Rating: 
Summary: White Pin Good, Black Pin Baaaad...
Review: Richard Boone plays Bob Craft, recently appointed chairman of a lovely little cemetery. He takes the job reluctantly, trying his best to get out of it. In his new, appropriately cold office, he notices a map on the wall. It is a map of the cemetery plots, both occupied (represented by black pins) and reserved (white pins). Craft accidentally sticks black pins in the plots of a newlywed couple who just left on their honeymoon. Grave error! The lovebirds wind up dead in a car wreck. Haunted by the implications of this "coincidence", Craft tries it again, sticking a black pin into some poor slob's plot at random. The scene switches to show the latest member of the boneyard club as he slumps over. Craft's co-workers decide to prove it's all rubbish by having black pins stuck into their 3 plot spaces. Was this a good idea? Watch and find out! The plot thickens with a twisty end...
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorite obscure movies
Review: I BURY THE LIVING stars Richard Boone as a new cemetery caretaker who believes the cemetery plot map has ... special properties. The map shows all the plots, with a black pin indicating the plot is occupied and a white pin indicating the plot is reserved. Boone accidentally puts in black pins when a young couple make their plot arrangements, and the couple's subsequent tragic death seriously shakes him. He begins to obsess about the map, and eventually wonders what will happen if he replaces a black pin with a white one...A fairly average story (admittedly rather "Twilight Zone" in style) is lifted immeasurably by the incredibly creative and imaginative cinematography and production design. As the map and its powers loom larger and larger in Boone's mind, so too does the map itself grow in size, eventually dominating the caretaker's office like a giant cyclopean seeing-eye. The imagery presented in the film is unforgettable. I almost hesitate to mention the slightly disappointing ending because (A) it's really not THAT disappointing, and (B) it's so much fun getting there. This new release marks the first time the movie's been available in an VHS-SP edition (earlier video editions have been a fair VHS-EP copy and an excellent laserdisc). Now that it's readily available in a good edition for a small amount of money, you owe it to your collection and to your B-movie-loving self to see this overlooked gem!
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty darn clever!
Review: The title conjurs up images of violence, grossness, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. Made in 1957, the movie has the tone and production values of an episode of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS...not a cheap horror flick. It moves slowly, and when Richard Boone keeps testing his theory (if I try THIS pin, will someone die?) it gets a bit wearying. But the movie, obviously shot on a low budget, is pretty nifty all the same. The protagonist as a classic man of the '50s...a well dressed (in gray tones) department store owner...a minor pillar of the community. A sane, rational man with a nice "American dream" sort of life ahead of him. But when the shock of what he may or may not have done by putting the wrong colored pins on the cemetary map begins to sink in, we get to see him slowly unravel. The music gets hokey, and the camera-work is either very static or goes totally off into "la-la land." But behind it all, we've got a fairly solid script, with enough twists to keep things interesting, and a solid performance by Richard Boone. Never a huge star, this is one of the best performances I've seen him in. I recommened the movie for that alone. Theodore Bikel (who later played Teyve in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF) plays Angus, the cemetary jack-of-all trades caretaker. His makeup is as thick and phony as his accent, and this does distract from the power of the ending, no question. But all in all, this is a movie worth taking a look at. It can be obtained quite inexpensively on many of the horror movie compilations out there now...you know the ones...10 movies on 2 DVDs for $6. Well, this movie is certainly worth $3 of that investment!!
Rating:
Summary: TO DIE FOR
Review: With little fanfare, MGM has quietly transferred a handful of great B films to DVD that they not too arbitrarily categorize as "Midnight Movies." The nice looking digital prints are in their original theatrical format and appear as if they were taken from original material. The discs come with no substantial extras but care has been lavished on the box art, often reflecting the lurid lobby cards and posters of their initial release. Even acknowledging the B category, these are for the most part well-crafted and, well, adequately acted. "I BURY THE LIVING" is one of the all time great movie titles that plays off a universal phobia (see Jan Bondeson's great new book "Buried Alive"). Richard Boone and an unexpected Theodore Bikel costar in an exceedingly eerie horror flick. You almost expect to have a song or two -- at least when Bikel first shows up. See, Boone is a cemetery director who pins his graveyard map marking empty tombs. But when the owners of the marked graves suddenly pass away, as it were; well, let's just say people are dying to get in this place. The original poster accurately warned: "Out of a time-rotted tomb crawls an unspeakable horror." Creepy fun that can still raise the hair on your neck. The screenplay's by Louis Garfinkle who later wrote "The Deerhunter" and Albert Band, who later produced "Honey, I shrunk the Kids," directed.
Rating:
Summary: A Cult Classic, Not to Be Missed!
