The Loved One [Blu-ray]

Overview

The satire in Evelyn Waugh's darkly comic novel The Loved One was originally double-edged. The book was not only an attack on the Southern California funeral industry but also a lampoon of Hollywood's "British colony," those clannish, cricket-playing English actors of years gone by who bemoaned the artificiality of Tinseltown while eagerly accepting the demeaning and insignificant movie roles they were offered. The film version of The Loved One, anxious to live up to its ad-campaign promise of containing "something to offend everybody," downplays the British-colony business (save for the presence of the magnificent Robert Morley) and pumps up the "death" gags. Innocent British poet Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse) falls in love with funeral-home cosmetician Aimee Thanatogenos (Anjanette Comer), who in turn is loved by prissy funeral director Mr. Joyboy (Rod Steiger). The latter lives with his obese mother (Ayllene Gibbons), whose eating sequence is far more hilarious (and more tasteless) than many of the film's calculatedly "black" jokes. A huge guest-star cast is headed by Jonathan Winters in a dual role as a funeral home manager and his covetous twin brother, who operates an elaborate pet cemetery. Musician Paul Williams is also on hand as a 13-year-old aeronautics genius who develops a method of sending corpses into "eternal orbit" (a plot device that Waugh neglected to include in his novel). Film historian William K. Everson has commented that The Loved One is one of the best and most underrated comedies of the 1960s. For others, especially those who might feel guilty chuckling at the sight of Anjanette Comer committing suicide with an embalming needle, it's purely a matter of taste...or lack of same.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/09/2017
UPC:	0888574489182
Original Release:	1965
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	2:01:00
Sales rank:	6,952

Special Features

Featurette Trying to Offend Everyone; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert Morse	Dennis Barlow
Jonathan Winters	Henry Glenworthy/Rev. Wilbur Glenworthy
Anjanette Comer	Aimee Thanatogenous
Rod Steiger	Mr. Joyboy
Dana Andrews	Gen. Brinkman
Milton Berle	Mr. Kenton
James Coburn	Immigration Officer
John Gielgud	Sir Francis Hinsley
Tab Hunter	Guide
Margaret Leighton	Mrs. Kenton
Liberace	Mr. Starker
Roddy McDowall	D.J. Jr.
Lionel Stander	Guru Brahmin
Robert Morley	Sir Ambrose Abercrombie
Ayllene Gibbons	Joyboy's Mother
Bernie Kopell	Assistant to Guru Brahmin
Asa Maynor	Secretary to D.J. Jr.
Alan Napier	English Club Official
Martin Ransohoff	Lorenzo Medici
Roxanne Arlen	Whispering Glades Hostess
Pamela Curran	Whispering Glades Hostess
Claire Kelly	Whispering Glades Hostess
John Bleifer	Mr. Bogaloff
Bella Bruck	Mrs. Bogaloff
Ed Reimers	Whispering Glades Minister
Paul Williams	Gunther Fry
Beverly Hills	Orgy Dancer
Chick Hearn	`Resurrection Now' TV Announcer
Brad Moore	Actor
Dort Clark	Actor
Robert Easton	Dusty Acres
Don Haggerty	Haggerty
Barbara Nichols	Sadie Blodgett
Warren Kemmerling	Actor
Reta Shaw	Manager of The Zomba Cafe

Technical Credits

Christopher Isherwood

Terry Southern

Tony Richardson	Director
Christopher Isherwood	Screenwriter
Terry Southern	Screenwriter
Haskell Wexler	Producer
John Calley	Producer
Geza Gaspar	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Evelyn Waugh purists may bristle at the liberties taken in translated his macabre and morbidly amusing novel to the screen (sending corpses into space, indeed!), but if The Loved One varies from the novel in both plot and tone, it still shares the same blackly comic view of humanity. While Waugh was subdued and subtle in his depiction of the mortuary industry, director Tony Richardson and writers Terry Southern and Christopher Isherwood are much blunter and more obvious; indeed, at times there's a positively maniacal glee to the proceedings. But this ultimately works to the film's advantage, and if parts of the film are a bit much, on the whole the satire is presented to extremely good advantage. Even when the proceedings veer wildly off course, as they do on several occasions, the tangents are worth the ride. Viewers should be warned, of course, that The Loved One is not a very nice film. Those whose sensitivities are easily damaged should definitely look elsewhere (indeed, the film was advertised as having something to offend everyone), and a somewhat strong stomach is needed for a few moments. Some may argue as well that a strong stomach is needed to withstand Robert Morse, who is miscast in the pivotal role. It doesn't help that Morse is hopelessly American in a role that is written for a Brit, but Morse's unsuccessful struggle to find the character is more the problem. Fortunately, the rest of the cast, from the mordant John Gielgud to the creepy Rod Steiger to the deliciously arrogant Robert Morley, more than make up for Morse's shortcomings. A bit helter-skelter in places and definitely not for all people, The Loved One will nonetheless delight those who appreciate their comedies black and enjoy the skewering of sacred cows.