The Loved One (1965)
Directed by Tony Richardson
Newly arrived in Hollywood from England, Dennis Barlow finds he has to arrange his uncle's interment at the highly-organised and very profitable Whispering Glades funeral parlour. His fancy is caught by one of their cosmeticians, Aimee Thanatogenos. But he has three problems - the strict rules of owner Blessed Reverand Glenworthy, the rivalry of embalmer Mr Joyboy, and the shame of now working himself at The Happy Hunting Ground pets' memorial home.
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What critics compared The Loved One to
The ceremonies surrounding death have provided fodder for comedy classics as disparate as The Funeral (from Tampopo director Juzo Itami) and The Loved One (a movie where cameos from Tab Hunter and Liberace were of a piece with the general air of lunacy).
Black plays Bernie as a classic small-town sissy, an effeminate bachelor who fusses over his deceased customers (à la Mr. Joyboy in The Loved One) and organizes little-theater musical productions.
Babylon is going to have to be a dazzlingly original production indeed to make it stand out in comparison with, say, Singin’ in the Rain , The Barefoot Contessa , Chaplin , Blonde , The Bad and the Beautiful , The Big Knife , A Star Is Born (any of the four versions), The Day of the Locust , The Loved One , Mank , Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , Barton Fink , Postcards from the Edge , The Last Tycoon or Beware of a Holy Whore , to name a random few.