Customer Reviews

The Loved One

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is another film that's been secreted away in the MGM vaults that just cries out to be adequately transferred to DVD.

Talent abounds here. Start with a great director in Tony Richardson (Tom Jones, A Delicate Balance, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, The Entertainer, etc) who is the perfect choice for such a project. Have Christopher Isherwood and Terry Southern adapt the screenplay from a wonderful Evelyn Waugh novel. Assemble a perfect cast, including James Coburn and Dana Andrews, Milton Berle, Tab Hunter, Roddy McDowall, Margaret Leighton and Liberace (unforgettably!) in cameo roles. Feature the likes of Rod Steiger (why didn't he try more comedy? He's brilliant here!), John Gielgud, Jonathan Winters in memorable supporting roles and top it off with excellent leads in Robert Morse and Anjanette Comer (both relative unknowns at the time, but perfect for the roles).
How could the movie not be memorable?

Suffice it to say it holds up amazingly well after almost 40 years. It has to rank as one of the great classic comedies of the sixties.

The plot revolves around a young English twit named Dennis Barlow (Morse) who shows up at his uncle's (Gielgud's) doorstep, having won his air passage to LAX through some absurd stroke of luck. He has no money and his gregarious uncle takes him in and introduces him to the expatriated Brits that inhabit LA. Chief among these is the snobbish Sir Ambrose Abercrombe (Morley) who takes an instant dislike to Barlow, whom he feels doesn't adequately represent the proper English gentleman (and he doesn't). In short order, Uncle Francis is canned by his crass Hollywood Studio boss (McDowall), in spite of the fact that he has been a faithful employee for 30 years. Unwilling to face the future at his advanced age, Uncle Francis hangs himself beside the decrepit pool that represents his sagging fortunes.

It's at this stage that the movie shifts satirical gears and the humor gets darker and darker. Waugh's study of American mores and materialistic mindset as represented by the funeral industry is brilliantly captured by the screnwriters, director and cast. It's a great ensemble effort from a once in a lifetime creative team. THE LOVED ONE deserves a broad DVD release, hopefully in the not too distant future.

BK

Brilliant. Disturbing. Perplexing. Hilarious. Neglected.

Screenwriter Terry Southern (with the equally brilliant Christopher Isherwood) are the true stars here, having drafted and crafted a movie that's both truly disturbing and hilarious. One of Southern's finest film scripts (a worthy equal to his Dr Strangelove and Easy Rider scripts), The Loved One is an unjustly ignored and forgotten gem from a time when smart comedies were not only critically lauded but publically applauded. Demand the release on DVD!

In a parallel universe this is a flick that's as well known as Strangelove or The Producers. Yes, Steiger should have done more comedy--he's incredible in this movie.

I write this with the hope that someone out there is adding up the votes for a DVD release. I'll also add that the long out of print "Catalogue of Cool" dubbed 1962 " The Last Good Year." After that...well, we lost a lot of our wit, charm, whimsy, humanity, and creativity to Viet Nam, Watergate, and all the other dreariness--from Reaganism to Political Correctness--that led up to this uniquely ugly moment in history. There were a lot of sharp films made in the late Fifties to early Sixties that had qualities sadly lacking since--check out Wilder's "One, Two, Three" or "Inherit the Wind." One reviewer notes that "The Loved One" is black comedy without the nihilism. I agree and that's kind of what I mean. This era of film deserves a re-examination and we could all probably learn a lot from it.

I consider this one of those rarest of movies: a film that is better than the book it is based upon. That's not to put down Waugh's wonderful book, but Waugh was a gentleman, which meant he went for subtlety--the right move when writing about English upper class, but not when dealing with Hollywood. The film nails the absurdity of Hollywood and the death culture that feeds off it. Rod Steiger turns in the most entertaining performance of his career. John Waters clearly got a lot of ideas from this movie (although I have never heard him cop to it). My only complaint about this DVD is that it doesn't include, with the extras, the excised footage of Jayne Mansfield and Ruth Gordon. I use this movie as a litmus test. If I show this movie to someone and they don't like, that's pretty much the last time they are invited to my house.

Based on Evelyn Waugh's tighter and nearly perfect novel about Hollywood, the British colony there and the capitalistic approach to death, "The Loved One" is full of vinegar, bile, pique and nerve, which is a rare thing from Hollywood. Actors who were often asked to do little get a chance to play dark cogs in the wheels of the industries of entertainment and undertaking here: particularly Tab Hunter as the guide on a mortuary tour and Liberace as a coffin salesman, absolute perfection. Jonathan Winters gets his best role in film as twin brothers, one of whom would be God if it weren't a step down. John Gielgud gives a priceless performance, even after he is dead. Robert Morse is slightly miscast as the English Candide, mostly because he doesn't master the accent. Rod Steiger gives his most bizarre performance looking eerily like he did late in life, sans the blonde toupee. Even Milton Berle is really good, playing it completely straight for once. The lunatic idea at the end - shooting coffins into space - was actually floated during the Reagan administration, which this film foreshadows in very strange ways. The message at the end - move to England - was prescient. Perhaps this is the best film to capture the absurdities of California. If you are free of any sense of irony, you'll hate this.

Story from friend who worked on it: Gielgud was shooting his little monologue, a parody of the "This sceptered isle" speech, and a crew member directly in his line of sight thoughtfully picked his nose throughout. Gielgud finished the take, paused so it could be cut, then said, "Dear boy, when the knuckles of your finger reach the bridge of your nose, wave."

It kind of Dorothy territory - this one is - No one knew [AND maybe still doesn't] how to handle this expose penned lovingly by the late EVELYN WAUGH this is a black, dry. satire of Hollywood, then and NOW, seen through the eyes of a young man [Everyman, with Eyes Wide Open] - Robert Morse.

