The Tell-Tale Heart

Customer Reviews:

(3.5 STARS) Very Loose Adaptaion of Poe's Short Story.......2007-03-19

FOREWORD: To those who are squeamish or react nervously to shock, we suggest that when you hear this sound ... (thump, thump., thump ... muffled sound of heartbeat) ... close your eyes and do not look at the screen again until it stops.

The feature-length adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe' short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" begins with the tongue-in-cheek warning to viewers. Or maybe it was meant serious. I know nothing about the production company of this film which was made in 1960, but whoever it is, the producer(s) must have got their inspiration from William Castle and his low-budget, but hugely enjoyable B thrillers. It was released one year after Castle's cult horror "The Tingler" and "The House on the Haunted Hill."

The melodramatic story of this version of "The Tell-Tale Heart" itself is very, very loosely based on Poe. The film's story revolves around a troubled librarian Edgar (Lawrence Payne) who falls in love at first sight with a newly moved-in girl Betty (Adrienne Corri) living across the street. Edgar asks Betty to have a dinner with him, and she accepts, but he later finds that she is really in love with Edgar's friend Carl (Dermot Walsh). Angry and in despair, Edgar does what you know he will do anyway in his desolate house where he lives alone.

[NOT POE, EXACTLY] Now how can you turn a 5-page short story into a feature film that runs 79 minutes? This film does it by adding many things to the original material, and they actually added a lot here - mostly things about a classic love triangle case that went awry. The script is not very original, but the acting is good with Lawrence Payne's tense portrait of the protagonist. (He sometimes looks like Anthony Perkins as Norman.)

The camera is also surprisingly stylish (though the image quality of Alpha DVD is not perfect, but acceptable). Interestingly, the film contains some sexual nuances in several scenes (that reminds us of the opening scene of a clandestine meeting in Hitchcock's "Psycho") and it even suggested voyeurism like "Rear Window." The influence from the latter is obvious (I don't say how).

Only a few elements are transferred into the film from the source material. This film could hardly be called a Poe adaptation, but is still an interesting low-budget thriller

An average adaptation of a story you already know.......2005-11-29

There's not a whole lot of suspense in this one, as everyone over the age of five knows the story. The filmmakers do try to shake things up a bit with strange twists at both beginning and end, but the merits of an introductory warning to close your eyes and open them only after the beating heart stops beating is about as campy as they come - and the ending is somewhat annoying in its own right. Still, at least the effort was there to throw in something of the unexpected to an extremely familiar tale.

In this incarnation of Edgar Allen Poe's famous short story, a lovers' triangle leads to the tell-tale murder. It's never pretty when a shy librarian starts pitching woo, but hermit-like Edgar Marsh (Laurence Payne) works up the nerve to ask out a woman who just moved in across the street from him. Betty (Adrienne Corri) isn't much of a looker to my eyes, and she's sort of a strumpet, what with her disrobing nightly in front of an open window right there on a busy thoroughfare and all, but Edgar is quite hooked on her. His best friend Carl (Dermot Walsh) helped talk him into making his move, so Edgar can't wait to introduce him to Betty. The poor dope is quite blind to the fact that Carl and Betty (who wasn't exactly enamored with Edgar to start with) can't take their eyes off one another from the very start. Then comes a night when, from his vantage point across the street, he spies the two of them together in Betty's bedroom (the woman apparently doesn't own a curtain) - these two may dress like Victorians, but they certainly don't act like Victorians. Well, you know the rest: Edgar kills Carl, starts hearing that infernal heartbeat, etc.

It's a perfectly average film with decent heart-beating special effects, but it's just hard to get excited about a perfectly average film of a story universally imbedded in the minds of viewers (especially when it dates back to an era in which blood and gore were still kept to a minimum).

Alpha Video Gem.......2004-03-27

If like me, you are a fan of older movies, you will want to add this one to your collection. Lawrence Payne and Dermot Walsh star in this interesting (though somewhat loose) adaptation of the Poe Classic.

A shy librarian falls in love with a nieghbor who prefers the attentions of another. Edgar murders his rival then hids the remains under the floor boards of his apartment. Its the perfect crime until Edgar starts to hear the beating of his victims... well, you know the rest.

Alpha Video offers many older titles that are difficult to find. Unfortunately, the sound and picture quality leave much to be desired.

