The Tell-Tale Heart (I) (1953) User Reviews

Oh, James Mason, So Perfect

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 22 January 2016]

A madman (voiced by James Mason) tells his tale of murder, and how a strange beating sound haunted him afterward.

The animation of this short is pretty decent and fits the material well without being too grisly. But, of course, the real joy is in the narration. When it comes to telling a story so well-known and often repeated, it pays to get just the right voice. And James Mason is the one for that (though Vincent Price would also work).

I remember this story being longer. Now, that might be my memory or it might be that they abridged it. But I have fond memories of the first time I ever heard the story in an elementary class. (I don't believe I actually read Poe's work until later.) The tape I heard was not Mason, but I wish it had been.

An inspired horror animated short; beautifully captures the essence of Poe's story

[ackstasis · 9/10 · 19 June 2007]

Taking me completely by surprise, Ted Parmelee's 8-minute cartoon adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's short story, 'The Tell-Tale Heart,' is a faithful, stylish, atmospheric, genuinely unsettling feat of clever animation, creepy sound effects and an excellent voice-over by James Mason. Produced by the UPA (United Productions of America), the film was nominated for a 1954 Best Short Subject Academy Award, and was, in 2001, selected for preservation by the National Film Registry at the United States Library of Congress. I basically stumbled upon this short completely by mistake, and my curiosity was immediately piqued by its being an adaptation of one of Poe's most famous works. Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely.

'The Tell-Tale Heart' is the story of an insane man (who, voiced in the first-person by James Mason, acts as our narrator) who murders his elderly landlord because of his "strange eye" and is driven to madness by the continual hideous beating of the dead man's heart. The murderer himself, speaking from prison, does not acknowledge his own insanity; just like all of us, he considers himself to be quite sane. "What madman would wait – could wait – so patiently for so long?" he asks, of his waiting seven days before killing the old man. "True, I'm nervous. Very, very, dreadfully nervous," he confesses later, but still maintains his own sanity. "But why will you say that I'm mad?" He says this as we watch his hands press against the bars of his cell, the perfectly-chilling end to a film.

We never actually see the madman's face, restricted to glimpsing his shadow on the floor and his dirty, gnarled hands. The audience witnesses the events through the warped mind of the murderer, with even ordinary events and objects taking on a surrealistic, twisted, terrifying light. Mason's narration is perfect for the role, his voice lending his character the earnest, desperate, edgy feel of a man at the edge. His character claims to be calm and collected, but within his voice lies a ripple of fear, of a man brought to the very borders of sanity, of one frantically trying to reclaim his bearing on reality. This is a wonderful short film.

Brilliant

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 8/10 · 28 March 2012]

A boarder becomes increasingly horrified by the nasty eye of his landlord, and plans to kill him. However, he hasn't taken the power of a guilty conscience into consideration. One is faced with a challenge when adapting something that is already impeccable in its original form. To make one's work worth producing and, for others, to take in, one must truly do justice to what made it so. Poe's short story has chilled countless people for more than a century, with its downright disgusting descriptions, how direct he is in the rendition of pure terror, and of the immersion into madness. Many of his words are used here, with a pristine performance by James Mason bringing them to life. The sound FX and eerie music further enhance this retelling, and completing the trifecta is the vivid, at times surreal animation. Never a tale of people but one of states of mind, of emotion and mood, this barely shows faces, it is not a clear, chronological narrative, no, rather, you feel what our narrator felt, and while you undoubtedly want to distance yourself from his actions, you can't look upon the situation from the outside, with judgment and clarity, you are pulled in, and drown in the insanity. The dark, dingy colors, the sparse detail, indeed, at one point, even... sheer black. Silence. This is how you adapt this magnificent author, R.I.P. There is disturbing content in this. I recommend this to any fan of Gothic horror. 8/10

Excellent adaptation of the story by Poe

[llltdesq · 10/10 · 1 July 2001]

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.

Picture Perfect Poe

[tostinati · 18 August 2004]

An English teacher whose taste I generally respected despised this film. As a word person, she was no doubt bothered by the compression and elimination of so much of Poe's carefully wrought language.

But she overlooked one thing, in my estimation. Poe said everything in a short story should be toward one effect, and certainly, there has been no better attempt on film to achieve the kind of formal and emotional control Poe suggested was the story teller's goal than this animated short. She should have appreciated that.

