The Last Remains story
Marvin Foley is trying to arrange a burial for his late partner. He approaches a mortician, Amos Duff, and asks for advice. Since Amos's business is in need of money, he recommends the costly Class A service. Marvin, however, rejects the idea preferring a funeral without the Class A treatment. Later Amos discovers signs of foul play in the death of Marvin's partner. He approaches Marvin who agrees to buy a Class A funeral if Amos keeps his mouth shut. After the cremation, Marvin refuses to pay and tells Amos that nothing can be done since all the evidence was just destroyed. Amos, however, has kept one crucial piece of evidence: the fire-proof hunting bullet Marvin used to commit murder. Directed by: Leonard Horn. Story by: Henry Slesar.
7 total · 4 major · 3 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| blackmail | major | Discovering a bullet wound in his late client, funeral director Duff decided to blackmail the man that had commissioned the service. |
| facing the demise of a personal enterprise | major | The funeral home director Amos Duff turned to blackmail to save his business from going belly up. |
| funeral rite | major | The story concerned Western notions of how to take leave of a late loved one with due style. |
| murder | major | Marvin had disposed of his business partner with a bullet from a hunting rifle during a hunting trip. |
| boss and employee | minor | Mr. Duff berated his underling regarding appropriate attire at a funeral parlor. |
| law enforcement | minor | In the end, Marvin was hauled into the police station under suspicion he'd murdered his business partner. |
| romanticization of the past | minor | Amos lamented the disappearing of "the old values". |