. It's getting close. I can feel her hot breath. Wonderful, wonderful. One slip. Wonderful. The worms have the best of it. They dine off the tenderest joints. Juicy breasts, white thighs.

• 13th Earl of Gurney : Oh, a man must have vision! How else could an English judge and peer to the realm, take moonlit trips to Marrakesh and Ponder's End. See six vestal virgins smoking cigars, Moses in bedroom slippers, naked bosoms floating past Formosa.