High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Ruling Class is a 1972 British black comedy film. It is an adaptation 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 film costars 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.