The Loved One (film)
| The Loved One | |
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theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Tony Richardson |
| Produced by |
John Calley Haskell Wexler |
| Written by |
Terry Southern Christopher Isherwood |
| Based on |
The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh |
| Starring |
Robert Morse Anjanette Comer Rod Steiger John Gielgud Liberace |
| Music by | John Addison |
| Cinematography | Haskell Wexler |
| Edited by |
Hal Ashby Brian Smedley-Aston Antony Gibbs (supervising) |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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122 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2 million (est. US/ Canada rentals) |
The Loved One is a 1965 black and white comedy film about the funeral business in Los Angeles, which is based on The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy (1948), a short satirical novel by Evelyn Waugh. It was directed by British filmmaker Tony Richardson and the screenplay—which also drew on Jessica Mitford's book The American Way of Death (1963)—was written by noted American satirical novelist Terry Southern and British author Christopher Isherwood.
The film stars Robert Morse, Jonathan Winters, Anjanette Comer and Rod Steiger. Among those making appearances in smaller roles are John Gielgud, Roddy McDowall, James Coburn, Milton Berle and Liberace.
Young Englishman Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse) wins an airline ticket and visits his uncle Sir Francis Hinsley (John Gielgud) in Los Angeles. Hinsley has worked as a production staffer at a major Hollywood studio for over thirty years. His employer D.J. Jr. (Roddy McDowall) fires Hinsley, despite the old man's faithful dedication to the company. Hinsley commits suicide by hanging himself.
Dennis is swayed by a prominent member of the local English expatriate community (Robert Morley) to spend most of the money from his uncle's estate on a socially prestigious burial at Whispering Glades cemetery and mortuary. There, he meets and becomes infatuated with Aimée Thanatogenos (Anjanette Comer), a hopelessly naive and idealistic cosmetician who says she was named after Aimee Semple McPherson. Chief embalmer Mr. Joyboy (Rod Steiger) is also an admirer, but although Aimée respects him professionally, she doesn't have any romantic feelings toward him. Somewhat overwhelmed by the services offered at Whispering Glades, Dennis is led though the various burial options available to his uncle by a well-versed Whispering Glades "counselor," Mr. Starker (Liberace).
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Wikipedia