The Tell-Tale Heart (1941)

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:

Murder | Weaver | Slap | Loom | 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)

This beating thing...

Roger Corman,although he transferred a lot of Poe's short stories to the screen ,was not really faithful to the writer:sometimes fleshed -out to a feature length film proportions by the script writers ,the movies tended to cover what original stories existed in the first place ("premature burial" )Sometimes it was a mixture of several stories ("the pit and the pendulum").Corman's works are still fun to watch though.The late sixties attempt "Histoires Extraordinaires" aka "Spirits of the dead" saw the three directors Malle,Vadim and Fellini succumb to the same vices.Only Fellini played his game well,transcending Poe with end-of-the-world pictures and a breath-taking virtuosity.

Jules Dassin's rendering of one of POe's famous short stories is a different matter ,because it deals with Poe and Poe only.If you've read the novel,you will feel this maleficent atmosphere dear to the American writer.The pictures show the influence of German expressionism with its use of shadows and light;the soundtrack,with its relentless thump makes you feel it is your own heart which is pounding.Roman Bohnen 's performance compares favorably with the best of those of Peter Lorre.Only 20 min where fear is a man's best friend.