The control of tone, light and color palette here is complete; the actors are hand-crafted; the voices and music are expertly orchestrated as in great radio drama; best of all, nothing extraneous or distracting seeps through at any point. (We clearly see only one face during this short. We never see the narrator, but see all that happens through a subjective camera.) While there is a ton of ham bone melodrama and story padding in Corman's Poe films, this film achieves just the right pitch, delicate and disturbing, maintains it, and then finishes simply. In today's context, UPA's Tell-Tale seems slightly dry, if not downright academic; Corman's films evoke not only Hollywood, with all that means, but low budget film making and drive-in culture as well.

I believe Poe would have appreciated UPA's effort and encouraged them to try others, like Cask of Amontillado and Masque. Given the chance, I think he'd have liked to tell Corman to just quit it.

10 stars. One of the great cartoons, ever.

Excellent animated short!

[jluis1984 · 10/10 · 24 July 2006]

United Productions of America, one of the most original and ground-breaking animation studios of the U.S., achieved the peak of their "limited animation" style (an abstract style that champions symbolism over realism) with this short film based on Edgar Allan Poe's famous short story of the same name. With their minimalistic approach to animation and their total dedication to the art, this small company changed American animation forever and the magnitude of its influential was felt many decades after its creation.

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is the story of a man (voiced by James Mason) consumed by a bizarre and sick obsession with his old landlord's "strange" eye. An obsession that will take the man to murder the old man and hide the body, but the horrors are not finished with that. It's a story of madness and obsession told from the point of view of the madman who calmly retells his story and how he reached that state of insanity.

In barely 8 minutes the short film captures the haunting atmosphere of the Gothic novel and Poe's tale of madness becomes vivid with fluid animation and frightening images of chaos reflecting the madman's mind. The limited animation technique used by UPA never found itself more at home that here, where its artistic conception can (and is) explored to its max creating the image of a real painting in movement. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is so beautifully conceived and so perfectly crafted that it feels as if one was truly watching the dark dreams of a psycho.

Now, James Mason's voice-work is what truly takes this film from high class art to masterpiece proportions, as basically the film revolves around his first person narrative. Every line is delivered with a deep emotion that conveys the narrator's frightful experience with amazing believability. Writers Bill Scott & Fred Grable, as well as director Ted Parmelee and the rest of UPA's team crafted one of animation's finest films when they did "The Tell-Tale Heart", a very different animated experience.

Maybe nowadays UPA's achievements have been overshadowed by the many other studios that had more commercial success, but their influence is not forgotten. This terrific short film is without a doubt a classic of animation and a masterpiece of the horror genre, a film that must be seen at least once. 10/10

amazing animated adaptation of one of poe's most famous works

[framptonhollis · 7/10 · 12 December 2016]

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is probably the most popular and famous of all of Edgar Allan Poe's tales. It's a very simple, quick, and easy to read tale that has a great plot, wonderful style, and a memorable ending. It is the perfect Poe tale!

This film is a brief adaptation of this beloved classic, and it captures its mood and suspense gloriously. The narration by the great James Mason is pitch perfect, and the animation style is creepy and superb! The film is genuinely intense, too. The atmosphere is heavy, and it makes for a great experience. My heart was practically pounding as I watched it-which is interesting to note due to the title and subject of the story.

A must see and perfect for Halloween

[bbowman-7 · 10/10 · 30 October 2006]

I saw this short back in 1953 when I was just a kid. Had nightmares about it for a long time after. I haven't seen it since and have always wondered why. Was there some reason it was taken out of circulation? The mood and atmosphere with the juxtaposition of UPA animation (cartoons in those days-mostly associated with Mr.Magoo and Gerald McBoing Boing.) and thriller-style mood piece was groundbreaking. Since then I've been a fan of Poe's and especially that story. If anyone knows where it is or how I might see it again I'd love to know where I could get a copy. Anyone? Pleeeez? Is there other thriller-type animation out there? (No I'm not talking about Scooby Doo!)

Makes You Very Nervous.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 21 August 2016]

Whew. It's as spooky as ever, and James Mason's reading brings to it an hysterical drama that is absent from his movies.

Sometimes the stark images illustrate the events and sometimes they're surrealistic images of moons, branches, upright things draped in cloth.

I don't know how Poe could bring these stories off. Here, for instance, he begins with the otherwise nice old man whose filmy white eyeball the narrator simply can't stand and which eventually drives him to murder.

If I had written it, I'd have to have had to explain what the living arrangement was. Did they come to share a flat? How did they handle the rent? Who did the cooking and who washed the dishes? And how the hell did the unnamed narrator ever wind up in a situation like this? Poe dispenses with all this irrelevant details, a device in accord with his theory that everything could, and should, be thrown out the window in favor of effect.

