One of the best ever cameos by a non-actor. Liberace brilliantly adapts and dials down his familiar fulsome schtick to suit the persona of a discreet but determined salesman. From the moment he turns and advances almost obsequiously towards the prospect, he gets the register right. The scene is quite complicated to perform with its combination of dialogue detail and demonstration of the merchandise; L is spot on throughout. He should have done more fictional riffs on his image.
Who was brilliant enough to think of casting Liberace to be the poncy casket salesman!! This was his crowning performance, for all time. WHAT A MOVIE!!!
This movie threw down a path of roses for Six Feet Under. I saw it as part of a double feature at the Trenton Drive-in pre high school and it forever stuck in my brain. I've attended many a funeral at a cemetery within a mile or two of that entombed drive-in. RIP to all.
A favorite. Author E. Waugh was a wonderful writer. His barbed, British humor translated very well to the screen. He pegged the US funeral industry right.
I swear that the saleswoman we had when my mother died must have used this as a training manual. Tried to upsell us on everything, but without anywhere near as much oily class as Lee has here.
this reminds me of a scene of the golden girls. the guy at the funeral house was showing as above the girls a range of coffins. he said'and this one is so and so and lined in lead'' Dorothy asked how much? we just want something nice , we're not burrying Superman. never mind the lead lined!'' that was so funny
I'd have loved to have seen Liberace do more movies. He's very compelling to watch. Also, so interesting how the fantastic actor Andy Robinson sounded so much like him as well as resembling him. He was born to play Liberace.
He did do more movies l have them in dvd South sea sinner with Shelley winters and sincerely yours and he was in where the boys meet the.girls with Connie Francis band he played the evil twins in batman.omce also he did sketches on TV
Boy the whole movie was a hum-dinger. Enjoy the lady "counselor" who keeps smiling each time our victim spends more and more money. And "Oh Mr. Barlow you'll be the death of me yet.".
None of this b.s. for me. Direct cremation through an independent company. $2,000 for everything. I am seeing a trend where more and more people are foregoing traditional funerals and choosing instead direct cremation.
@JubalCalif : A very funny and biting movie, really effective, even today. Tony Richardson caused many issues to the producers, and the film was a commercial failure. It's actually considered as a Camp classic. Great performances by John Gielgud and Rod Steiger, too.
This was a brilliant send up of one of the sleaziest businesses in America. Some monks in Louisiana are making cheap coffins for poor people, and the funeral lobby is applying pressure to shut them down. In many places, it's illegal to buy less expensive coffins online, all in the name of protecting the grieving consumer. They should be forced to buy $10,000 coffins.
"Well, then you'll be interested in our special double-valved Royal Compensator model! The small, self-activated release valve opens to automatically allow the gases of decomposition to escape into the atmosphere. Very discrete!"
The most offensive thing about the book was how boring it was. Glad I wasn't forced to see the movie. Though I admit, the trailer was very lively. Crude and stupid, but lively.
