This UPA short is simply one of the best adaptations of a tale written by Edgar Allan Poe.Most of the adaptations based on any of his works tend to be merely disappointing, capturing only the most pragmatic elements from the source material, but this beautiful done animated short (Which was quite ahead of its time) is able to capture perfectly well the eerie beauty and the macabre tone of the original tale, without all the subtext contained in that story, doing an impressive use of limited animation in order to create the perfect atmosphere that this literary masterpiece deserved.The magnificent voice performance done by James Mason deserves a special mention: It not only fits incredible well with the atmosphere and the story, but also adds new levels of emotion of what is showed to screen, being one of the most memorable qualities from this short, along with the excellent Gothic atmosphere. This short is a must-see.

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.

With it's delicate (but, shall I say "pounding"?) use of language, Edgar Allan Poe's THE TELL TALE HEART remains his most perfect story in terms of verbal effect and thrills. It is possibly the most anthologized Poe tale (maybe THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER" is more frequently reprinted, or "THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM"). Still for it's effects in language nothing else Poe wrote as a story approaches it. It has also been used again and again in the movies. Besides the 1941 short with Joseph Schildkraut (which I reviewed some months ago), there is D.W. Griffith's early film, THE AVENGING CONSCIENCE (a clumsy retitling and retelling of the story). There was even a borrowing of the story in an episode of THE SIMPSONS ten years ago, where a jealous Lisa sabotages a new schoolmate's science project, until she hears the throbbing of the heart.I ran across this excellent (to use a term that Charles Montgomery Burns would use) version of the story on YOU TUBE - which has some nice moments of animation (two of which I reviewed just before this piece tonight). Made in 1953 it was nominated for an Oscar for best short - cartoon, but lost. Too bad, for it had some imaginative use of background. When the narrator (James Mason) first mentions how the old man's filmy eye is driving him mad, he mentions the white film on the eye, and suddenly the madness of the narrator reveals itself as everything that is roundish and white is considered the eye. The sequence culminates with the smashing of a white tea pot, which is a fine summation of the growing violence in the narrator.The story follows the normal course, as the narrator (in Mason's wonderful rich speaking voice) maintains his kindness and decency, and then explains how he was waiting for the right moment to kill the old man, and is set off (finally) when he hears the heart of the victim for the first time. The moment of violence is the second time that Mason's tone changes for the worst. The final time, of course, is when he hears the heart again as the police are in the house examining for traces of the victim, and not realizing it is buried under the floor. Then Mason, not being able to stand the "noise" again, reveals all. And the last we see of the narrator he is in a stone cell, asking again why everyone insists he is mad! A pretty effective retelling of the story.

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