The Tell-Tale Heart (1953) Theatrical Cartoon

Scared witless!

I saw this film at a news-theatre cinema in the west end of London in 1955 and it has been engraved on memory ever since. I was 17 at the time and it scared me witless! The cinema had a good sound system, and that combined with a heady perfume in the airconditioning made for a memorable experience. James Mason's voice combined with that thudding soundtrack was brilliant at creating the menacing atmosphere. Can a cartoon be art? Definitely in this case. A "must-see" for all cartoon connoisseurs.

Jasc

Several art schools dot the Hollywood/Los Angeles area, and the UPA movement attracted many students to any of the films they produced during the fifties.

UPA's "Tell-Tale Heart" was an animated short (not considered a cartoon in the usual sense) which opened December 27th 1953 in Hollywood, along with the B/W feature film; "From Here to Eternity", not exactly an upbeat movie. (Remember; The film depicted the invasion of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese as well as Frank Sinatra being beaten to death by Ernest Borgnine.)
That particular UPA short definitely put the movie goer into the correct frame of mind. I know, I was there as a nineteen year old art student.

One of UPA's best and most terrifying films.