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.

The first ten minutes had me thinking 'sleeper' as the narrative moves from a raging inferno to a graveside funeral where the so-called corpse turns up alive and well in a heavy, black veil. It's a great audience 'hook'. So now June Lockhart must find out who among her circle tried to kill her. And, oh yeah, just who did they bury in her place.

Trouble is the movie gets pretty ragged from that point on. Director Vorhaus can't seem to make up his mind whether he's directing noir or pratfall comedy. The boxer, for example, is straight out of an Abbott & Costello romp. Add Mark Daniel's really erratic acting, plus Sonia Darrin's shaky turn, and an otherwise interesting mystery gets regrettably undercut.

Credit the rest of the cast for carrying on well despite the handicaps. Credit too, John Alton's expert noir photography for heightening the mystery part, even as it clashes with the ill- advised pratfalls. Too bad, as another reviewer points out, that a director like Mann or Losey didn't get the promising material first. Anyway, it's a good chance to see how well Lassie's mom gets along with Beaver Cleaver's dad away from TV.

A case of mistaken identity over charred, human remains (necklace i.d.) precipitates a declaration of death for a wealthy young woman (Lockhart) who then secretly attends her own funeral, revealing herself to selected people in attendance that include her husband (Daniels), step sister (O'Donnell) & lawyer (Beaumont), all coming under suspicion for trying to hasten Barbara's end. Bernie Vorhaus (B) directs on a screenplay by Karen DeWolf (B) & Dwight Babcock, based on Irene Watson's radio mystery of the same title. Bury offers a rare leading role to June who plays it cool as a cucumber in this nifty little noir, co-star Mark, aka Stan Barton, reminding of popular at the time Den OKeefe, coincidentally to utter in dialogue the title of DO's soon to be released Tony Mann vehicle ("raw deal") but sans the cigarette, Mr Carlin instead tossing back a brandy whenever the noose tightens (gulp). Watch for top billed Cathy O'Donnell as Rusty, Hugh Beaumont of TV's Leave It to Beaver, John Dehner in an early reporter role, the ubiquitous Charles Lane whose characters put the rank in crank & Sonia "Do so!" Darrin as hard luck schemer, Helen. One of the brevity beauties of post-war, Sonia's stunning looks, sharp features & thin frame had her typecast the femme fatale, best remembered as AG Geiger's Agnes Lowzier, aka, the "grapefruit" gal who does battle with bookworm Bogie in Hawks The Big Sleep (46), all of it is captured by the creative camera of John Alton (Raw Deal, American Paris). Movie ratings, like lab values, will look to trends and rest within a range. I call Bury Me Dead a variant of good (2.5/4).

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

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.