Premature Burial
Tags: revenge, gothic, murder

Plot synopsis:
In "The Premature Burial", the first-person unnamed narrator describes his struggle with things such as "attacks of the singular disorder which physicians have agreed to term catalepsy", a condition where he randomly falls into a death-like trance. This leads to his fear of being buried alive ("The true wretchedness", he says, is "to be buried while alive".). He emphasizes his fear by mentioning several people who have been buried alive. In the first case, the tragic accident was only discovered much later, when the victim's crypt was reopened. In others, victims revived and were able to draw attention to themselves in time to be freed from their ghastly prisons.
The narrator reviews these examples in order to provide context for his nearly crippling phobia of being buried alive. As he explains, his condition made him prone to slipping into a trance state of unconsciousness, a disease that grew progressively worse over time. He became obsessed with the idea that he would fall into such a state while away from home, and that his state would be mistaken for death. He extracts promises from his friends that they will not bury him prematurely, refuses to leave his home, and builds an elaborate tomb with equipment allowing him to signal for help in case he should awaken after "death".
The story culminates when the narrator awakens in pitch darkness in a confined area. He presumes he has been buried alive, and all his precautions were to no avail. He cries out and is immediately hushed; he quickly realizes that he is in the berth of a small boat, not a grave. The event shocks him out of his obsession with death.

Review: This stems, perhaps, from the fact that Ray Milland steps in for Vincent Price here, making it the odd one out among the series of Corman's Poe adaptations.Ray Milland must have seemed a rather offbeat choice at the time given his reputation of being one of Hollywood's most charming and debonair leading man.
I sure would like to get a chance to see Ray Milland in his three other notable 'horror' films: THE UNINVITED (1944), ALIAS NICK BEAL (1949) and (directing himself) PANIC IN YEAR ZERO (1962).As for the film itself, I admit that having just watched PIT AND THE PENDULUM, PREMATURE BURIAL and (fairly recently) HOUSE OF USHER (1960) in quick succession, the repetition in the story-lines (catalepsy and premature entombment), not to mention in the art direction (recycled sets), does tend to get rather tiresome.
In fact I think it is as good or better than many of the other Roger Corman produced/directed Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.
Ray Milland was chosen to play the lead because Roger Corman was in a dispute with American International Pictures (AIP) at the time and decided to make the movie with another studio.
Vincent Price who starred in most of Corman's Poe adaptations was under contract to AIP and therefore, could not play the lead.
This was the third of director Roger Corman's AIP chillers based on Poe stories, and the only one not to star Vincent Price.
Here, Ray Milland is the protagonist whose family history of catalepsy makes him fear burial alive.Entirely shot on the sound stage, Corman and his regular art director Danial Haller have created a wonderfully expressionist garden of gnarled trees and shrubs wreathed with dry ice.
Even the interior of Milland's mansion seems like a grave, notably in the scene where Hazel Court and Richard Bull take tea in a drawing room with wood-panelled walls, dark green wallpaper, with the dead tree pressing oppressively against the windows.A number of other directorial touches make even this relatively minor Corman effort a winner.
With Vincent Price busy elsewhere, Roger Corman shoveled the dirt on  Ray Milland for this adaptation of Poe's "The Premature Burial." A bit too mature for the role, Milland nonetheless gives a good account of himself as an artist convinced that he'll meet the same fate as many of his ancestors by being buried alive.
The wealthy cataleptic painter Guy Carrell (Ray Milland) believes that he overheard his father, who also had catalepsy, crying in the crypt of his family when he was a kid and is obsessed by the fear of being buried alive.
Ray Milland is a great actor but does seem to be miscast for the role of Guy Carrell that should be of an insane man instead of so dramatic.
Solid, well crafted entry in producer / director Roger Corman's cycle of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations that's an effective exercise in psychological horror as well as more traditional kinds of horror (such as we see in the nightmare sequence, for example).
It shows just how badly one's life can be affected by an unhealthy obsession.Corman initially tried to get Vincent Price for the lead, needing to switch to Ray Milland instead.
