EDITOR’S NOTE: Premature Burial was on the CBS Late Movie on August 2, 1974.

This is the third of Roger Corman’s Poe movies. This time, Corman decided to make his own Poe film outside of his deal with American-International Pictures. He got his financing through Pathé Lab, the company that did the print work for AIP.

While he wanted to use Vincent Price, the actor had an exclusive deal with AIP, so he hired Ray Milland.

Unexpectedly, on the first day of shooting, James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff of AIP made a surprise visit. They informed Corman that they were working together again and were thrilled that they’d convinced Pathé to bring the movie back to them after threatening to pull all their lab work.

Guy Carrell (played by the talented Ray Milland) is a British aristocrat with a unique condition. He suffers from catalepsy, which causes him to fear being buried alive. This fear almost ruins his marriage to Emily (Hazel Court, a familiar face from movies like The Raven and The Masque of the Red Death). Despite his peculiarities, they decide to get married, even though he has constructed an elaborate coffin from which he can escape.

Let me tell you, the dream sequence where he does get buried alive? I saw it before I was ten when forced to visit the home of other children instead of getting to watch movies at home alone, as I have preferred my entire life. They went and played some games. I grabbed the TV Guide and found a horror movie. This is what I saw, and the burial sequence completely destroyed me. I remember walking onto their porch, staring into the sunset and wondering how the adults could be so carefree when death was stalking our every waking moment. I was a weird kid and grew up to be even more odd.

And to add to the surprises, Dick Miller makes a memorable appearance as a grave robber!