This film is part of Rentals
The Tell-Tale Heart
Stanley Baker enacts the classic Edgar Allan Poe story in this chilling short film, only recently rediscovered after being lost for 50 years.
Director: J.B. Williams
Overview
Directed by JB Williams and made at Carlton Kay Studios in London, The Tell-Tale Heart is a one man monologue starring the Welsh-born actor and producer Stanley Baker (The Guns of Navarone, Zulu, Accident), as Poe’s unnamed narrator with a haunted conscience. Like his friend and compatriot Richard Burton, Baker was recognised for his combination of smouldering intensity, surly strong spirit and fine speaking voice - a voice put to perfect use here narrating Poe’s creepy tale.
Listed on the Missing Films page of the Adelphi Films website, the film had not been seen for over 40 years. It was rediscovered in 2017 when Jeff Wells, a 16mm enthusiast living in Drunmore near Stranraer, Scotland, saw the Missing Films page online when he was clearing out his loft, and realised that he had a one reel 16mm print and contacted Adelphi to confirm the film find. This version of the film is not to be confused with Ted Parmelee’s animated version of the same time, narrated by James Mason, which was made in the same year. Two further versions, a Brian Desmond Hurst adaptation from 1934 and a 2004 version that's one of the final credits of the great cinematographer Jack Cardiff, are available to watch as Rentals on BFI Player.
Related
The Last Showgirl The Last Showgirl
Drama 2024 89 mins Director: Gia Coppola
Golden Globe-nominated Pamela Anderson is enchanting as the Las Vegas showgirl whose stage show is set to close.
Driving Mum Driving Mum
Comedy 2022 113 mins Director: Hilmar Oddsson
Jon drives his mums corpse across Iceland in Hilmar Oddsson’s darkly comic odyssey of self-discovery and acceptance, beautifully filmed in crisp black and white.
Barrio Boy Barrio Boy
Romance 2022 83 mins Director: Dennis Shinners
A Latino barber embarks on an erotically charged odyssey of self-discovery over one hot summer in Brooklyn.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Tim Mielants
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Elephant Man The Elephant Man
Biopic 1980 124 mins Director: David Lynch
David Lynch's moving true-life tale of the severely deformed Joseph Merrick and his rescue from the hell of a Victorian circus sideshow.
Dracula (1958) Dracula (1958)
Horror 1958 82 mins Director: Terence Fisher
Hammer's 1958 version of Stoker's Gothic novel was the most exciting to date, boasting lavish costumes and sets, a vibrant score and red, red blood.
The Mummy The Mummy
Horror 1959 88 mins Director: Terence Fisher
Classic Hammer horror of a reanimated ancient Egyptian mummy, who returns from his tomb to seek vengeance on its desecrators.
The Curse of Frankenstein The Curse of Frankenstein
Horror 1957 83 mins Director: Terence Fisher
Meddling with nature has devastating consequences in Hammer's first Gothic horror, a visceral take on Mary Shelley's novel.
The Limehouse Golem The Limehouse Golem
Crime 2017 109 mins Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Bill Nighy plays the arch detective investigating a series of grisly murders around the music halls of Victorian London, in this pungent Gothic mystery.
Possum Possum
Horror 2018 85 mins Director: Matthew Holness
"Can you spy him deep within? Little Possum. Black as sin." The reliably deranged Sean Harris is plagued by an evil puppet in this dark, brooding fable from Matthew Holness.
Hell Is a City Hell Is a City
Police drama 1960 96 mins Director: Val Guest
Punchy crime thriller with a realist streak as Stanley Baker pursues a fugitive through the streets of Manchester.
The Last Showgirl The Last Showgirl
Drama 2024 89 mins Director: Gia Coppola
Golden Globe-nominated Pamela Anderson is enchanting as the Las Vegas showgirl whose stage show is set to close.
Dust & Metal Dust & Metal
Documentary 2022 82 mins Director: Esther Johnson
Discover unfamiliar histories of Vietnam through Esther Johnson’s poetic documentary on the country’s love affair with the motorbike.
Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound
Documentary 2024 91 mins Director: Antony Crook
Celestial sonic odyssey charting the cult Scottish band’s expansive career from the mid-90s to their tenth studio album written during lockdown.
Flow Flow
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 85 mins Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Oscar-winning animated adventure about an unlikely group of animals who must work together to survive a natural disaster.
Invasion Invasion
Science Fiction 1966 79 mins Director: Alan Bridges
An alien fugitive, injured in a road accident, pitches up at a rural hospital. But when two intergallactic pursuers arrive, things start to heat up...
Twiggy Twiggy
Documentary 2024 94 mins Director: Sadie Frost
International supermodel, actor, singer and one of the most iconic British figures – this is the real story of Twiggy.