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11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
PREMATURE BURIAL (Roger Corman, 1962) **1/2, 14 June 2004
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@onvol.net) from Naxxar, Malta

I think this is a very underrated little horror film even among Roger Corman's own directorial output. 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. In hindsight, however, he gives the role of the paranoid and cataleptic Guy Correll a wounded vulnerability which Vincent Price would have had trouble in bringing out (without resorting to camp). This is evident when one compares two similar roles played by Price in PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961), in which he overdid the fainting bit, and his later, admirably subdued performance in THE TOMB OF LIGEIA (1964). To his credit, Milland - who was at his best in such light but sophisticated comedies as EASY LIVING (1939), ARISE, MY LOVE (1940), THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (1942) and KITTY (1945) - did not consider such roles as being beneath him and consequently gave them his all. As a matter of fact, he considered his subsequent role for Corman, that of Dr. James Xavier in X – THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES (1963), to be his second best after his Oscar-winning turn for Billy Wilder in THE LOST WEEKEND (1945)! 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. Nevertheless, PREMATURE BURIAL, while perhaps not among Corman's best work, is engaging enough to repay repeated viewings (this has been my third time round).

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Milland an excellent alternative to Price, 24 October 2002

Author: funkyfry from Oakland CA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Milland plays an English 19th-century nobleman convinced that hereditary catalepsy will cause him to be buried alive. To escape his conuming fear of this fate, he builds a tomb equipped with numerous safety-valve escape mechanisms -- even a poison to take should all else fail. When his wife (Court) forces him to destroy it, a chain of events occurs with his burial and subsequent rescue via graverobbers (who he promptly slays). Good moments of suspense, good photography by pro Crosby, the usual poor direction of actors not being an obstacle to the film's quality. 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). He is an actor of a type not seen often these days -- he strongly projects his emotions, causing them to be felt by the audience, instead of simply seen. Vincent Price was also an actor of this type; their work in these "cheapie" horror films should not go unnoticed. It brings a power to these films that makes them memorable.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Not the best, but still good Corman-Poe cycle entry., 3 January 2006

Author: capkronos (capkronos@hotmail.com) from Ohio, USA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

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). Because the film started as an independent production and Price was under contract with AIP at the time, he was not able to do the film. 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. I also have no problem with the series taking a more serious turn. PREMATURE BURIAL is certainly one of the most grim, moody, foggy and removed of the entire series, but that doesn't mean it is a bad horror film by any stretch. It's actually pretty good.

Mr. Milland plays a cranky medical student who is obsessed with the idea that he will one day be buried alive; a fate that also befell his father. He has even devised his own special tomb, complete with trap doors, alarms and escape hatches in case his fears do indeed become a reality (one of the more clever touches in the Charles Beaumont/Ray Russell script). Naturally, all doesn't work as planned and before the movie is over Milland gets buried alive, goes mad and busts out of his tomb to indulge in a murderous rampage. Hazel Court, who usually passed up the lead virtuous good girl role for characters like this, actually seems to be playing a supportive wife... until the final plot surprise is revealed. The fine supporting cast also Richard Ney as a doctor who may or may not be up to something bad, Heather Angel as Milland's sister, John Dierkes, Alan Napier, Dick Miller (who is credited as "Richard Miller" and is hard to recognize in a small role as a grave-robber who become a victim) and Brendan Dillon.

MGM's Midnight Movies DVD collection doubles this movie with the timeless MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964), which is a must for horror film collectors. It has two great interviews with a grinning Roger Corman about the productions of both films, plus trailers.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Roger Corman's Third Poe Is The Weakest Link, 1 November 2005

Author: Hal-900 from WA, USA

Third film in director Corman's Poe series is not as good as the first two. I do not want to be too critical of the movie, because I did enjoy it. I just think that there is something missing here, and I'm not quite sure what it is. My guess is that the story itself has some problems. For instances, the screenplay by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell is not as good as the ones Richard Matheson wrote for the first two movies. The story does not care to operate outside the main central idea, which is the fear of being buried alive. Corman probably felt something was wrong too, because he did start trying new things with the next five films in the series. It is the only film in the series in which Vincent Price does not appear, but Price's replacement, veteran actor Ray Milland, does a good job in the starring role. Price's elegant flamboyance is sorely missed, but Milland is a good actor and he is very effective as story's mercurial hero. Cult figure Hazel Court excels as Milland's love interest. Anyhow, it is a good film and I loved the ending. Not one of the best in the series, but it is fun.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Midnight in the garden of good and evil, 12 October 2005

Author: ian-433 from Edinburgh, Scotland

Intensely gloomy it may be, but an impressive example how a determined cinematic stylist can make a real virtue of a low budget. 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. Court's shadow passing phantom-like over the sleeping Milland. The sudden shock moments when the sinister gravediggers Sweeny and Moe appear. And the blue-suffused dream-sequence in which Milland hallucinates the fate he fears most is quite masterfully shot, cut and scored (Ronald Stein).