Some effect!

"But Why Do You Say I'M Mad?"

[theowinthrop · 10/10 · 26 January 2007]

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.

Scary Stuff

[Anyanwu · 10/10 · 24 June 2000]

I don't know how this one does not rate a 10. Outside of the Exorcist it is the only movie/film that really scared me. James Mason is masterful in this animated re-telling of the Poe classic. The still animated style and use of shadow and eery music is too good. I have to own this and show it to my kids when i get some. In the dark, there is nothing scarier than Poe.

Interesting, but not really scary

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 9 October 2013]

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.

An amazing adaptation

[Rectangular_businessman · 9/10 · 1 June 2012]

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.

One of the most indescribably beautiful pieces of animation ever made.

[agenttimmyk · 11 November 2003]

Just tonight I saw this short in a presentation of animated films as part of the Milwaukee International Film Festival. I found myself literally watching this with my mouth hanging open in awe. The animation is not groundbreaking in the various techniques used, but the ways they are used, and the ways they are merged to create brilliant, original techniques in their own light, are astounding. The use of numerous versions of a full paintings to animate things like the changing of a light source is shocking in it's simple, yet immense effectiveness. The music is very minimalistic, but very appropriate for the film. James Mason is haunting in his narration. This film is one of the most beautiful, unconventional, and effective uses of the animation art form in American film history. It is a shame that it is not available on video, though it may be that the only way to really experience it fully is in a theater. In that case it is a shame that it isn't played very often.

UPDATE...

The film is now available as an extra on the DVD for the original theatrical version of the film Hellboy. The only reason I can see for this is that Hell Boy director Guillermo del Toro must be a fan of it. The film Hellboy isn't bad, but the DVD is worth it for this short alone. And it can be had quite readily in used shops for a very good price (I've seen them as low as $9.99).

UPA's The Tell-Tale Heart is an intensely thrilling Edgar Allan Poe short

[tavm · 10/10 · 13 June 2007]

UPA's adaption of Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart is perhaps the studio's most unique representation of their attitude of animation: presenting an artist's point of view as well as staying true to the source material of a previous author's intent. James Mason is perfect as the first person narrator of his descent into madness concerning the murder of an elderly man whose white eye proves to be a very unsatisfying distraction to him. Lots of atmospheric music combined with some of the most intense abstract images and a dark screen for nearly 30 seconds contributes the most effective thriller moments in animation history. This is highly essential viewing for lovers of UPA and Poe.

Excellent animated adaptation of the Poe tale

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 9 November 2016]

An adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe short story, this five minute animated short is far, far better than you might expected from what could be considered a "cartoon". However, here we have still images being animated occasionally instead of a continuous motion; the artwork is in the style of those silent German expressionist movies, all angular and bizarre shapes.

James Mason is the narrator and does his job superbly, especially at the end where he conveys the true terror of a disturbed mind. The use of the beating sound effects are used nicely in conjunction with the beating pictures on the screen creating a disorientating effect for the viewer. Poe's story is typically excellent and this short film conveys the horror and anguish well. Contains more horror in its five minutes than 90% of today's "horror" films do in their ninety.

It has a story, yet it is pure avant-garde

[iliakhachidzegeocrusader · 9/10 · 28 May 2019]

Yes, it really has a story. It also has something else - stylish colors, stylish animation and haunting voice of James Mason. If animated shorts are classics, truly this is one of the first. ...and I've said nothing about challenge this short encounters - making something worth to be mentioned alongside its original source.

Chilling and Disturbing in Every Regard

[elicopperman · 9/10 · 4 October 2018]

Part of the appeal of watching classic animated shorts is discovering gems that are not like the typical comedic cartoon variety. UPA's adaptation of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe is one of them, so much so that the film was actually given an X rating by the British Board of Film Censors. As of now, it is at #24 in the 50 Greatest Cartoon book and has been deemed culturally significant by the NFR. As for what I think, it still remains one of the creepiest shorts I've ever seen.

As the film tells the famous story in a brief manner, it manages to capture the raw mood and chilling atmosphere from Poe and translate it very well for the screen. What makes the film stand out is the visual style itself, since it focuses more on gothic backgrounds and stylized designs rather than character acting. However, it fits within the point of view of the main character (voiced superbly by James Mason), since the short is meant to provoke anxiety through the eyes of a madman.

