The Tell-Tale Heart

19531953
PassedPassed
8m

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

2.1K

YOUR RATING

Animation Short Crime

A madman tells his tale of murder, and how a strange beating sound haunted him afterward.A madman tells his tale of murder, and how a strange beating sound haunted him afterward.A madman tells his tale of murder, and how a strange beating sound haunted him afterward.

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

2.1K

YOUR RATING

- Ted Parmelee
- Edgar Allan Poe(story)
- Bill Scott(story adaptation)
- Fred Grable(story adaptation)
- James Mason(voice)
- Jack Mather(uncredited)

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Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total

Photos17

Top cast

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James Mason

Narrator
(voice)

Jack Mather

Old Man
(uncredited)
…

- Ted Parmelee
- Edgar Allan Poe(story)
- Bill Scott(story adaptation)
- Fred Grable(story adaptation)
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The first animated short film to be rated X by the British Film Board of Censors.

Quotes
[first title card]
Title Card: The film you are about to see is based on a story told a hundred years ago by America's greatest master of drama and suspense.......

Connections
Featured in Hellboy (2004)

User reviews25

Review

Featured review

7/10

Oh, James Mason, So Perfect

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.

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