A dark, dank little gem.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Terrific Gothic horror! Actually phobia-evoking!!, 26 August 2005

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Being a huge admirer of the legendary Vincent Price, I (and I'm sure many Price fans with me) constantly had to suppress prejudices on Ray Milland's acting performance. Not that he's a bad actor or anything; it's just that Vincent portrayed the protagonist in the other 6 entries of Corman's Poe cycle and you can't help wondering that he would play certain sequences a lot better and more "Poe-like". That being said, "The Premature Burial" still definitely is a marvelous and warmly recommended horror film with a haunting Gothic atmosphere and a handful of ultra-macabre sequences. The screenplay suffers a little from its own ingenious and titular gimmick, though… The story handles about a man living with the incontrollable fear of being buried alive, so you can bet your bottom dollar on the fact that this will happen as a matter-of-course, no matter how waterproof his precautions are. Luckily enough, Roger Corman has directors-talent in abundance so he easily sails around the predictability of the story by focusing on the uncanny set pieces and morbid atmosphere. Overwhelming the viewer with typically Gothic aspects (thunderstorms, fog-enshrouded cemeteries, eerie vaults…) Corman actually camouflages that several of the sub-plots are poorly (or even not at all) elaborated. Like, for example, the grave-robbing business or the whole murder-conspiracy near the end. Notably sardonic (and downright brilliant) is the sequence in which Milland shows his wife and best friend around the tomb he designed himself, complete with numerous escape-routes in case his worst nightmare should come true. Great stuff!

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
I'm going to be cremated!, 13 December 2003
Author: Brian W. Fairbanks (brianwfairbanks@yahoo.com) from Cleveland, Ohio

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. This movie offers some fairly useful tips for those who have a similar fear, but after watching it you might agree with me that cremation is the way to go.

Corman keeps things nice and creepy throughout, and your skin is sure to crawl at the appropriate moments. This is no match for the director's magnificent "Pit and the Pendulum," but it's an above-average horror flick recommended for everyone but the ghouls employed in the funeral industry.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
A very interesting movie., 12 July 2001
Author: montresor (montresor@mixmail.com) from Barcelona, Spain

This is the only film in Corman's Poe cycle without Vincent Price. He chose instead Ray Milland as the man haunted by fear of being buried alive. In fact Milland portrays the protagonist more "seriously" than Price would have, or more "realisticaly". This is a good film for those who like the subject. Some critics have talked about films filled with fascination with death, quoting some times "Obsession" by Brian de Palma, for example. But if there is a "necrophiliac" film ever, this is "Premature Burial". Loosely based in Edgar Allan Poe's unfilmable tale, it has a magnificent plot and many hints and blinks. It is a disturbing film, too. Its atmosphere is perfectly gloomy. Milland seems genuinely tormented by his fears, and he delivers some modified Poe lines with intensity. I think that this picture is in the better half of the Poe cycle, and has a particular quality of its own.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Under Appreciated Poe Adaptation!, 10 August 2003

Author: (bsmith5552@rogers.com) from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Most of the reviews and comments on "The Premature Burial" tend to dismiss this film as second rate. I don't agree. In fact I think it is as good or better than many of the other Roger Corman produced/directed Edgar Allan Poe adaptations.

The basis of the story is man's fear of death and more specifically of somehow being buried alive. Guy Carrell (Ray Milland) is one such person. He believes that his father was a victim of a premature burial and as such thinks that he will suffer the same fate. He goes so far as to construct a crypt that has many fail safe escape devices in case that he does suffer the same fate as his father.

Carrell marries the beautiful Emily Gault (Hazel Court) and with her help, tries to overcome his fears. Also involved in the mystery is Carrell's sinister sister Kate (Heather Angel), family friend Dr. Miles Archer (Richard Ney) and Emily's father Dr. Gault (Alan Napier). Guy begins to hear eerie sounds and is seemingly tormented by two grave diggers (John Dierkes, Dick Miller) that he encountered earlier. Are there plans afoot to drive poor Guy mad? Who in his household could be behind such a plan? Does he ultimately suffer the fate that he fears most?

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. Ultimately the dispute was resolved and the picture was eventually released under the AIP banner.

Milland is surprisingly excellent in the lead. He conveys the building paranoia of Guy Carrell very convincingly. The lovely Hazel Court was a veteran of many films in her native England and nicely complements Milland and Heather Angel provides an air of mystery as Guy's sister/

Some useless trivia:

1. Ray Milland and Heather Angel had starred together some 25 years earlier in "Bulldog Drummond Escapes" (1937).

2. Miles Archer was the name of Sam Spade's partner who was murdered at the beginning of "The Maltese Falcon" (1941).

3. Alan Napier achieved greater fame as Alfred the butler in the "Batman" TV series of the 60s.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Classic Horror, 8 August 2005

Author: seventhgun from Germany

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Being one of many Edgar Allan Poe adaptions by Roger Corman, I have to say this one is the best. The actors are very well cast, and I think Ray Milland does an excellent job, I don't think Vincent Price would have brought another dimension to the character. Roland Stein's music score is just incredible, really chilling, and fits the theme and mood of the movie perfectly. The sets are classic style, they don't look very real, which is one of the reasons I like this movie (and other Poe-adaptions) so much. The charme of this film immense. The highlight of this film are the demonstration of Carrell's self-made coffin and the dream sequence (excellent colors). If you like old-school horror movies, this is for you.

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