Thriller (TV Series) The Premature Burial (1961) User Reviews

Second episode to feature a rare acting turn for Karloff (no. 40)

[kevinolzak · 8/10 · 25 May 2009]

Boris Karloff himself stars in this effective update of the Poe tale, featuring Sidney Blackmer as the terrified cataleptic Edward Stapleton, who has survived the trauma of being buried alive and takes precautions to avoid a second mistake. It is Stapleton's caring physician, Doctor Thorne (Karloff), whose inquisitiveness leads to the not-yet-dead man's revival, aiding his quest to install a bell in his casket in the family vault. Stapleton marries a young bride, Victorine Lafourcade (Patricia Medina, previously seen in 29 "The Devil's Ticket"), who intends to let the poor man die so she can share his fortune with her impoverished lover (Scott Marlowe). Once Victorine sees the shrouded apparition of her late husband patrolling the grounds, she believes it is the doctor trying to ferret out her guilt. While Karloff gives a solid performance that keeps the viewers guessing, there are two actors listed on screen seemingly not in evidence at all: Lillian O'Malley as the housekeeper and J.Pat O'Malley as the butler. Sidney Blackmer's most memorable TV role (or roles) were in the second episode of 1963's THE OUTER LIMITS titled "The Hundred Days of the Dragon," in which he played a Presidential hopeful who is replaced by a Communist impostor using a serum that remolds his face into an exact duplicate of the candidate.

Do Not Bury Me

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 31 October 2014]

Sydney Blackmer stars as Edward Stapleton, a wealthy man who has a morbid fear of being buried alive, and after a near-fatal close call with this dreadful fate, goes to great lengths to ensure that premature burial will not happen again, since he is cataleptic. His fiancée Victorine(played by Patricia Medina) plots to kill him with her young lover Julian(played by Scott Marlowe) on their honeymoon, but the carefully prepared plan does not go as they expect... Boris Karloff and William Gordon costar as Doctor friends of Edward's who seek to protect him. Good performances and atmosphere in reasonably effective adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe story. No real surprises, but nicely done.

Really worth your time!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 25 October 2018]

This installment of "Thriller" starts off extremely well. The usual introduction by Boris Karloff is more imaginative and funny than usual...so be sure to watch it.

The story then begins at a cemetery. Edward was just buried and Dr. Thorne (Karloff) has just arrived...too late to attend to his friend. But Thorne insists that his friend was healthy and there is no logical reason for his death. So, despite no court order, he opens the crypt and finds his friend...alive!!! It seems that Edward has some rare epileptic disorder and this could happen again. Because of this, Thorne warns everyone about Edward's condition and even makes an emergency necklace for the man to wear so he's never buried prematurely again. As for Edward, he also makes some arrangements so this will not happen again. But what neither considered is Edward's fiancee. She is bent on having his fortune and necklace or not, she's gonna bury him the first chance she gets!!!

Overall, this is a very exciting and creepy episode...one well worth your time.

"...I mean to retrieve his body if I have to hire grave robbers to do it."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 17 February 2012]

I loved Boris Karloff's quote in my summary line portraying Dr. Thorne, and I wonder how much it was inspired by his role in the 1945 picture "The Body Snatcher". In that film, Karloff's character was Cabman Gray, a menacing and malevolent character who, as the title suggests, was a grave robber. He doesn't have that kind of role here, but his presence is central to resolving the mystery surrounding the death of his friend Edward Stapleton (Sidney Blackmer).

But there's a problem. The entire premise of the story has to do with the idea that Stapleton's fiancée and future wife Victorine (Patricia Medina) is out to kill him and hook up with her lover Julian (Scott Marlowe). However before we even get that far, Stapleton collapses on a hunting trip, and the medallions he wore identifying himself as a cataleptic were buried under a rock by Victorine. I guess you could say she was guilty of murder by omission rather than commission, but I think you'd have a tough time proving it.

This is probably one Thriller that could have been shortened by about ten or fifteen minutes and it would have been more effective. Those drawn out scenes of the phony Stapleton wandering around the yard in the dark made up like an apparition seemed to wear out it's welcome after a while. For his part, Julian folded like a cheap tent in giving up Victorine, and if they had both held steady, I think they could have effectively put one over on the good doctor. That's because even though the Stapleton look-alike was spooky enough from a distance, up close he was no dead ringer.

Please Don't Bury Mr, Down in That Cold, Cold Ground

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 28 November 2016]

At times this is really quite the good ghost story. At other times it is plain silly. It begins with the death of a man who is the victim of catalepsy. His friend, played by Boris Karloff, is suspicious of the death and manages to revive him after the funeral. The guy then becomes obsessed with preventing this from this happening again. He is engaged to a much younger woman who is a gold digger. She is having an affair with a handsome young artist who can't wait to get his hands on her money after she marries the guy. He then builds this insane crypt where he is to be placed if he appears to have died. He has a breakaway coffin and a series of escape devices, including a warning bell that he can use. Of course, the wife still wants the money and when the opportunity present itself, she leaps at the chance. The ending doesn't wreck the story, but it was almost laughable.

Karloff phones it in once again and gives an embarrassing performance!

[imdb-25288 · 1/10 · 16 September 2019]

He really should have sticked to telling the show as the host. I thought this was gonna get good but it was pretty awful so don't waste your time. My dad told me that my great-aunt who worked for Boris Karloff said she told him, my dad over & over again, that he (Karloff) hated women. Just hated them. She knew from what he said about them, his wife's and actresses he worked with.

This show's topic is about a gold digger who marries an old man. Karloff is pretty old in this so I thought he was gonna let her have it but he starts by talking to her like he's saying "Hey, pass the salt!". His acting is wooden, mechanical, stifled, contrived, theatrical and like he's doing lines in rehearsal without substance. There's no emotion or thinking to back up his lines, really weird to watch and also a bit Embarrassing. I thought he was saving it and at the climactic scene, he was gonna let her have it, for what she did to his friend. But no. So Karloff hates women, here's one who married his friend for money and what does he does at the end? He's just talks to her like "I'm not passing you the salt and take out the trash yourself." Boring. The only thing good for fan's is at the beginning he acts like Dr. Fraenkenstine (at a table with a dead body he bring's back to life) but that's just a one minute scene. Not worth my time. Who said Keanu Reeves was wooden hasn't seen this guy. It's one of the most ridiculous Karloff acting I've ever seen. He's just bored. Yeah he should of stuck to just do the intro and leave the acting to the pros. 3 stars for the little atmosphere with the crypt scenes. That's it.