The Tell-Tale Heart (1953)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Tell-Tale Heart |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1953 |
| length | 8 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ted Parmelee |
| script |
Bill Scott , Fred Grable |
| production |
Stephen Bosustow for United Productions of America |
| music | Boris Kremenliev |
| camera | Jack Eckes |
The Tell-Tale Heart is an American animated short film by Ted Parmelee from 1953. It is based on the short story The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe .
action
A narrator who imagines himself to be mentally normal recapitulates the events of the past: He lived with an old man who wore an eye that was covered with a fine skin so that the pupil was invisible, and that resembled a vulture's eye . Although he has nothing against the man himself, the narrator wants to destroy the eye that pursues him and that he thinks he recognizes in all everyday things.
He wants to kill the old man and sneaks up to his bed at night. However, since the man keeps his eyes closed, the narrator does not hate the eye in order to commit the murder. One night the old man wakes up to a noise made by the narrator. Not the eye, but the increasingly louder heartbeat of the old man ultimately leads to his murder. The narrator hides the body under the floorboards. When the police appear to investigate the cause of a nocturnal scream, the narrator initially pretends that the old man went into town a day ago and doesn't want to come back for two weeks. Although the police are about to leave again, the narrator invites them to tea. During this time, the narrator believes he can hear the old man's heartbeat again and believes that the police officers would also hear the noise, but remain silent about it. Finally, the narrator, half insane, admits the old man's murder and is arrested. Sitting in the cell, he again implores the viewer to be completely normal.
production
The Tell-Tale Heart was released in Technicolor on December 17, 1953 . The film was narrated by actor James Mason .
It was the first animated film to be approved for adults only by the British Board of Film Censors .
Awards
The Tell-Tale Heart was nominated for an Oscar in the category " Best Animated Short Film " in 1954 , but could not prevail against Die Musikstunde .
In 2001 the film was entered into the National Film Registry .
Web links
- The Tell-Tale Heart at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Tell-Tale Heart on bcdb.com