The Tell Tale Heart (1953 film)
7.6 /10 1 Votes
Director Ted Parmelee Music director Boris Kremenliev Screenplay Bill Scott, Fred Grable Country United States | 7.6/10 IMDb Genre Animation, Short, Crime Duration Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cast James Mason Release date December 17, 1953 Based on The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Allan Poe Writer Edgar Allan Poe (story), Bill Scott (story), Fred Grable (story) Similar movies Edgar Allan Poe wrote the story for The Tell-Tale Heart and The Avenging Conscience |
The tell tale heart by annette jung
The Tell-Tale Heart is a 1953 American horror animated short film directed by Ted Parmelee and narrated by James Mason. The screenplay by Bill Scott and Fred Grable is based on the 1843 short story of the same title by Edgar Allan Poe. The UPA short is known as the first cartoon to be rated X in film history.
Contents
- The tell tale heart by annette jung
- The tell tale heart short film of the edgar allan poe story
- Synopsis
- Production
- Reception
- Availability
- References
The tell tale heart short film of the edgar allan poe story
Synopsis

The plot focuses on a murderer whose increasing guilt leads him to believe he can hear his victim's heart still beating beneath the floorboards where he buried him. Seen through the eyes of the nameless narrator, the surrealistic images in the film help convey his descent into madness.
Production

Paul Julian served as both designer and color artist for film, and Pat Matthews was the principal animator.

In May 1953, pre-production started on The Tell-Tale Heart, which originally was intended to be a 3-D film. It is not known if the film was animated in this fashion, but it was not released in 3D. There is no reference to 3D in a technical trade review. Furthermore, the leaders on original prints of the film do not indicate it ever was part of a pair of 3D prints.
Reception

The film was the first cartoon to be rated X, indicating it was suitable only for adult audiences, by the British Board of Film Censors. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film but lost to Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom from Walt Disney Productions.

In 1994, animation historian Jerry Beck surveyed 1000 people working in the animation industry and published the results in The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals, in which The Tell-Tale Heart ranked #24.

In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Availability
The short is included as a bonus feature on the first DVD release of Hellboy. It is also included, with commentary by Leonard Maltin and Jerry Beck, on disc 2 of The Jolly Frolics Collection.
References
The Tell-Tale Heart (1953 film) WikipediaThe Tell-Tale Heart (1953 film) IMDb The Tell Tale Heart (1953 film) themoviedb.org