Meanwhile, good friend Miles (Richard Ney), new wife Emily (beautiful genre vixen Hazel Court), and sister Kate (Heather Angel) grow increasingly concerned over his behaviour.Working with his consistently reliable production design / cinematography team of Daniel Haller and Floyd Crosby, Corman is able to create very effective atmosphere for the production, and the 2.35:1 aspect ratio allows him to pack the frame with detail, and he also continues the practise of creating depth to the images.
The music by the great Ronald Stein would be enjoyable enough on its own, but it's supplemented by the repeated refrain of the "Molly Malone" melody, whether it's whistled or played on the piano.Milland does some delicious work here, particularly in the sequence where Guy is showing Emily and Miles all the safeguards he's put in place in case of his being "buried alive".
The excellent cast also includes Alan Napier as Emily's doctor father (who utters one of the best lines, "I never enjoy myself, I merely experience greater and lesser amounts of tedium."), and John Dierkes & Corman regular Dick Miller as the unsavoury grave diggers.The script by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell has a very literate quality, and Milland gives his dialogue all of the gravitas that he can muster.While this wouldn't rank among the best of Corman's Poe series (that honour would have to go to "House of Usher" and "The Masque of the Red Death"), it's still very respectable and fun viewing for classic horror fans.Seven out of 10..
Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe cycle ranges among the most essential moments ever in Horror cinema, some of the adaptations such as "Pit And The Pendulum" (1961), "The Masque of the Red Death" (1964) or (the actually Lovecraft-inspired) "The Haunted Palace" (1963) being among the greatest Gothic Horror films ever brought to screen.
The brilliance of these films lies in the creepy Poe-themed stories, Corman's outstanding talent for eerie Gothic atmosphere, and, not least, the leading performances by Horror-deity Vincent Price."Premature Burial" of 1962 treats an eponymous subject that is as essentially 'Poe' as it gets - being buried alive, or more precisely, the terror of being buried alive.While I did have high expectations for this film, it had been lying on my DVD shelf for a long while before I finally saw it, the only reason for delaying the viewing being the lack of Vincent Price in this film.
Ray Milland, who plays the lead here, was a fantastic actor, but simply not quite as fantastic as Vincent Price (who happens to be my all-time favorite actor).
The only flaw of this film, is therefore not really a flaw, but the greatness of Corman's other Poe-adaptations: The fact that the other films had Vincent Price, and this one doesn't.
Actually, his character here is not villainous, and yet he is somewhat unlikable.This being said, "Premature Burial" is still and wonderful Gothic Horror experience, which once again proves that Corman is a true master of creepy greatness and beautifully eerie atmosphere.
Ray Milland plays Guy Carrell, a man living in paralyzing fear of being interred alive.
The setting in an eerie mansion near a foggy cemetery is perfect for a Gothic Horror film like this one, and, apart from the usual atmosphere donors such as foggy grounds, Corman includes many morbid set-pieces, such as a demented live-in mausoleum.
The stunning Hazel Court is, as always, absolutely wonderful in the female lead.Overall, "Premature Burial" isn't quite as essential as films like "House of Usher" (1960), "Pit and the Pendulum" (1961), "The Haunted Palace" (1963) or "The Masque of the Red Death" (1964), but it is still a fantastic Gothic Horror that no genre-lover can afford to miss.
This is an excellent horror movie.To be buried alive is a fear we all share ,and although it's not really new (outside Poe's obsession there's a sequence in Dreyer's "Vampyr") ,it's terribly effective.Ray Milland portrays a man whose obsession knows no bound.His mausoleum which he shows to a distraught wife and to his good sensible friend and the nightmare are worth the price of admission.The foggy ghastly atmosphere -pure English sixties studios - adds to the almost unbearable suspense.The screenplay,which,like all the other Corman's adaptations ,is rather far from Poe's short novel,is full of good ideas (the undertakers whistling a gentle tune when they open a grave,the cat,the unexpected final twist which is quite successful)."Premature Burial" is to be recommended to horror movies buffs.The fear of being buried alive never came to an end ;two examples "Oxygen" featuring Adrian Brody and "Spoorlos" (aka "L'Homme Qui Voulait Savoir").
Of all the great Roger Corman's movies based on Edgar Allan Poe's stories this one has maybe left in the shadow of those starring Vincent Price.
