The Tell-Tale Heart (1953 British film)

Not to be confused with The Tell-Tale Heart (1953 American film) or The Tell-Tale Heart (1960 film).

The Tell-Tale Heart is a 1953 British short film directed by J.B. Williams and starring Stanley Baker (the sole member of the cast).^[1] It was written by Williams based on the 1843 short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe,^[2] and was produced by Adelphi Films.^[3][4]

The Tell-Tale Heart
Directed by	J.B. Williams
Screenplay by	J.B. Williams
Based on	The Tell-Tale Heart 1843 story by Edgar Allan Poe
Produced by	Isadore Goldsmith
Starring	Stanley Baker
Cinematography	Basil Emmott
Edited by	Peter Curran
Music by	Hans May
Production company	Alliance Productions Ltd.
Distributed by	Adelphi Films Ltd.
Release date	December 1953 (1953-12)
Running time	20 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The film was believed lost until it became known in October 2018 that a 16mm copy was inadvertently bought in a Brighton junk shop in 1984 by Jeff Wells.^[5][6][7]

Plot

A murderer hides his victim's body under the floorboards. He thinks he has got away with the crime, but haunted by the incessant sound of the dead man's heartbeats, is driven to confess.

Cast

• Stanley Baker as Edgar Allan Poe

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: This is scarcely a film, but rather a virtuoso performance by Stanley Baker, reading and acting the story, with the accompaniment of the sound of heart-beats. Good photography and lighting are marred by the frequent interpolation of shots of the moon with clouds scudding across it, while the fixed 'moonlight' of the interior set is never affected by these phenomena. The film, which hardly justifies its 'H' London Certificate, is essentially theatrical, with a good theatrical performance by Stanley Baker."^[8]