The Loved One

An all-star cast pokes fun at Hollywood, Britain and the business of turning a profit from grief in the classic 1960s black comedy The Loved One. Innocent, serious British poet Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse--"Tru," How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) comes to Los Angeles to make final arrangements for a relative who was a longtime film star, but didn't leave enough money to pay for his funeral. Taking a job as an assistant embalmer at a pet cemetery, Barlow falls in love with beautiful funeral-home cosmetician Aimee Thanatogenous (Anjanette Comer), who is also the object of prissy funeral director Mr. Joyboy's (Academy Award winner Rod Steiger--In the Heat of the Night) affections. Now, as Barlow stumbles his way through the underside of Hollywood, he becomes involved with his boss's (Jonathan Winters) plan to launch the dearly departed into eternal orbit in outer space.