Earl of Puddlestone is a 1940 comedy film directed by Gus Meins.
Gus Meins was a German-American film director. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Meins first became notable as the director of a number of silent short subjects film series, including the Buster Brown comedies of the 1920s. He is best known as senior director of Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies from... 1934 to 1936, and also as director of Laurel and Hardy's Babes in Toyland. His assistant director was a young Gordon Douglas, who became senior director in 1936 when Meins left Our Gang for other directing jobs at Roach. Meins left Roach in 1937 over creative differences. In the summer of 1940, Meins faced prosecution of "morals charges", having been accused of sex offenses against six youths. He left home on the night of Wednesday, August 1 telling his son, Douglas: "You probably won't see me again." Meins was found dead in his car on August 4, reportedly having committed suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide days earlier.more