Review: This one is a real puzzler, and I was caught off-guard at the end. It's surprisingly good for a low budget horror film, going for the brain rather than the jugular. The film is a horror/psychological thriller. Richard Boone plays a man who is part of a trustee group. Part of the duties of the members is to take turns overseeing a private cemetery. Boone finds a map in the cemetery office that shows the occupied and unoccupied plots marked with white or black pins. Boone discovers that when he places a black pin in a plot that is unoccupied, the owner dies. Is Boone going mad, or does he really have the power to bury the living? This is an entertaining film, very creative and stylized. Boone often said it was his personal favorite, and he was proud to have worked on the film.
Rating:
Summary: Neat little chiller
Review: I wont go into the plot because everyone else has, but you might like to know that the Alpha dvd of this title is a superb print and only half the cost of the MGM deal. A lot of the Alpha stuff is of dubious quality but this time they got it right. Really cool cover art as well. Worth thinking about if you're considering a purchase.
Rating:
Summary: A Cult Classic In The Best Way
Review: I loved this movie from the first time I saw it.It well done for a B-Movie with reasonable special effects and a thoght provoking skript and hell the acting is pritty good to. All in All I think this is an excellent movie and an essential movie for any horror collector
Rating:
Summary: Interesting 50's indie...
Review: This independent film, written by Louis Garfinkle, is better than you might think. It's an interesting plot, though the final outcome is somewhat predictable. BUT...getting to that final outcome, there's some eerie and wonderful psychological-thriller-type stuff going on. Richard Boone made this just before he started playing Paladin on TV ("Have Gun, Will Travel") and he shows more committment than I've seen from him. The wonderful Theodore Bikel, Scot brogue & all, is quite fine. All of the acting is good. I won't blab away the plot, but the technical aspects of this film are extraordinary, and are displayed very well on this inexpensive DVD. The photography by Frederick Gately is exquisite, showing every crag in Boone's craggy face, and every bead of sweat on his bulbous nose. The opening credits, shown agaist a craggy brick wall show such detail, though you don't know it's a brick wall till later. Lighting is crucial, and mood is well-sustained. The artwork of E. Vorkapich (the map) is as creepy as it gets; great terror potential. Most of all must be the music of Gerald Fried; his deft use of harpsichord adds to the creepiness. The film also relies heavily on sound effects, and the spoken dialogue (all by Ryder Sound Services) is crystal clear. I see moments of Hitchcock...and even Bergman...in the images. "I Bury the Living" isn't a fright-fest; rather a slow, interesting walk down the path of psychological terror. Another feather in Albert Band's indie hat. A very worthy film experience.
Rating:
Summary: Is your name on the board? A black pin means death.
Review: A Maxim Productions Inc. Presentation. Robert Kraft (Richard Boone) is now Chairman of Immortal Hills Cemetary. He doesn't really care to be, but his uncle says it is tradition and mostly for business. Mr. McKee (Theodore Bikel) who oversees everything shows Kraft the old office and a most unusual grounds map. Every plot is there. The black pins are for those already buried there. The white pins are for those who have made arrangements for the plot in the future. Two newlyweds, just married, drive into the cemetary to say hello. As a wedding present to his new wife, he gives her a cemetary plot. A few hours later, the young couple is dead. Kraft later realizes the pins on the board map need to be changed to black. But Mr. McKee says there is already two black pins there. Kraft could have sworn there were two white pins there. Herbert Anderson (Dennis the Meance tv series 1959-1963) walks in. He has to write the "obit" for the newspaper. The reporter explains the pins are like being "marked for death". Alone, Kraft decides to have fun by taking a black pin and without looking, puts a black pin anywhere on the odd board. It sticks to W. Isham. nearly two minutes later, W. Isham is dead. Later, the reporter tells Kraft "coincidence is part of everyday life..." But Kraft says he has been though this before. "Regularly". More deaths and eerieness abounds. Did you see your name on the board?
Rating:
Summary: Pin me!
Review: Bob Kraft (Richard Boone) believes there is a sinister relationship between a string of recent deaths and black pins in a map of cemetery plots. This movie is an intriguing blend of The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock. Kraft, the innocent man caught in what appears to be a supernatural conundrum, suffers the torments of the damned. Each black pin he sticks in the map causes another person to die, or so he thinks. Boone is effective as a bewildered victim, caught in a web of mystery, a contrast to his tough guy roles. Take special notice of the large map on the wall of the caretaker's cottage. It is the mute monster of our story. White pins mean that the plot is sold, but not yet occupied. Black pins mean that the dear departed has, well, departed. Switching the pins before death appears to hasten the process. Hence, the mystery. The roads of the map twist, turn, and curve until they resemble a disjointed human face that sneers at the puny man. Kraft alerts the police that he is responsible for the recent deaths, but the cops are skeptical. The deceased people expired from natural causes. Classic TV fans will recognize Herbert Anderson (Henry Mitchell of "Dennis the Menace") as an owlish reporter. This little thriller is a classic horror gem. The presentation is low budget, but the result is superior. Ownership is a definite must. ;-)
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