The Ruling Class is a 1972 film aaptation of Peter Barnes' satirical stage play which tells the story of a paranoid schizophrenic British nobleman (played by Peter O'Toole) who inherits a peerage. The co-stars include Alastair Sim as his uncle, an addled (but not insane) bishop, William Mervyn as Sir Charles, Coral Browne as his wife, Harry Andrews as the 13th Earl of Gurney, Carolyn Seymour as Grace, James Villiers as his dim-witted, foppish cousin and Arthur Lowe as Tucker the butler. It was produced by Jules Buck and directed by Peter Medak. Peter O'Toole described the movie as "a comedy with tragic relief".