The Loved One

Any movie that advertises itself as being “The Motion Picture With Something to Offend Everyone” is either brilliant or a piece of filth. Luckily for viewers picking up a copy of this 1965 classic directed by Tony Richardson (Tom Jones), it’s brilliant. The film stars Robert Morse as Dennis Barlow, an English poet who travels to Hollywood to live with –and off – is uncle, Sir Francis Hinsley (John Gielgud), a renowned artist who makes his living doing sketches for the movie studios. The film starts out as a kind of demented travelogue, with the two Englishmen giving very droll accounts of life in LA LA Land. The comedy keeps getting darker and darker as Sir Francis dies, leaving Dennis to wander through the hidden world of undertakers where he finds, love, lust and the American Dream. Keep your eyes peeled for a slew of fantastic supporting performances and cameo appearances, like Liberace as a casket salesman.