8mm Forum: The Tell Tale Heart RARE standard 8mm sound print on ebay!

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 13, 2012, 01:00 PM:

Hey folks ...

I'm offering up this very rare print of the UPA Columbia short, "The Tell Tale Heart" link is as follows ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321040972754?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

This film is nararrated by James Mason. As auction states, so it true. I bought this years ago still unopened, and we watched it only once, being that the standard 8mm sound projector broke down.

A rare short to be sure. Box is as near mint as you could ask!

Posted by Fabrizio Mosca (Member # 142) on December 14, 2012, 05:06 AM:

Osi, is it a 400ft?

Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on December 14, 2012, 11:05 AM:

I too have this little film Osi,and have to say it is a very atmospheric piece containing some stunning scenes that could
give youngsters nightmares.Well worth having.

Posted by Gerald Santana (Member # 2362) on December 14, 2012, 12:25 PM:

This is a great short Hugh, volume is on the low side (on mine) but, worth getting if you like creepy, atmospheric animation.

Fabrizio, this is a 200' short.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 14, 2012, 12:40 PM:

ThanX Gerald, you answered my question!

The box (pristine) has one of those classic "Monster" style covers, (like the classic Castle Film covers), which doesn't stray too far from the look of the animated film.

A little trivia ... it's too bad that UPA didn't get to do what they wanted with this film. This film was designed to take advantage of the then 3D craze going on in the fifties, and was never released in that format. I wonder if they ever actually made any prints (archival) with the 3D effect in place?

... talk about a great release for super 8!

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 14, 2012, 04:06 PM:

I had this one, it is nice and designed by one of my favorite animator/artists Paul Julian. He did a lot of credits horror movies too like THE TERROR, DEMENTIA 13, and ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS.

I sold a pristine print of this myself about ten years ago on Ebay, the cover is cool, it's in Volume one of my Monster Box series.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 15, 2012, 12:35 PM:

Timothy ...

May I have your permission to use that photo of your box for my auction? My cover looks identical (in color, image and condition) as your box cover.

OSI

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on December 15, 2012, 12:49 PM:

Was this title also released in Super 8?

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 15, 2012, 12:58 PM:

Micheal, I honestly do not know. I have never seen it on super 8, but then, I don't know as much as I think I know about super 8 and it's possible that it was, as Columbia did release the UPA cartoons in color and sound on super 8.

I think it depends on whether this was a good seller on Standard 8mm. If it wasn't, they probably wouldn't continue to print it on super 8.

Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on December 15, 2012, 03:17 PM:

I've never known it in S/8, much like their release of "First Men
in the Moon",regretfully std 8 only.

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 15, 2012, 03:38 PM:

quote:
Timothy ...

May I have your permission to use that photo of your box for my auction? My cover looks identical (in color, image and condition) as your box cover.

OSI

Sure, go for it

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on December 15, 2012, 03:58 PM:

Michael,

The 1971 catalog has Tell Tale Heart listed without the disclaimer "Only available in Standard 8mm", however I've never seen a Super 8mm print of it. It was removed from the 1973 catalog proper, but still listed in the sound section index.

Doug

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on December 15, 2012, 05:29 PM:

I'm pretty certain it exists on 16, in any case.

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 16, 2012, 02:32 AM:

I know someone with an IB-Tech 16mm print. It's also been lovingly restored for the TCM DVD boxed-set JOLLY FROLICS that features the cream of the UPA crop.

I had the regular 8mm sound print, but never a regular 8mm sound projector to project it with.

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on December 16, 2012, 03:19 AM:

quote:
I know someone with an IB-Tech 16mm print.

Brilliant.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 16, 2012, 08:41 AM:

IB tech, that must be awesome to see!

I forgot to mention on the auction, (and it might help someone who knows they're film stocks to date this specific print), it's on Geveart Belium film stock and not the common eastman, so this print might be before Eastman started to even be used as a general rule.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on December 16, 2012, 09:00 AM:

I also have never seen a Super 8 print - the replies here seem to make it pretty conclusive that it was only released on Std 8. I used to have a print that a previous owner had apparently attempted to add some colour tints to via some sort of dying process! I presume Columbia only offered it in b/w, unless anyone knows otherwise.

