Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

ScoobyMint Disappointment for a huge fan!

Majorthebys Charming and brutal

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

BA_Harrison When beauty Betty Clare (Adrienne Corri) moves into the building opposite introvert Edgar Marsh (Laurence Payne), the shy young man seeks advice from his friend Carl Loomis (Dermot Walsh) on how best to romantically approach the young woman. Edgar's attempts at wooing Betty are clumsy, and his feelings unreciprocated, and when Edgar introduces Betty to Carl, he really sets himself up for a fall: one evening, he sees Carl and Betty together in her apartment, and they're not talking about the weather! Enraged, Edgar lures Carl to his home, bashes his head in with a fire poker, and stashes the body under his floorboards, but his guilt over the terrible crime manifests itself as a incessant, pounding heartbeat.A loose adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-tale Heart (a story familiar to me through an episode of The Simpsons), this film opens with a warning for the squeamish, although for the most part the action is far from horrific, revolving around Edgar's obsession with Betty (on whom he spies from his first floor window) and his unsuccessful attempts at getting to first base. Things get far more interesting when Edgar eventually loses the plot: we get a surprisingly vicious murder scene, Ed giving Carl numerous hefty whacks that leave him spattered with blood (gruesome stuff for a film from 1960); the young man's descent into complete and utter madness is handled well by director Ernest Morris, with dripping taps, pulsing floorboards and a ticking metronome pushing him even further over the edge; and in the film's juiciest scene, Edgar clutches the still beating heart that he has cut from Carl's chest and buries it in the garden.I rate The Tell-Tale Heart 6/10, which I might have raised to a 7 if it hadn't been for the trite, cop-out ending in which it all turns out to be a dream (that might just become reality).

mark.waltz Low budget but spirited adaption of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, this came around the time that American International was doing their own Poe films, ableit in color and with a cast of veteran horror stars. Lawrence Payne is the handsome Edgar Marsh who lives through a real nightmare when he murders a romantic rival and places the dead man's corpse under his floor board. It isn't the smell of rotting flesh that keeps him awake at night but the sound of a loudly beating heart that seems to get closer with each beat. Is it guilt, insanity or real horror approaching? Or possibly all three?Poe's story has been filmed dozens of times, but this version seems the most likely to be true. Various short versions only tell one side of the tale, with an MGM short indicating that the victim was the killer's boss. Even Vincent Price would get in on it by doing a dramatic reading that showed Price in the background bring the terrorized murderer losing his sanity, if he ever had it that is.This version may be cheaply made, but there's a sense of romance in the more complete tale. Payne shows much vulnerability and Adrienne Cori makes a lovely heroine. In a sense, this is more a Gothic thriller with elements of horror, and at times, I think the heart is beating for color like the SIP and Hammer horrors which were breathtaking to look at. A sometimes inappropriate musical score reminds Mr of carousel music, but the period details are excellent. I have seen a musical about Poe's life Off Broadway which touched on his stories (in addition to his madness) but if it ever does make it to the musical stage, this would be a fabulous basis for it.

kidboots Even though the opening warning addressed to "those who are squeamish" etc, and with the sound of a heartbeat on a black screen now seems a cheesy gimmick (think William Castle), overall the film is quite a scary experience. You know it's going to be good when you realise it is an early Brian Clemens (he of "The Avengers" and "Thriller" fame) script.Laurence Payne's haggard looks gave dimension to his performance as the shy Edgar, a reference librarian, whose hobby is chess and who is desperate to find his ideal love. He contrasts strongly with his Carl (stalwart of British Bs, Dermot Walsh) who has all the charm and worldliness that Edgar lacks. They both fall for the same girl, Betty (pretty Adrienne Corri,) and she is attracted to Carl's ease of manner - next to him Edgar appears like a neurotic wimp. Within the first ten minutes you realise Edgar has a drug addiction, he has almost an aversion to women in the flesh but has a need for pornography - did I say he also has a mother complex!!Betty is a flower seller who moves in across the road from Edgar who, in taking tips from Carl, attempts to sweep her off her feet. His manic enthusiasms turn her off but she is more than willing to be romanced by Carl who tries to warn Edgar about her flirtatious ways. Edgar takes a voyeuristic delight in watching her undress - their windows face each other across the street but one night he sees more than he wants to when Carl keeps a midnight rendezvous with Betty.The murder of Carl is particularly vicious as Edgar, blood spattered and wild looking, drags his body down the stairs. Jenny seems to show undue concern when after three days Carl has still not shown up. Meanwhile, back at Edgar's residence, the cleaner has been given strict instructions not to enter a locked room. Ticking clocks, dripping taps - even rocking vases, chess pieces and metronomes do their best to send Edgar completely around the twist. He removes the heart, takes it to the parkland and buries it - all very grisly. Observing Edgar, Betty feels he is at the bottom of Carl's disappearance but the police laugh at her complaints, thinking she can't get over the fact that she was thrown over!! And even though the ending is a major let down it still doesn't take away from what is an unsettling, horrific movie!!Throughout the movie Edgar's sexual repression was pounced on by the censors who apparently removed scenes involving a brutal murder with a poker, the resurrection of the victim's body from it's hiding place and the removal of the heart - all to do with sexual arousal through violence, something the British Board of Film Censors wouldn't put up with. Just a couple of years previously there had been a huge controversy over Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom" (1960) that was finally given an X certificate which may explain why the release of "The Tell Tale Heart" was delayed for two years.

Bub_the_zombie Definitely one of the better takes on the classic Poe story. The acting in this version is simply fantastic. A moody little piece with some risqué' scenes to be of such an early caliber. A very interesting rarity.The quality of the print isn't great, but has still held up well throughout time, considering... It's a wonder that someone still had the negative.. I was really surprised,as a lot of times, films like these can really be tedious, but not this one.A welcomed attempt is what this is. One gets the sense that even tho it had been done to death (even previously from 1960) the filmmakers took their approach seriously, with an end result that is creepy and risky.I'm surprised that more people haven't seen this film, given the fact that it's pretty readily available on a one buck DVD alongside Chiller.