It is unfortunate, however, that the winning team of Roger Corman, Edgar Allen Poe and Vincent Price had to be split up, with the great actor sitting this one out.
While the film lacks the great Vincent Price, his replacement, Ray Milland, doesn't do a bad job at all in the lead.
Ray Milland stars in this Roger Corman directed version of the Edgar Allan Poe story as a wealthy man with a morbid and all-consuming fear of death and being buried alive welcomes his beautiful fiancée(Hazel Court) to his castle.
Happy at first, his fears soon return, and after falling into a cataleptic state, learns that being buried alive wasn't the only thing he should have been watching out for...Oddly dull and slow film has some atmosphere but feels flat, and doesn't make an effective use of its source material.
Premature Burial is not Roger Corman's best filmed Poe adaptation, Masque of the Red Death is my favourite, but I did prefer it over the interesting but uneven Tales of Terror.
The script is very literate and maintains interest, with Alan Napier getting the best lines, Milland showing his wife and friend around his tomb and the story has some fine moments especially with the dream sequence, Court's shadow and with the grave-diggers helped by a genuinely creepy atmosphere that Corman evokes wonderfully.
Ray Milland is going to have inevitable comparisons to Vincent Price, who for me gave pitch-perfect performances in the rest of Corman's Poe adaptations(all but this one), but he deserves to be judged on his own merits, and I think he does give an understated and vulnerable performance that proved most effective.
"The Premature Burial", the third film in Roger Corman's wildly successful Poe series, is disappointing in comparison with the excellent previous entries, "House of Usher" and "Pit and the Pendulum".
Ray Milland plays Guy Farrell, a medical student (that's a laugh)who has the fear of being buried alive, like his father was.
Might he have also said "no more mediocre movies?" Ray Milland made his great contribution to shlock movie culture with this hilariously grouchy performance in "Frogs," he does what he can here but it does tend to underline how important the presence of Vincent Price was to these Poe films.
Based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe, PREMATURE BURIAL tells of a medical student(Ray Milland) whose worst nightmare, being buried alive, eventually comes true.
PREMATURE BURIAL stars Ray Milland (X: THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES) as Guy Carrell, who suffers from an inordinate fear of being buried alive.
Another great Poe adaptation from director, Roger Corman, Milland fills in nicely in a role that would typically be played by Vincent Price.
Premature Burial features Ray Milland doing his utmost to convey paranoia, and it's great to see Hazel Court working with Milland; since she also appears in The Raven (1963) and The Masque of the Red Death (1964) with Price.
'The Premature Burial' was the third film in Roger Corman's series of eight Edgar Allan Poe themed movies.
Unlike 'House of Usher' and 'The Pit and the Pendulum' this one stars Ray Milland instead of Vincent Price because Corman went to produce that film without AIP who had exclusive contract with Price.
Nonetheless, 'The Premature Burial' is nicely creepy tale about paranoid obsession and living on the verge of madness.Recommended for Gothic horror/mystery fans..
Obsessed with the unlikely possibility of being buried alive just like his cataleptic father was, a celebrated artist dedicates all his spare time to building a tomb that he can escape from should such an event ever occur in this Edgar Allan Poe adaptation from Roger Corman.
With Poe and Corman's name on the project, it seems easy to label 'Premature Burial' as a horror film, but it is much more a psychological thriller and character study of a paranoid individual.
Ray Milland stands in for Corman's usual suffering protagonist, Vincent Price.
A good film adaption of Edgar Allan Poe's story "Premature Burial".A quote from Guy Carrell (Milland) "A recent invention by a man named Nobel...
SO with all that said, if in fact this movie is set 1867 or '68 OR as late as 1880's or 90's then embalming was NOT overly common/wide spread -- this means there is a good chance of a premature burial to occur and Guy Carrell's fears are well founded.Now outside of my minor nick-picking (trying to find the date this film is actually set in) this is a decent film....
Guy Carrell's fear is much worse than my own.Worth watching if you like Poe, Milland, or horror movie classics.7.5/10.
One of Roger Corman's lesser-known Poe features, The Premature Burial is a fine film with an excellent cast that is handicapped by an unfortunate lack of thrills and a slow pace.
