'I Bury the Living' review

'I Bury the Living' - 1957

Story in Brief: It's businessman Bob Kraft's turn to run the local cemetery for a year. He's introduced to the details, especially the large map of the cemetery which displays unsold plots, sold plots (which are marked with a white pin) and plots in use (marked by a black pin). Bob accidentally starts slipping black pins into the map, only to have the associated people turn up dead. Does Bob suddenly have power over life and death?

Thoughts:

It's a great title, isn't it? It conjures up images of some demented man who tortures people by burying them alive, doesn't it? Well, that's not this movie. This movie is about the possibility of men having 'powers beyond those of known science'. If it were made today, it probably would have been an episode of the 'X-Files'. For that matter, it may have been remade as an episode of the 'X-Files'. I haven't seen all of them, so I don't know myself.
At any rate, the focus of the movie is on Bob Kraft, his guilt, the possibility that he may have some strange ability, how this affects his relationship with others, and how all this erodes at his sanity. Richard Boone (playing Bob Kraft) starts out as a normal businessman, accepting what he sees and not thinking about much else. He is, for all intents and purposes, a 'normal' fifties strong male lead. We watch as his world slowly shatters around him.
In all honesty, this movie shouldn't be any good. The direction gives the movie a very television feel (perhaps assisted by the fact that it was shot at the television ratio). It feels like a very good, slightly long episode from some anthology programme. This is not a bad thing. Tension builds as the movie progresses and remains tight for the finale. While attempting to not discussing the ending much, it seems to state one thing but hint at others. It seems tight enough to feel like an ending, but loose enough for the viewer to make up their own mind.

As referred to earlier, this film appears to have been shot at the 'standard' ratio which translates to a full-screen image. The way that the lettering is displayed during the opening credits seems to bear out that the film was meant to be at this ratio and nothing during the course of the film looks incorrect at this ratio.
The black and white video image is solid, miles crisper than the murky VHS copy I found a few years ago. There are a few marks to the image, but nothing awful and nothing consistent. The sound is free from pops and crackles. It may have been treated or remastered in some way, but I won't swear to that.
The back of the case indicates that the running time is about one hour, twenty minutes. The actual run time is closer to one hour, fifteen minutes. As such, it's not a substantial time investment to make.

This film is another in the MGM 'Midnite Movies' line and, like the others, has an SRP of $14.95 but can be found for $9.95. The disk also includes a trailer as well as French and Spanish subtitles. I have seen the title pop up on presumably gray market DVDs at an inexpensive price. Considering the low price of this disk, and despite not having seen the quality of the other disk as of yet, I would recommend this version of the movie. I don't expect the movie will sound or look any better than it is presented here.

Recommended to rent. I know I have spoken relatively highly of this title, but I'm not sure it will appeal to many others. It's a good, quiet cult film. Watch it and see if you like it first. Most people will probably only require viewing it once, they'll enjoy it, but have no need to see it again. Rent it.

(Standard DVD pricing has probably changed note applies here as well.)