classicsoncall Review of The Undertaker and His Pals

The Undertaker and His Pals (1966)

"Everything was going so well, too!"

[2/10 · 14 April 2020]

With a title like "The Undertaker and His Pals", you would pretty much expect it to be a campy horror flick, but this thing is beyond stupid. Riddled with inane sight gags, puns and cliches, the plot consists of a mortician and two buddies who own the Greasy Spoon Cafe going out at night, (and in broad daylight too!), to secure human fodder for the diner's menu board. What's left after the appropriate body parts are confiscated for dinner go to the undertaker for his 'half' of the spoils. About the only thing worthwhile in the picture are those poignant reminders of a time gone by when phone booths dotted the landscape and gasoline was 32.9 a gallon. Oh yeah, and don't let me forget trading stamps, a detailed selling point of the Shady Rest Funeral Home, which also offered seasonal rates, but when did dying become a seasonal matter? In an effort to drum up business from attorney Harry Glass, who just 'lost' his latest secretary, undertaker Ray Dannis insists - "Whether you want to admit it or not, you can't do without me". I've got news for you folks, you absolutely can.