Los seres queridos

As a follow-up to the hugely popular "Tom Jones" the iconoclastic director Tony Richardson chose a modern Evelyn Waugh darkly satiric novel that was ostensibly about the funeral business but in Richardson's (& Terry Southern's) hands became a savagely funny commentary on Hollywood and America as well. The cast is awesome--even disregarding some of the cameos like Milton Berle, Liberace, and Tab Hunter--particularly good are Gielgud, Jonathan Winters in a fabulous dual role, Rod Steiger as the immortal Joyboy, and Roddy McDowell. Hilarious! The leads are strangely effective: Bobby Morse doing the knowing nebbish character that he perfected in the mid-60s, and Anjanette Comer as the aptly-named Amy Thanatogenis. One of my alltime favorite comedies, I've seen it close to 20 times since 1965...For anyone who ever had to save up for "Mom's big tub." Increpitable!