Tony Richardson directed The Loved One, a strenuously satirical comedy film about the funeral business in Los Angeles, based on “The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy” (1948), Evelyn Waugh’s short satirical novel.
Grade: C+ (** out of *****)
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Theatrical release poster
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The screenplay, which also drew on Jessica Mitford’s “The American Way of Death” (1963), was written by American satirical novelist Terry Southern and gay British author Christopher Isherwood.
The film stars Robert Morse, Jonathan Winters, Anjanette Comer, Paul Williams and Rod Steiger.
Among those making appearances in smaller roles are John Gielgud, Robert Morley, Roddy McDowall, James Coburn, Milton Berle, Dana Andrews, Tab Hunter, and Liberace.
Young Englishman Dennis Barlow wins an airline ticket and visits his uncle Sir Francis Hinsley in Los Angeles. Hinsley has worked as a production staffer at a major Hollywood studio for more than thirty years. His employer, D.J. Jr., fires him, despite the old man’s faithful service. Hinsley hangs himself as a result.
Dennis is swayed by a prominent English expatriate to spend most of the money from his uncle’s estate on a prestigious burial at Whispering Glades cemetery and mortuary. There, he meets and becomes infatuated with Aimée Thanatogenos, a hopelessly naive and idealistic cosmetician who says she was named after Aimee Semple McPherson.
Chief embalmer Mr. Joyboy is attracted to her. Although she respects him professionally, Aimée has no romantic feelings for him. Somewhat overwhelmed by the services offered at Whispering Glades, Dennis is led through them by Mr. Starker, a Whispering Glades “counselor”.
Aimée’s idol is the Reverend Wilbur Glenworthy, owner of Whispering Glades. Aimée worships the solemn and pious reverend, but in private he is a calculating businessman who regards the cemetary as just a business venture.
To raise money, Dennis begins working at Happier Hunting Grounds, a local pet cemetery run by the reverend’s twin brother Henry Glenworthy. Dennis courts Aimée with poetry, which fascinates her, though she fails to recognize the verses. He does not want Aimée to find out where he works because she considers the pet cemetery sacrilegious.
Aimée is frustrated by Dennis’ cynical and disrespectful attitude toward Whispering Glades. She is shocked at his suggestion that they marry and live on her income when she gets promotion.
Acting on advice from “Guru Brahmin,” (actually a drunken newspaper staff writer), she accepts dinner invitation from Mr. Joyboy after he secures her promotion. Thoughts of a relationship with him end quickly after she observes his bizarre and unhealthy food relationship with his morbidly obese mother.
Listening to “Guru Brahmin,” she becomes engaged to Dennis. She invites him to her home, incomplete house built on a cliff, condemned and abandoned due to landslides. He cuts his visit short, alarmed by ominous trembling and lack of concern over safety.
Dennis and Henry Glenworthy meet their neighbor, a boy genius interested in rocketry, setting up a pet cemetery. Mr. Joyboy brings in his pet myna bird to be buried and discovers the identity of his rival. He agrees to have the bird shot into orbit, instead of being buried.
Aimée is outraged when she sees Dennis performing the service, greatly pleasing Mr. Joyboy.
Reverend Glenworthy, seeing little profit in the cemetery once the plots are filled, decides to convert it into retirement home, but is unable to proceed.
When he learns of his brother’s idea of sending bodies into orbit, he sees it as solution to his problem. He obtains surplus rockets by hosting orgy at Whispering Glades with top Air Force brass as guests.
Dennis, in a desperate attempt to reconcile with Aimée, promises that Whispering Glades will be shut down. She flees, afraid that what Dennis told her might be true.
Aimée seeks out Mr. Joyboy for comfort, but he has been called to prepare the body of ex-astronaut “The Condor” that will be launched into orbit. She tracks down “Guru Brahmin,” but he drunkenly advises her to jump out a window. She flees to the cemetery and finds Reverend Glenworthy, who confirms Dennis’ story. He tries to seduce her by promising continued employment with higher pay at his new facility. Distraught, her faith in everything she held sacred now shattered, she dies peacefully after attaching herself to embalming machine.
Mr. Joyboy finds her body, but is afraid of a scandal, so he calls Dennis to arrange for her disposal in the pet cemetery’s crematorium. Dennis agrees, but only if Mr. Joyboy gives him a first-class ticket back to England and all the cash he can lay his hands on. Dennis also imposes the condition that Aimée be placed in the casket rocket instead of the ex-astronaut (his body is also disposed of using the pet crematorium).
In the end, after the televised funeral and space launch, Dennis boards the first-class section of airliner heading to England.
In 1947, Evelyn Waugh visited Hollywood, and MGM offered him a six-figure sum for the rights to his novel Brideshead Revisited, though none of the studio bosses had read the book. When Waugh demanded veto rights over the finished product, the project was scrapped.
During his stay, Waugh became fascinated by the American obsession with the funeral industry, inspiring him to write lengthy journal article on the Forest Lawn cemetery and its founder Dr. Hubert Eaton, and then his 1948 novel The Loved One.
Numerous people attempted unsuccessfully to produce a filmed version of Waugh’s novel, including Spaniard surrealist Luis Buñuel and writer-director Elaine May.
The film was shot in the Los Angeles area.
“Whispering Glades” was drawn from Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, with exterior and interior scenes shot at Greystone Mansion.
The condemned house scene was shot at a house under construction at 3847 Oakfield Dr. in Sherman Oaks.
In his autobiography, Richardson claims that he did not share the admiration of Haskell Wexler, who worked on The Loved One as both cinematographer and producer.
Met with negative reviews, The Loved One was a commercial failure.
Cast
Robert Morse as Dennis Barlow
Jonathan Winters as Henry & Wilbur Glenworthy
Anjanette Comer as Aimée Thanatogenos
Rod Steiger as Mr. Joyboy
Dana Andrews as Gen. Buck Brinkman
Milton Berle as Mr. Kenton
James Coburn as Immigration Officer
John Gielgud as Sir Francis Hinsley
Tab Hunter as Whispering Glades tour guide
Margaret Leighton as Mrs. Helen Kenton
Liberace as Mr. Starker
Roddy McDowall as D.J., Jr.
Robert Morley as Sir Ambrose Abercrombie
Barbara Nichols as Sadie Blodgett
Lionel Stander as the Guru Brahmin
Robert Easton as Dusty Acres
Ayllene Gibbons as Joyboy’s mother
Paul Williams as Gunther Fry
Alan Napier as English club official
Bernie Kopell as Brahmin’s assistant
Credits:
Directed by Tony Richardson
Screenplay by Terry Southern, Christopher Isherwood. based on The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh
Produced by John Calley, Haskell Wexler
Cinematography Haskell Wexler
Edited by Hal Ashby, Brian Smedley-Aston, Antony Gibbs (supervising)
Music by John Addison
Production company: Filmways
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date: October 11, 1965
Running time: 122 minutes
udget £860,000
Box office $2 million (US rentals)
