Tagline: "The flame of her love burned brightest in the shadow of the grave."
Plot: John Cusack look-alike Mark Jax plays a mopey med student who doesn't mind working the night shift at the morgue. After all, it allows him glimpses of his true love Katie Orgill, the hospital's pretty flower girl. Events give him more than a glimpse, however, when Orgill turns up on a slab one night, the victim of her husband's drunk-driving accident. After witnessing the autopsy—lovingly filmed for the gorehounds in the audience—Jax decides that, dead or not, it's time to take Orgill home for some sweet, sweet love.
Key scenes: In its own way an uncompromising depiction of unconditional love, Living Doll features countless scenes of Jax gazing adoringly at, and often just hanging out with, Orgill's increasingly rotten corpse. Whether discussing their love, engaging in a mock wedding ceremony, or simply watching TV, Jax always appears content just to be in her presence. Of course, it might not hurt that he sees her nude in her pre-moldering form, and that Orgill's best-known work outside of Living Doll was a stint as one of Britain's Page Three girls. Also, he doesn't seem to mind the rats her corpse attracts. But later, Orgill starts telling Jax to avenge her death. Women. Aren't they ever satisfied?
Can easily be distinguished by: Though ostensibly set in New York, this final film from noted British schlock producer Dick Randall (King Of Kong Island, Black Deep Throat) features an unusual number of New Yorkers with badly disguised English accents.
Sign that it was made in 1990: Actually, this is a more a sign that it was shot in 1988 and then sat on the shelf for a while, but a few seconds of second-unit New York footage show a movie theater proudly announcing a showing of the Arnold Schwarzenegger/ Danny DeVito comedy Twins.
Timeless message: If you can't be with the one you love, don't worry—she might die, and then if you're crafty, you can spend a lot of time with her corpse.
Memorable quotes: Stopping by for a bit part as Jax's landlord, Eartha Kitt lays it all on the line when she says, "This is a clean house, Mr. Adams. And you are stinking it up!"
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