The surrealistic visuals emulate the fear factor to recreate the perspective of the main character and let the audience imagine that they're in his shoes. Whenever the main character does something wrong or horrific, we feel the paranoia in him, the tone is that claustrophobically frightening. Even the music works well on its own, going from quiet and menacing to loud and bombastic depending on the scene. Overall, if you haven't seen this short, definitely give it a watch. It may make you feel nervous watching it, but why would you say it will make you mad?

A surreal, but still horrific UPA cartoon

[ja_kitty_71 · 10/10 · 23 October 2021]

Here is another creepy cartoon for the Halloween season. A surreal but still horrific combination of UPA's animation and narration by actor James Mason (Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). I had never seen this cartoon before until I found it on YouTube. After that, I thought it was another awesome UPA cartoon, as well as a favorite.

Also, I'd like to point out that I didn't know that UPA, which is known for the famous "Mr. Magoo" cartoons, had done something so... dark and mature, if those are the right words to sum up this short. The short was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject. So anyway, all I have to say is that this short is definitely worth seeing on Halloween and is another UPA favorite.

Use of Poe's Words for Great Effect

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 28 December 2015]

The pacing of this story, with its wonderful rises and falls, similar to a heartbeat, makes this a masterwork. Jame's Mason narrates and leads us on a terrifying tale of murder and obsession. A man, a boarder, becomes fixated on the eye of an old man with whose he lives. It becomes so dominant in his life, he resolves to kill the old man to rid himself of the eye. There are incredibly eerie clips leading from one event to the other. Music and Mason's voice carry us through this familiar tale. It is really a series of still shots that make this really work well. This is a masterpiece of concision. It is not like most of the short features of its day.

VERY scary short

[preppy-3 · 10/10 · 20 April 2013]

This is an animated short. There's not a lot of movement in the short--it's mostly these dark sinister paintings and it's all narrated by James Mason. It's all seen through the eyes of a madman. He lives with an older man who he can't stand. So he decides to kill him. He succeeds but he goes even crazier.

Very eerie and spooky. It was rightfully nominated for an Oscar for Best Short and is in the National Film Registry. Supposedly this was shot in 3-D (which would account for some of the strange camera angles) but there's no proof that it was released in that format. It doesn't matter though--it works great in 2-D. The short has a constant air of madness and depression about it and Mason's narration perfectly fits what we're watching. It's not the entire short story but it works. Well worth seeing. Not really for kids--especially small ones.

Pretty creepy!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 2 November 2008]

In the past, I have been very, very critical of the cartoons made by UPA/Columbia Pictures during the 1950s and 60s. In every case, the artwork of the cartoon was very poor compared to comparable films from MGM, Warner Brothers and Disney. Sadly, because the UPA films were so cheaply made and they unbelievably received more than their share of Oscars, this style became the norm. Well drawn backgrounds and high frame rates were to become a thing of the past and the cheap look of UPA dominated with cartoons such as Gerald McBoing-Boing and Mr. Magoo.

Fortunately, while the same bare-bones look of UPA is present in this cartoon, here it actually works to good effect due to the colors used and the grim plot. In many ways, the art is highly reminiscent of the old silent classic, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI--with its German expressionistic style. Here, for once, the UPA look actually works and works well.

As for the story, it's a retelling of the classic Poe tale as read by actor James Mason--a man whose voice alone is reason to see this film.

So, despite not winning the Oscar in 1954, it was justifiably nominated and the beauty and creepiness of this film haven't diminished over the years.

Great Version

[Michael_Elliott · 13 October 2008]

Tell-Tale Heart, The (1953)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Oscar nominated animated film has James Mason narrating the action set to Edgar Allan Poe's classic story. I had heard great things about this film so I was very happy when I came across a copy and was even more thrilled when the film turned out to be so good. The movie does a brilliant job in its animation and I must say the look of the film seems so far ahead of its time that it looks more like a Pixar movie. Another terrific thing is the editing, which really seems ahead of its time and this also adds some nice tension to the film. Mason's vocal performance is where the heart is as he really gives it all and delivers a dynamite role. His breakdown towards the end has to be heard to believed as he is so incredibly good.

Chilling

[dtucker86 · 10/10 · 8 October 2023]

The Tell Tale Heart has always been my favorite of Edgar Allen Poe's stories. It is his most chilling because the madman tells it from his uniquely twisted point of view about why he kills an old man simply because he has a cataract in his eye (that would be the modern medical explantion for the vulture eye). This movie doesn't follow Poe's tale word per word after all its only eight minutes but James Mason does a masterful narrating job and I can see why this film was nominated for an Academy Award as best cartoon short. By the way if you really want to see an outstanding Version of The Tell Tale Heart go on youtube and watch Vincent Price do it.