The Tell-Tale Heart (1941)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (story)
Doane R. Hoag (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 October 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Short | Horror

Plot:

In this classic Edgar Allan Poe story, a man commits a murder, but afterward the victim's beating heart torments the murderer's mind.

Plot Keywords:

Loom | Confession | Guilt | Murder | Deputy Sheriff

Cast

Joseph Schildkraut	...	Young Man
Roman Bohnen	...	Old Man

Also Known As:

Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #7332)

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Included in Warner Home Video's 2005 7-disc DVD release "The Complete Thin Man Collection".

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end, the young man is on the floor between the two sheriffs. In a close shot, he reaches out and grabs their long overcoats, about a foot from the bottom hem. Then he pulls himself up. However, when we cut to a wider shot, as he finishes pulling himself up, his hands are near the top button of the coats, but he was not shown moving his hands.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story (2002) (TV)

A Tiny Treasure

A much abused young man, driven to desperation & murder, hears his conscience rebel in the beating of THE TELL-TALE HEART.

Edgar Allen Poe's story is turned into a short subject gem, with the magnificent performance of Joseph Schildkraut & the inspired direction of Jules Dassin. This is a prime example of what can be done in a very limited time frame - here, 20 minutes - when inspiration & bravado are used to interpret a great story. The original has been altered & expanded somewhat to explain more fully the reasons for the murder and to create sympathy for the killer. Schildkraut's depiction of growing guilt & Dassin's creation of an oppressive atmosphere do the story more than justice.

Dassin would go on to become a celebrated features director. Schildkraut, already an Oscar winner, would enliven cinema & television roles with his talent for many years.

Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.