Premature Burial

Original title: The Premature Burial

19621962
UnratedUnrated
1h 21m

An artist grows distant from his new wife as an irrational horror of premature burial consumes him.An artist grows distant from his new wife as an irrational horror of premature burial consumes him.An artist grows distant from his new wife as an irrational horror of premature burial consumes him.

6.5/10

Director
- Roger Corman
Writers
- Charles Beaumont(screenplay by)
- Ray Russell(screenplay by)
- Edgar Allan Poe(from the story by)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Ray Milland and Hazel Court in The Premature Burial (1962)

Heather Angel, Hazel Court, Brendan Dillon, Alan Napier, and Richard Ney in The Premature Burial (1962)

Ray Milland and Richard Ney in The Premature Burial (1962)

Ray Milland in The Premature Burial (1962)

Ray Milland, Hazel Court, and Richard Ney in The Premature Burial (1962)

Ray Milland and Dick Miller in The Premature Burial (1962)

Ray Milland, Heather Angel, Hazel Court, Brendan Dillon, Alan Napier, and Richard Ney in The Premature Burial (1962)

Heather Angel in The Premature Burial (1962)

Director
- Roger Corman
Writers
- Charles Beaumont(screenplay by)
- Ray Russell(screenplay by)
- Edgar Allan Poe(from the story by)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

Emily Gault arrives at the Carrell mansion determined to rekindle an old relationship with Guy Carrell, despite the disapproval of his sister, Kate. Guy overcomes his all-consuming fear of being buried alive long enough to marry Emily but soon becomes obsessed again, building a crypt designed to guarantee that he will not fall prey to his most dreaded nightmare. Trying to prove that he has been cured of his phobia, he opens his father's tomb and is shocked into a catatonic state. His worst fears are realized as he is lowered into a grave and covered over, apparently never to learn that the treachery of someone very dear to him was directly responsible for his predicament. —Doug Sederberg <vornoff@sonic.net>

dead animal frog good versus evil painter painting 83 more

Taglines
- Within the Coffin Lies a Man...Yet ALIVE!
Genres
Certificate
- Unrated
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
Roger Corman started this film outside of American International Pictures. Since Vincent Price had been signed to an exclusive contract with AIP, Corman chose Ray Milland for the lead role. American International would acquire the production just as principal photography began.

Goofs
In the tomb, Carrell refers to dynamite as a new invention. Since Poe wrote the story in 1844 and died in 1849, this would be impossible. Nobel did not invent dynamite until 1867.

Quotes
Guy Carrell: Can you possibly conceive it. The unendurable oppression of the lungs, the stifling fumes of the earth, the rigid embrace of the coffin, the blackness of absolute night and the silence, like an overwhelming sea.

Alternate versions
The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove shots of maggots being poured from a cup and to edit scenes of Emily's body being covered with earth. The Optimum DVD is the uncut print.

Connections
Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: Premature Burial (1975)

Soundtracks
Molly Malone

Top review

I'm going to be cremated!

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.

helpful•15