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 17, 2012, 12:35 PM:

Oh my. I am guilty of coloring a 200 ft. Castle digest of PSYCHO once. I got it in a Blackhawk Films "grab-bag" offer, & I had no use for silent digests at the time.

Later when I had a job in a photo lab, I made 4" x 5" internegative frame enlargements from the print just for S & G's. The negs produced surprisingly neat "artsy" images due to the graininess of the blow-up.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 17, 2012, 12:50 PM:

There! put that new photo on that auction! I'll look it up, but I wonder if the artist, Paul Julian, being an animator, actually worked for UPA productions (I think he did) and was actually one of the animators on this actual film?

If he was, that makes the cover even more special!

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on December 17, 2012, 01:02 PM:

There were no S8 prints on this, limited run in Std 8 Sound - That's from Shorty

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 17, 2012, 06:41 PM:

quote:
There! put that new photo on that auction! I'll look it up, but I wonder if the artist, Paul Julian, being an animator, actually worked for UPA productions (I think he did) and was actually one of the animators on this actual film?

If he was, that makes the cover even more special!

I think Julian was the director of this one. That may be someone else's rendering of his work on the cover though.

Julian was know for his striking, modern-looking backdrops and scenery for Warner and Columbia cartoons. He illustrated a book (beautifully) named PICCOLI that I'd love to get my hands on some day.

Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on December 17, 2012, 07:23 PM:

This film was actually made in 3D, Produced by Stephen Bosustow
Directed by Ted Parmelee, Art by Paul Julian,Made in 1953 by
UPA 8 mins colour.

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 17, 2012, 08:25 PM:

I've heard very conflicting things about the the 3-D part. From, it was never made in 3-D just conceived as a potential 3-D project to it was made in 3-D, but never released in 3-D.

I've never met anyone who'd seen it in 3-D in any case, and Columbia made those 3-D There Stooges shorts, so they weren't against 3-D short subjects.

Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on December 17, 2012, 08:50 PM:

Hi Timothy,it's listed in Walt Lees Reference Guide which is a
very reliable source.It may even have been conceived as a 3D
film, the set ups would allude to that, much like the Christopher
Lee film,"I, Monster",where very strange angles were used in
filming.

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 17, 2012, 09:38 PM:

Oh it's easy to see it as potentially 3-D film, not because they toss a lot of stuff at the audience, but there is clearly a sense of deep perspective in the settings. The relatively static nature of the animation would also have lent itself well multi-depth planes similar to how most 3-D comics looked.

It wouldn't have been the first film to be shot in 3-D and not released or given extremely limited release in 3-D though. Sadly, it's also not uncommon for studios not to have preserved both the left and right eye prints after the 3-D bubble burst, leaving only 2-D the option for the future.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 18, 2012, 01:39 PM:

I got my info from Leonard Maltin's "Of Mice and Magic", one of the top sources on all things in American animation. At least it was for many years.

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 18, 2012, 03:02 PM:

For what it's worth, this is what the Wiki entry says

quote:
In May 1953, pre-production started on The Tell-Tale Heart, which originally was intended to be a 3-D film.[1] However, it is not known whether or not the film was animated in this fashion, and it was not released in 3D if it was. There is no reference to 3D in a technical trade review.[2] Furthermore, the leaders on original prints of the film do not indicate it ever was part of a pair of 3D prints, typical of all other 3D pictures.[3]

and this from IMDB, which curiously mentions the very 8mm prints that Columbia put out has giving the impression that the film was 3-D. I wonder if they mean that goofy "Ultra-Sonic Sound" logo?

quote:
Rumors for years surrounding this film would have it being in 3-D. However, absolutely no trade magazines list the production as being in 3-D (even pre-filming announcements and in-production articles), and according to Grover Crisp, head of the restoration unit at Sony/Columbia, the original negative bears absolutely no markings that would indicate that the film had any 3-D origins. It is speculated, based on several collectors' memories, that the myth started when super8mm editions of the film were labeled with 3-D stickers by accident, around the same time that stickers were being put on the 3-D shorts that Columbia was releasing in that format.

