Watch The Tell-Tale Heart For Free

i must have seen a different film!!

Fantastic!

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This 8-minute animated version "The Tell-Tale Heart" was nominated for an Oscar in the 1950s, but lost to Disney's music lesson. It comes from United Productions of America, which is not really a name to many anymore, but also created many Mr. Magoo short films for example, a quite established and prolific company back in the day. The famous story is written by Edgar Allen Poe and narrated by James Mason shortly before his first Oscar nomination for "A Star is Born". The animation is pretty odd, occasionally creepy, but as a whole I wasn't really as scared as I hoped I would when watching this short movie. I wonder if people back in the 50s felt otherwise.I thought the parts with the evil eye and the beating heart could have been construed in more frightening manner. Mason did a fine job though in conveying the character's state of mind and my favorite was the comment early on on how the insane never realize their defective state of mind. Without him, it would have been even worse. I just wish the animation could have been better. It's simple (not necessary a bad thing if executed convincingly) and repetitive and does not do the story justice. Only one to watch for the biggest Poe enthusiasts and animation lovers.

This UPA short is simply one of the best adaptations of a tale written by Edgar Allan Poe.Most of the adaptations based on any of his works tend to be merely disappointing, capturing only the most pragmatic elements from the source material, but this beautiful done animated short (Which was quite ahead of its time) is able to capture perfectly well the eerie beauty and the macabre tone of the original tale, without all the subtext contained in that story, doing an impressive use of limited animation in order to create the perfect atmosphere that this literary masterpiece deserved.The magnificent voice performance done by James Mason deserves a special mention: It not only fits incredible well with the atmosphere and the story, but also adds new levels of emotion of what is showed to screen, being one of the most memorable qualities from this short, along with the excellent Gothic atmosphere. This short is a must-see.

With it's delicate (but, shall I say "pounding"?) use of language, Edgar Allan Poe's THE TELL TALE HEART remains his most perfect story in terms of verbal effect and thrills. It is possibly the most anthologized Poe tale (maybe THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER" is more frequently reprinted, or "THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM"). Still for it's effects in language nothing else Poe wrote as a story approaches it. It has also been used again and again in the movies. Besides the 1941 short with Joseph Schildkraut (which I reviewed some months ago), there is D.W. Griffith's early film, THE AVENGING CONSCIENCE (a clumsy retitling and retelling of the story). There was even a borrowing of the story in an episode of THE SIMPSONS ten years ago, where a jealous Lisa sabotages a new schoolmate's science project, until she hears the throbbing of the heart.I ran across this excellent (to use a term that Charles Montgomery Burns would use) version of the story on YOU TUBE - which has some nice moments of animation (two of which I reviewed just before this piece tonight). Made in 1953 it was nominated for an Oscar for best short - cartoon, but lost. Too bad, for it had some imaginative use of background. When the narrator (James Mason) first mentions how the old man's filmy eye is driving him mad, he mentions the white film on the eye, and suddenly the madness of the narrator reveals itself as everything that is roundish and white is considered the eye. The sequence culminates with the smashing of a white tea pot, which is a fine summation of the growing violence in the narrator.The story follows the normal course, as the narrator (in Mason's wonderful rich speaking voice) maintains his kindness and decency, and then explains how he was waiting for the right moment to kill the old man, and is set off (finally) when he hears the heart of the victim for the first time. The moment of violence is the second time that Mason's tone changes for the worst. The final time, of course, is when he hears the heart again as the police are in the house examining for traces of the victim, and not realizing it is buried under the floor. Then Mason, not being able to stand the "noise" again, reveals all. And the last we see of the narrator he is in a stone cell, asking again why everyone insists he is mad! A pretty effective retelling of the story.

This short, nominated for an Oscar, is very atmospheric and quite spooky. It's actually a perfect choice for the limited animation style that UPA frequently used and the choice of James Mason as the narrator was absolutely inspired! It captures the mood, tone and feel of Poe's story perfectly and is an incredible piece of work. Most highly recommended. It was released on one of the Columbia Classics series of videos. It's worth hunting down.