Bury Me Dead

June Lockhart returns home and goes to a funeral. It's her own. When she presents herself to husband Mark Stevens, adopted sister Cathy O'Donnell, everyone has mild hysterics in turn. Even butler Milton Parsons faints on the stairs after he backs out of his employer's' presence. That leaves two questions: who was the woman they buried, the woman whose body was burned beyond recognition in a fire at the stables? And was it murder?

This movie is a very rare example of film noir: one with a sense of humor. Even as it fulfills all the tropes of the genre -- the characters flooded in striped shadows from Venetian blinds, the flashbacks, the two woman, one of whom is borderline psychotic -- it is filled with comedy bits. Even the scene where they are sweating the suspect, the head cop is Charles Lane, going on about criminology textbooks. Neither do the gags interrupt the story. Instead, they form the characters, make them individuals and point out the little things which can endear one individual to another.... or drive one to murder. It's a fine little movie.

Ambitious director Bernard Vorhaus never got out of the Bs, and the Blacklist put an end to his directing career. by 1952 He came back a few years later as an assistant director for Miss O'Donnell's husband, William Wyler under a pseudonym. He retired from credited participation in the industry in 1960, moved to England where he had directed in the 1930s, and died in 2000, aged 95.

Little-known Poverty Row noir which is fairly complex and interesting, but unbalanced by its humor. The best things about it are the cinematography (courtesy of the legendary John Alton) and the participation of the two female leads: June Lockhart (her role is not too dissimilar from that of SHE-WOLF OF London [1946] – she was on the point of being driven mad in the latter film, while here she's the object of murder, and the reason for both is her inheritance) and Cathy O'Donnell (actually top-billed but her role is subsidiary to Lockhart's – from what little I've read about it, her character has been played up as a femme fatale but she's really just a mixed-up kid, recalling the Martha Vickers of THE BIG SLEEP [1946]). Having mentioned THE BIG SLEEP, Sonia Darrin (who played the sharp-tongued bookstore clerk with whom private detective Elisha Cook Jr. was enamored) appears in BURY ME DEAD as an ill-fated schemer.

On the other hand, the male lead (Hugh Beaumont) is pretty bland – despite being deceived, beaten up and accused of murder, he keeps an incongruous jovial countenance throughout! Nonetheless, the suspense sequences towards the end are moderately well-handled (though the patronizing, thick-headed police inspector character is decidedly overbearing).

With regards to the renamed TV version, it runs a mere 27 minutes against the original 68: whole subplots are omitted, as well as most of the flashback sequences; consequently, it makes little sense – and, really, is only worth watching once for the sake of curiosity. Unfortunately, the print on the VCI DVD left a lot to be desired (the company's output over the years, while undeniably earnest, has also been alarmingly sloppy!): the audio was especially problematic with the presence of excessive pops and crackles (ironically, these didn't plague the Condensed Version as much) and, most bafflingly, a complete audio drop-out for a few seconds of dialogue!!

Bury Me Dead is directed by Bernard Vorhaus and adapted to screenplay by Dwight V. Babcock and Karen DeWolf from a radio drama by Irene Winston. It stars June Lockhart, Cathy O'Donnell, Hugh Beaumont, Mark Daniels, Greg McClure and Milton Parsons. Music is by Emil Cadkin and cinematography by John Alton.

Barbara Carlin (Lockhart) surprises everyone by turning up alive and well shortly after she had been buried at funeral! This poses two immediate questions: Who was buried in Barbara's coffin? And who was it who attempted to murder her?

As has been noted by the few writers on line who have written about this film, it's a grand premise that unfortunately isn't exploited to the maximum. This is material that makes us lament that the likes of "Lang", "Siodmak" or "Mann" didn't have this written idea land on their desks. Compact at under 70 minutes, it's a film that, under Bernard Vorhaus' guidance, just doesn't know if to play it as straight or as a straight out murder mystery comedy. Something further enhanced by Cadkin's musical score, which, quite frankly, belongs in an "Abbott and Costello" movie. However, the film rises above average because the script is actually strong and John Alton weaves some magic with his photographic lenses.

Narratively it's a good who done it? The mystery is strong and the reveal is not easy to guess from the off, though in fairness the comedy moments in the flashbacks kind of distract you from any detective work you want to partake in. But coupled with some sharp lines given to Lockhart, who delivers them with a scorpion like sting, it proves to be well written stuff. Yet without doubt it's Alton's work that makes this well worth viewing, whenever the film gets indoors the film takes on another dimension. Alton creates stark images at every turn, angled shadows everywhere, the whites ghostly and the darks deathly black. The last 15 minutes of the film are played out on this atmospheric stage and it's everything that an Alton fan could want. Even if it ultimately is work that deserves a far, far better film. 6/10

June Lockhart has the dubious privilege of being an onlooker at her own funeral. She then proceeds to navigate the tricky path of revealing that she is still alive, whilst probing into the identity of the charred remains buried in her place.

What had the potential to be a taut, dark murder mystery, simply implodes into an implausibly jaunty, 'Oh, you're alive!' caper. The humour is never sufficiently strong or consistent to transform 'Bury me Dead' into black comedy and the frequent, distracting flashbacks come across as the antics of a director fixated by a new toy that he can't resist playing with.

Belatedly, there is at least the contrivance of mounting tension, as dithering detective, Charles Lane launches into an 'I didn't get where I am today' style criminology lecture instead of immediately responding to a rapidly escalating, life threatening situation.

This special deluxe edition comes with ultra low definition blurry print, numerous missing frames (probably lurking down the back of a sofa near you) plus...... a SNAP! CRACKLE! And POP! Soundtrack, occasionally veering towards pneumatic drill territory! Aah, they don't make 'em like that anymore.

This film could not make up its mind whether it wanted to be a light comedy or a serious mystery. It tried to be both and failed at that attempt. The actresses in this film were a bit better than their male counterparts, but it still felt like it was a filmed version of Clue, without the various rooms. It also had a strange connection to Mel Brooks and his film "Young Frankenstein". When you watched Young Frankenstein, a great film, you knew it was a spoof right from the beginning. In this film, you are not sure if the writer and/or the director want you to consider the film to be a light-hearted romp, or if they intended it to be a serious thriller. I thought it was a bit funny; but not funny enough. And it certainly was not serious enough to be a good mystery. Watch at your own discretion.