The Tell-Tale Heart

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.

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

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.

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.

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).