Hazel Court, who also stars in Corman's most renowned Poe film, The Masque of the Red Death, is ravishing as Milland's dreamy wife, while Richard Ney is solid in the role of a doctor who struggles to comprehend the nature of Milland's morbid delusions, which become increasingly disturbing as the narrative progresses.
An artist (Ray Milland) grows distant from his new wife (Hazel Court) as an irrational horror of premature burial consumes him.The story of this film's creation is almost as interesting as the film itself.
Charles Beaumont took the basics from that story and scripted this Roger Corman AIP film about an English aristocrat who believes his father died while buried alive due to catalepsy, a disorder where a person seems dead but is in fact alive.
What this one gets right is the exact same elements that have always worked so well before in the other Corman/Poe films in the striking atmosphere present here that effectively takes the Gothic setting to it's fullest.
Sir Guy Carrell (Ray Milland) is paranoid to be buried alive.
Finally, it´s his beautiful but scheming wife Emily (Hazel Court) who wants to scare him to death..."The Premature Burial" is a nice little horror classic, produced and directed by the king of the B-movies Roger Corman.
Although actor Ray Milland is no second Vincent Price he is doing a solid job with playing the main character.
Surprise ending is a plus.I thought Milland made a good choice given the unavailability of Price (his contract with AIP was binding only to the extent that he not make any Edgar Allen Poe movies with anyone except AIP, from what I've heard).
Generally considered one of the least successful of Corman's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations; which has a lot to do with the absence of star Vincent Price (this is the only film of the eight he didn't star in).
Price's inimitable presence would have indeed turned this into an entirely different film (and probably would have effectively diffused some of the more horrific elements of the story), but I have no problem watching Ray Milland in the lead role, either.
An aristocratic painter, Guy Carrell(Ray Milland), has this obsessive fear of being buried alive(particularly, his seeing a victim of such a case, at the opening of the film, not helping matters), and those around his inner circle try to assist him in penetrating that which mentally weakens him.
Will Guy be buried alive as he so feared?I think PREMATURE BURIAL is an exercise in Gothic style, expertly executed by a master horror director.
Like all of Roger Corman's movies based on the stories of Edgar Allen Poe, this one only has a superficial similarity to the Poe tale.
It has the usual excellent Corman direction and Milland is very good taking on a role that usually would have gone to Vincent Price.
the scene where Emily is being buried alive is frightening and an unusual twist that i didn't see coming it is well made with gorgeous et pieces and some striking moments now there is not much gore or that many deaths but the suspenseful mood and creepy atmosphere makes up for it also Roger Corman's stylish direction helps  overall a wonderful horror flick that deserves more credit an absolute must see!!!!!!
The third in Roger Corman's cycle of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations sees Charles Beaumont & Ray Russell on script duties and Ray Milland star.
The story follows Milland's cataleptic Guy Carrell, whose fear of being buried alive like his father drives him to build a tomb that should ensure against such a disaster occurring...Pulpy, Gothic and at times silly, The Premature Burial is still very much a nice slice of Corman pie.
It's got a very sumptuous look, good performances from Ray Milland and Hazel Court, solid cinematography by Floyd Crosby, and strong, atmospheric direction by Roger Corman.
Written by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell from a Poe story, this movie plays on one thing: fear, more specifically the fear of being buried alive.
Premature Burial is not the best of the Corman/Poe flicks, but is worth looking at..
Since AIP owned the rights to Corman's muse, Vincent Price, he went with Ray Milland in the main role.
Milland is best known to horror fans for THE UNINVITED and another Corman classic, X: THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES, though his most famous role may be in Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER.As with most of the movies in this cycle, the Poe short story is not enough material to fill out a 90 minute movie, so Corman has to pad the proceedings with other material.
His fear of repeating his father's fate is propelled by an incident at the beginning of the movie, where Milland's doctor robs a grave, only to witness a clear example of another man buried alive.
The most feels far more "epic" than the limited scenery would warrant.It's not the best of the Corman/ Poe Cycle, for that check out MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH or PIT AND THE PENDULUM, but it is certainly a great example of Gothic 60s horror and well worth a watch..
I am not a big fan of horror movies, but watched this one because of the great Ray Milland.