I Bury The Living was filmed in 1957 and released to theaters in 1958, a film that remains fun to watch nearly 50 years later.

Though the promotional artwork on the video box for this film (released in both DVD and VHS formats) might have you thinking this is a film about zombies returning from the grave, this film is actually a murder-mystery done in horror film style.

Released as part of MGM's Midnight Movies series, I Bury The Living stars Richard Boone.

Richard Boone

Richard Boone was already a major television star on TV's Top 10-rated Have Gun, Will Travel (which aired from 1957-63 and was recently released on DVD) when this film was released in 1958.

His role as a Wild West gunman named Paladin on that series won him Emmy nominations in 1959 and 1960. Boone's character on the series was that of a gunslinger for hire who handed out business cards with the picture of a chess piece on them and the words, "Have Gun, Will Travel," imprinted on the cards.

Boone was also nominated for Emmy Awards for his performances on TV's Medic in 1955 and The Richard Boone Show in 1964 (he was also Golden Globe-nominated for that series). From 1972-74, he returned to TV as Hec Ramsey.

Boone died in 1981 of throat cancer, but his motion picture career included a number of fine performances, among them appearing opposite John Wayne in The Alamo (the 1960 film, with Boone as General Sam Houston), Big Jake and The Shootist.

Additional cast members

Others in the fine cast of I Bury The Living include Theodore Bikel. Bikel was Oscar-nominated in 1959 for Defiant Ones and was a famous folk singer as well. Bikel's other film appearances include My Fair Lady, Fiddler On The Roof, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (a cold war comedy classic), The African Queen and The Enemy Below.

The cast also includes Peggy Maurer, Howard Smith (he played Harvey Griffin on TV's Hazel), Herbert Anderson (the father on TV's Dennis The Menace) and Robert Osterloh.

For a low budget film, the acting is believable, helped by a script written by Louis Garfinkle, who was later Oscar-nominated for The Deer Hunter. Garfinkle co-produced the film with the film's director, Albert Band.

The music is by Gerald Fried. Fried later created TV theme music for episodes of Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Gilligan's Island and The Man From Uncle. He shared an Emmy with Quincy Jones for his score to the TV mini-series Roots.

And the director, Albert Band, began his career as a production assistant on such John Huston films as Asphalt Jungle and The Red Badge Of Courage. He later produced such films as Dragonworld and Honey, I Blew Up The Kid.

The video

Released in both DVD and VHS tape formats, this is a new digital video transfer of the original film, so the picture quality is outstanding.

The movie is in its original black-and-white, without extras. The film has a short running time of 80 minutes.

Besides this MGM Midnite Movies release, the DVD has turned up in other DVD collections as well from various companies, but for a quality reproduction, usually at a cheap price, this MGM official release can't be beat.

This film

Though the publicity for the film, the theater posters and even the cover of this video release, would have you thinking this is a zombies rising from the dead type of film, it is not.

The horror element is presented to confuse the viewer. It works very well from that perspective. But, without revealing too much, this film is a stylish murder mystery at its heart.

I first saw it years after its original release when I was in my early early teens when a local TV station used to broadcast "horror movies" as part of its Saturday night "Fright Night" movies (you may remember the type of show, with the host's head highlighted in the darkness by a hand-held flashlight aimed at the host's face; hokey, but effectively scary for a young viewer in a darkened room watching TV).

I remember being scared watching that showing. Now, decades later, I've watched the film again. Even knowing the ending, the film still works as a true film treat for me.

Older children will enjoy the film as an Edgar Allan Poe-inspired horror movie, while adults will marvel at the film's stylish shots and the murder mystery/psycho drama at the film's core.

Variety has called the film "eerie" and "intriguing," while film critic Leonard Maltin refers to it as a "crisp little thriller." I agree.

The plot

I Bury The Living revolves around a small town where local business leaders take turns running the local cemetery each year.

Boone plays one such businessman and community leader in Robert Kraft. It's Kraft's turn to run the cemetery.

At the cemetery, he encounters the groundskeeper, Andy McKee (played by Bikel), who has a thick Scottish accent and an attitude that makes one feel that he runs the place. He's been doing the job for 40 years and isn't too keen on the idea of being put out to retirement soon by the town's business leaders.

McKee has created this huge map of the cemetery that hangs on the wall of the cemetery office. It shows all the cemetery plots. If a plot is owned by someone who has died, a black pin is inserted in the map in the owner's plot. If the owner of a plot is still living, a white pin is inserted in that plot's place on the map.

When black pins are "accidentally" found stuck in a young couple's plots, and then the couple turns up dead, Kraft's mind starts thinking that he may have killed the people by putting the wrong colored pins in their plots. He eventually wonders what would happen if he put white pins in dead people's plots.

But is he responsible for life and death with the movement of colored pins, or is something more sinister going on?

It is that mystery that makes this a fine film. This isn't a creature feature. It is a murder mystery seen through the eyes of a man who is gradually losing his grasp on reality.

Final recommendation

I found I Bury The Living still fascinating decades after first viewing the film, and I think fans of horror films and murder mysteries will love this film.

I Bury The Living is well-acted and suspenseful, and you can do worse than spending some time watching Richard Boone at the height of his fame giving a fine performance. Boone reminds me most of horror legend Vincent Price in this role, and that's a good thing.

The film is unrated, but would probably be too scary for young children (10 years and older could probably handle the subject matter).

On the web

For Richard Boone fans, the Have Gun, Will Travel fan page: http://www.hgwt.com

For Theodore Bikel fans, his official site: http://www.bikel.com (take a look at his many film credits listed on the site, he's a truly amazing actor)

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older