Monument to the Living: The Episcopal Service (1940)

★★★★ · Let's ditch the coffin at the park and scram! · Bill T. · 2003-12-04

Ultra bizarre film for funeral directors (!) about how to prepare the PERFECT funeral. After an intro that totally blows away any responsibility of actions from making this film, even though they're the ones MAKING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, we start off by showing how a viewing should be done. We see the 'family' and pay particular attention to the widow, as she seems to have a perpetual nosebleed or something, as the hanky NEVER seems to move from her nose althroughout the movie. Then they move to the church. What was so interesting is that there's noone else there besides the principal actors.…

★★ · A how-to guide for Episcopal funerals · K.P. Lee · 2003-08-21

There are many occupational training films out there, but this is the first (and only) one for funeral directors which I have seen. Produced by the Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science, "Monument to the Living" is "designed to assist the student in his preparation for the [funerary] profession, and to serve as a refresher for the practicing mortician." And with its plodding description of all the events and rites that occur at a funeral, I'm sure that this film achieves its purpose.