The Tell-Tale Tart..........2004-03-19

Edgar Marsh (Lawrence Payne) is a shy, backward sort when it comes to the ladies. He has no idea how to even approach a woman, let alone talk to one! One day, a beautiful brunette named Betty (Adrienne Corri) moves in across the street from poor Edgar, who is immediately swept away by his desire for her. Edgar's friend Carl (Dermot Walsh) is quite the ladies man and tries to disuade Edgar from getting so infatuated with one girl. Edgar doesn't listen, and gets increasingly obsessed with Betty. At the same time, Betty is totally ga-ga over Carl! Carl resists her at first, but eventually ends up in bed with her. This would be fine, if Betty had learned to draw the drapes in her bedroom, which is right across from Edgar's window! He watches the two have sex, and you can just about hear his heart and mind shatter! Edgar later invites Carl over and bludgeons him to death with a poker. He then stuffs Carl's body under the floorboards in his downstairs music room. The fun begins when Edgar starts hearing the thunderous beating of Carl's heart, pounding and rattling things around in the house! Unable to stand it, Edgar tears up the floor over his late friend, cuts out his heart, and buries it in the back yard. Of course, the vengeful organ keeps right on pulsating, ultimately driving Edgar completely bananas, right in front of the police. Loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story, TTTH is an enjoyable enough yarn. The acting is above average and the fear / dread-factor is high. Boom-boom... Boom-boom... Boom-boom...

Average customer rating:

You better have patient students.

The Tell-Tale Heart
Starring: Michael Sollazzo , and Robert E. Reynolds
Director: Scott Mansfield
Manufacturer: Monterey Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000286S06
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Description

"Madness, but will you say that I am mad"? Murder, perhaps you judge too soon. For when you hear my story, you will certainly understand why, very gradually - I made up my mind to take the life of the old man."

True to the words of master storyteller Edgar Allan Poe, this stunning adaptation brings to life what is perhaps Poe's best known short story. Murder, madness and betrayal from within interweave in this fascinating study into the mind of one driven by his won demons to take the life of another.

DVD Extras:
Read the story
Author bio
Discussion topics
Scrapbook

Adapted for the Screen & Directed by Scott Mansfield (from the original Edgar Allan Poe story)

Starring: Michael Sollazzo, Robert E. Reynolds

Directed By: Scott Mansfield

Finalist - 2001 Ben Franklin award
WINNER! 2002 Bronze Telly Award
WINNER! 2002 Honorable Mention -National Parenting
Publication Award
WINNER! Parents Choice Award
WINNER! Kids First! Award
WINNER! Film Advisory Board of Excellence

Customer Reviews:

You better have patient students........2007-01-04

I got this film to compliment a unit on Poe and a reading of the "Tell-Tale Heart" with my 8th grade students. My disappointment was in the lack of creativity that went into the film. The speaker recites the story alone for the most part. Very few flashbacks provide images of his actions, and the lighting, music, etc. are costant, unchangeing with the mood. Essentially, the kids found it to be corny, and so did I. The greatest value in showing it was giving them one more exposure to the text through a different medium. However, I will still look for the animated version I watched as a child so that I don't have to show this one again next year.

We Craven's; Chiller & Edgar Allen Poe's; the Tell Tale Heart; Horror Double Feature

Average customer rating:

We Craven's; Chiller & Edgar Allen Poe's; the Tell Tale Heart; Horror Double Feature

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000FT5QCS

Product Description

Wow! A real creeepy double feature featuring 2 horror classics! There's Wes Craven's Chiller in which Michael Beck (The Warriors) awakes from a cryo-sleep after being dead for quite some time. Many can immediately tell there is something different about him. But his mother, the one who put him in stasis, refuses to believe them. A priest (Paul Sorvino from Goodfellas) becomes our hero and the question of the human soul comes into play. Beck's character is quite evil and we are presented with the possibility that he lost his soul when he died. Not a bad premise, but nothing is ever resolved. Many questions the film poses go unanswered-which may or may not be a good thing. The film's main message is "Don't play God" or maybe just "Let sleeping dogs lie." Scream queen fans may appreciate an early appearance of Jill Schoelen who went on to star in The Stepfather, Cutting Class, Popcorn, and When a Stranger Calls Back. On another note, this features some of Stan Winston's early F/X work, and it's quite good. Then there's the classic movie; Edgar Allen Poe's; the Tell Tale Heart in which Edgar sees his girlfriend embracing his best friend Carl. In a fit of rage Edgar muders Carl and hides the body under the floorboards. When night falls Edgar begins to hear strange sounds coming from beneath the floor...

Average customer rating:

The Tell-Tale Heart
Starring: Alex Cord , and Sam Jaffe
Director: Steve Carver
Manufacturer: Monterey Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000N4SAAU
Release Date: 2007-02-20

Christopher David Collins presents: The Tell - Tale Heart (c)

Average customer rating:

Christopher David Collins presents: The Tell - Tale Heart (c)

Manufacturer: Starfleet Productions, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000VPNQLE
Release Date: 2007-09-04

amazon.com

True to the language of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell - Tale Heart" . Obession leads to madness. Madness leads to murder. Yet the killer feels he is quite sane.

You be the judge.

Scenes transition from glorious black and white to color in this interpretation of the macabre.

The integrity of Poe's verse is preserved and there is no visual depiction of graphic violence in this film festival favorite.

Buy this Edgar Allan Poe DVD here. View the Tell - Tale Heart DVD and learn about Great American Poets and Edgar Allan Poe stories now. The Tell - Tale Heart beats on!

DVD:

DVD

DVD