THE TELL-TALE HEART [1953 British film]

 NEWLY-DISCOVERED LOST POE FILM! 

One of the treasures of the BFT SHORT SHARP SHOCKS collection is this thought-lost short film from 1953.  Not to be confused with the American animated short film of THE TELL-TALE HEART from 1953 narrated by James Mason and produced by UPA.  No, this is the British short film produced by Adelphi Films and stars Stanley Baker as Edgar Allan Poe and directed by J.B. Williams.  Long thought lost, the film was discovered by a Scottish movie fan in his attic in October 2018 after having bought it for five pounds in a Brighton junk shop in 1984!  This 16mm print is the only known copy of the film.  

This 20 minute short features the aforesaid Stanley Baker as Edgar Allan Poe who is seated at his candle-lit desk writing out the tale.  Baker is almost unrecognizable at first in his Poe makeup.  The entire film takes place in this dimly-lit garret in which Baker basically recites the actual story.  There are no cutaways or re-enactments of the story.  Much like in Vincent Price's AN EVENING OF EDGAR ALLAN POE, this film is a one-man show.  And what a show!  Stanley Baker is absolutely mezmerizing as he recites the tale of THE TELL-TALE HEART and had me on the edge of my seat.  This is some feat for such a familiar story. 

Baker was a hell of an actor and he uses every ounce of his talent to convey the story and bring it to life.  Quite often during the film's 20 minutes, Baker is actually quite menacing in his calm madness and seems like a coiled spring ready to pounce.  I would without hesitation call this film the greatest live-action version of THE TELL-TALE HEART alongside the equally classic 1953 American animated version.  This is one you can't miss.  It's sadly only available on the British BFI disc SHORT SHARP SHOCKS VOLUME ONE so you will need an all-region playah but, if anything is worth getting one for, it's this short film.