The Premature Burial (film)

Plot

Set in the early dark Victorian era, the film follows Guy Carrell, a British aristocrat who is consumed with the fear of being buried alive. His fear becomes so overwhelming, it nearly prevents him from marrying his fiancee Emily. He tells her that he, like his father, suffers from a cataleptic disease which can make one appear to be dead. Guy then takes Emily down to the family catacomb, and claims that when he was a boy, he heard his father scream from his tomb after being interred, even though his sister insists it was all in his mind. But despite all this, Emily tells Guy that she still wants to marry him.

After the wedding ceremony, Emily plays the melody to Molly Malone on the piano which seems to send Guy into a state of abject misery, finally causing him to pass out. After regaining consciousness, Guy becomes even more morbid, obsessed with the idea of being buried alive. He soon builds an elaborate vault, equipped with several safeguards in case of his premature burial, including a poisonous elixir to be used as a last resort. This latest project causes both his wife Emily and his colleague, Miles Archer, to become concerned with his mental health.

In an effort to change his mood, Guy goes for a walk in the moors with his wife, when he suddenly hears a gravedigger whistle the same Irish tune that was played after his wedding. The music causes him to pass out again, and he experiences a horrific dream where he finds himself trapped inside his vault, however, none of his safeguards work. When he finally wakes up from his dream next to his wife, he asks her about the whistling gravedigger, but she insists that she heard no one.

Finally, Emily becomes unable to deal with Guy's behavior, and tells him that either he rids himself of this obsession with death, or she will leave him forever. This ultimatum seems to work. He destroys the vault he constructed and starts to slowly become more amenable. As a final step of his treatment, Miles suggests that Guy open his father's coffin to prove that he was never buried alive. But when he does, it causes him to go into another cataleptic state, and this time, he is unable to awake. After an examination by Emily's father, he is declared dead. Guy's family concludes he suffered a heart attack and upon Emily's request, have him buried in the cemetery. It appears Guy's biggest fear is about to be realized, when he is miraculously dug up by a pair of grave robbers just as he regains his mobility. Now in a state of madness, Guy returns to his home to seek revenge on those who conspired for his demise.

Cast

Production

Roger Corman had made two successful adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's (1809-1849) works for American International Pictures (AIP) starring the famous and preeminent horror and suspense star of the 1950s and 60s, Vincent Price.

He decided to make his own Poe film with financing through Pathé Lab, a company that did the print work for AIP and had backed a few of their productions as well. Corman wanted to use Price, but AIP had him under exclusive contract, so he cast instead Ray Milland. On the first day of shooting James H. Nicholson and Sam Arkoff of AIP turned up, announcing to Corman that they were working together again, as they were able to convince Pathé to bring the movie back to AIP after threatening to pull all future lab work with them.

Corman employed Francis Ford Coppola on Burial as an assistant director.

Reception

Cavett Binion in "Allmovie" notes, "Milland's performance conveys the requisite amount of hand-wringing torment (in the mode of "The Lost Weekend" movie), even if he fails to capture the manic intensity that Price brought to the other Poe films that he played or starred in. Corman's deft direction, employing a rich palette of colors and superb widescreen compositions, is on a par with the series' finest installments."

Awards and nominations

The film won a 1962 "Golden Laurel" - "Sleeper of the Year" Award.