The Young man is new to the USA visiting his movie uncle, played by John Gielgud, vaguely reminiscent of the late James Whale [there is THAT pool sequence]. EVERYTHING seems to happen poolside. Astounding performances by Margaret Leighton, Tab Hunter, Liberace, Rod Steiger, etc. it's quite a carnival, culminating in the world's first "Instant Resurrection" [there is that sinister Whispering Glades Mortuary]. [Watch out for the graveside eulogy by Morse].

It is silly to reveal more, just enjoy this one, it covers everything from sperm donors [very contemporary today] to refrigerator wrestling [figure that one] to 100% proof embalming. Superb directing by Tony Richardson ["Tom Jones", "Blue Sky"] who also "ended" here in town, another talent sorely missed by all.

And what is learnt? A damn good ride through Tinseltown - should be patented!

The term "cult classic" is too limited for this extraordinary film; rather, it is simply a classic.

After (an estimated) 30 or more viewings, I continue to find new bon mots, nuances, fresh cinematic angles, artistic oxygen and beyond.

What I don't understand is why this movie isn't yet standing among the titans of black comedy of the screen. It is every bit as strong as "Dr. Strangelove", Chaplin and other gods.

This unique film, a staple of US art-house and university theaters for decades, may be the highest-_quality_ satire ever produced in the US, though some of its details are not to everyone's (anyone's?) taste. Also, its biting parodies of southern California, the funeral industry, and hokey US commercialism in general are relentless and occasionally cruel. Evelyn Waugh, as you probably know, was a cultured English writer who moved in elite circles and (like his son Auberon more recently) exhibited articulate disdain for kitsch and pretension (embodied, for instance, in the vacuous social-climber character Rex Mottram in Waugh's 1944 novel _Brideshead Revisited_). This distaste served him well after, like some of his predecessors (Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood), Waugh emigrated from England to southern California. In Waugh's case the exile proved temporary, and led to the satirical novel _The Loved One,_ re-worked into screenplay by Waugh's peers Isherwood and Terry Southern. An astounding cavalcade of big-name actors then contributed to the polished and energetic production. It includes numerous vignettes. Some of the best of these are by comic master Jonathan Winters in dual roles, one of which portrays a cynical commercial clergyman and cemetery tycoon. (His proposal for a new elderly community has "the additional advantage of not depleting itself, since the -- turnover -- among Leisure City's intended clientele is, ahem, fairly brisk.") Another unforgettable scene is Robert Morse's tour of the funeral complex, escorted by cloistered cosmetologist Anjanette Comer whom he becomes smitten with, and no less than Liberace as the wonderfully oily coffin salesman ("not merely waterproof -- nor moistureproof, Mr. Barlowe -- but dampnessproof").

That was the promo line that was in THE LOVED ONE ads when the picture was released in 1965. After having talked about this movie since then to people who have never seen it or were born later, it's still outrageous. At last a DVD to prove I wasn't making all of this up! It's hilarious. Some of it is so over the top that the school of "Animal House" flicks might be misconstrued as 'subtle'--never! but THE LOVED went further in all directions (at the same time) to skewer any sanctified values. The fact that Terry Southern teamed w/Christopher Isherwood to do the script to be directed by Tony Richardson, Evelyn Waugh's book was in for some major 'inflation'. The film version uses Evelyn Waugh's biting satire THE LOVED ONE as a starting point but don't make comparisons w/the movie. THE LOVED ONE on film is as fascinating to watch for the perverse admiration that they got away w/it as it is to revel in its perversity. And that cast! Who in film history, other than this crew would have the shrewd wit to pair Margaret Leighton and Milton Berle as a Hollywood couple. Liberace as a mortician, Paul Williams as a precocious boy rocket 'scientist', and the great John Gielgud as Robert Morse' uncle!
Kubrick would have reserved the 'duo' role slots for Peter Sellers but it's funnier here essayed by Jonathan Winters. Rod Steiger probably wouldn't allow the former casting, but he's in good form too. And w/a mother like his, that's hard; if you know the movie you know what I mean, if not, see it--you won't ever forget it. But there are so many bits in this film "to offend everyone" that when you aren't truly offended, that it really is right on and funny, you admire the fact that all these people on this 'Hollywood' project got away w/it..and it hasn't lost its bite. So glad for this DVD "resurrection now!".

As I write this there are 21 reviews of this movie on Amazon. If you have seen the movie, you are writing, like I am, to beg for a DVD. If you have not seen it, and wonder if you should, read all the reviews and note that almost all of them contain someone's favorite lines from the movie. Most of these reviews were written by people who were obviously smiling, laughing even, as they recalled favorite moments and characters from this great comedy with its Twain-ian, Swift-ian satiric take on America's view of death and dying and some pretty good body shots at LA and Hollywood in general.

For those of you who have seen the movie, I can't resist recalling some of my favorites: "Get those stiffs off my property," "dampness proof," "mom's big tub," "black protruding tongue," "the turnover is ... pretty brisk," "momma's little Joyboy has piggy, piggy," "for a lower-priced model" ... And scenes: Joyboy showing how his makeup arts have gone bad over love of Amie; when the Blessed Reverend attempts to seduce Amie and the statuary begins to undulate; Amie in the swing in deserted LA house on a landslide; the reading of the uncle's eulogy .... Like everyone, I loved this movie. I laugh when I watch it and I laugh when I remember it. It's satiric without being preachy, sexy without being obvious or pornographic, intellectual yet side-splittingly, bone-dissolvingly funny. As everyone else has lamented, with all the crap issued on DVD, where's our DVD of this great film?