[ December 18, 2012, 06:56 PM: Message edited by: Timothy Ramzyk ]

Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on December 18, 2012, 03:48 PM:

I seem to remember some of the Heritage films advertised with
Ultrasonic sound, "Beast From Haunted Cave" being one of them,
so it must have been a gimmick of some sort.As for labels being
put on S/8 prints,as far as I'm aware it wasn't released on S/8.

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 18, 2012, 06:59 PM:

My hunch is that when they say Super 8, they just mean 8mm in general. "Super 8" seems to be generic term these days.

Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on December 18, 2012, 07:08 PM:

I suppose Timothy that we should be grateful that this little film
is available at all,personally i don't miss the colour, as I find it
very atmospheric, and it reminds me of the illustrations from the
Ziff Davis publication "Weird Tales",and a genuine rarity.It's a pity
that more of Poe's tales were not done in this manner as they certainly lend themselves to this particular treatment.

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 19, 2012, 02:16 AM:

I've loved this film from day one. I must have seen it as a kid, because in 92 I worked on a theatrical production of the THE TELL-TALE HEART, and my set sketches bare a strong resemblance to the cartoon. So much so that when I got my hands on a Columbia VHS of it, a was surprised how I'd been influenced having not seen it since I was a child.

Over the the years since I've picked up the 8mm print, bought the special edition of HELLBOY on DVD because it's hidden as an extra, and finally last years JOLLY FROLICS boxed set of UPA cartoons.

I fully agree, there weren't enough Poe cartoons, or horror cartoons in general.

Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on December 19, 2012, 06:01 AM:

Those set designs are nothing less than excellent,I think talent
like yours Timothy deserves recognition,indeed you could even
make versions of Poe's tales yourself.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 20, 2012, 12:50 PM:

Timothy ...

Did you get my PM? I can't recieve PM's but for some reason, I can still send them. If you didn't get it, then please send me your e-mail in some form so I can converse with you about this title.

OSI

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 20, 2012, 04:17 PM:

quote:
Those set designs are nothing less than excellent,I think talent
like yours Timothy deserves recognition,indeed you could even
make versions of Poe's tales yourself.

Wow, Hugh! Thank you, I'm very flattered. It did get produced some twenty years ago with the old man being portrayed by a life-sized puppet (they're easier to dismember than actors).

Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on December 20, 2012, 08:19 PM:

That poster is fantasic, it looks the business and by looking at the
puppets I would think this is definately not for the young, I would
think Tim Burton would approve.I honestly think a series of Poe
stories in the style of what I have seen here,they need only be
ten minutes long, much like Ray Harryhausens Fairy tale series,
I believe would be very popular.Some years back I remember
one of the UK TV channels putting on a series of short films
based on Shakespeare's plays, each one was done differently as
in animated drawings, plastimation, marionettes etc and were
all hugely entertaining.Have you ever considered doing something similar.There was an amateur film maker over here
by the name of Sheila Graber who won the Ten Best with one
of her films on S/8 and her films were released by one of the
8mm distributors over here for sale.I would love to see you do
an animated version of "The Raven" in the same style of those set drawings, while Vincent Price read the poem on the track.

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 20, 2012, 09:08 PM:

Actually, we did market this adaptation to middle and high schools. The very first audience walked out becuse the script had the word pis(s) in it, so we changed it. Oddly enough objections were never against the violence, just the moral ambiguity of the script.

I do agree that Poe has and does lend itself well to animation and the short subject. I'm a fan of the work of East European animator Jan Svankmajer, who did a nifty PIT & THE PENDULUM.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 21, 2012, 01:38 PM:

The item sold for 21.00 dollars, not too shabby for B/W standard 8mm sound. I'm happy, (though always sad to pass on fun films!)

Posted by Timothy Ramzyk (Member # 718) on December 21, 2012, 02:32 PM:

Actually had I had the ability to watch reg. 8 sound, I'd have never sold my print.

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on December 21, 2012, 10:49 PM:

Sorry Joe... but this does exist on Super 8 sound. I have one so I can confirm it's true! It's just so tragic that Columbia never released this in color. When I saw it in color on DVD I realized how important the color was - even though the imagery is dark. I also have the James Mason Tell Tell Heart record he recorded which is different than the soundtrack to the film. It was nominated for an Oscar but lost to a Disney cartoon.

[ December 22, 2012, 05:30 PM: Message edited by: Brian Hendel ]

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