Inner Sanctum Mysteries with Boris Karloff (The Tell-Tale Heart)
Inner Sanctum Mystery, also known as Inner Sanctum, is a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952.
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00:00Boris Karloff on Inner Sanctum Mysteries, brought to you by the makers of Carter's Pills.
00:18Good evening, friends.
00:24Let me welcome you once more to the Inner Sanctum.
00:28This is Raymond, your host. Come in, won't you, and sit down.
00:34No, no, I'm not being polite. I'd prefer you to sit, you see,
00:38because within the next five minutes you're going to be so weak in the knees that you won't be able
00:43to stand. Inner Sanctum Mysteries again has the pleasure of bringing you the famous star of radio,
00:53screen and stage, now featured in the current Broadway success, Arsenic and Old Lace, Boris
00:58Karloff. This evening, Mr. Karloff appears in Robert Newman's dramatization of Edgar Allan
01:04Poe's famous story, The Tell-Tale Heart. Presented for your entertainment by the
01:09makers of Carter's Little Liver Pills, the best friend to your sunny disposition.
01:15And now our story, a story based on a tale by the greatest master of the macabre that ever lived,
01:29Edgar Allan Poe. The story of a man who could hear not only every sound on earth,
01:36but even things that don't exist. So, turn down the lights,
01:43call in a friend or neighbor to keep you company, and listen to Boris Karloff as Simon
01:49in A Tell-Tale Heart. It's early evening. The sun is just setting behind a range of low hills.
02:00On top of the nearest hill is a huge rambling building, surrounded by park-like grounds.
02:06A road winds from its gates down to the little village below. Down this road comes a man. He's
02:13tall, grant, his hair snow-white. He's so busy with his thoughts that he doesn't see the small
02:20dark man who sits by the roadside, but just as he is about to pass him. Good evening.
02:26Good evening. Oh, why, good evening. Nice evening, isn't it? Nice. Why, it's the most wonderful,
02:35perfect evening I'll ever know this side of heaven. You don't say. And you can't know what
02:41it's like to feel as if you've just risen from the dead, as if your tomb was open,
02:47and you were told that you could return to the world that you knew and loved. Can't I? You can't.
02:54You see, my name is Simon. I was a musician. Two years ago, I went stone deaf, suddenly,
03:05completely. Do you know what deafness means to a musician? It's like dying, or worse,
03:14like dying and knowing that you're dead. Oh, I went to doctors, but they could do nothing for
03:20me. But finally, one of them sent me to see the doctor who has the place up on the hill here.
03:26Dr. Adair? Yes, Dr. Adair. He kept me with him for six months, and now,
03:34now I'm going home again. He cured you? You can hear? Hear. Listen. Listen hard,
03:42and tell me what you can hear right now. Nothing very much. The wind. Cricket.
03:50Cricket and the wind. Do you know what I can hear? I can hear the grass growing,
03:58the sap rising in the trees. I can hear the stars moving in their courses.
04:05I can hear things that no man ever heard before. Now, do you know why I said that this was the
04:12most wonderful evening that ever was? Yes, Simon, but I knew why before. You see, I just left the
04:20place up on the hill myself. You left there? You mean... When I was taken there, I was blind.
04:26Oh, your eyes, yes. I haven't noticed before, but they are strange. Shall we walk on together?
04:36Simon? Just where did you plan to go? Well, I've been thinking about that for weeks now.
04:44All the weeks when I couldn't leave my room. I must get used to being able to hear again,
04:51gradually. From my window, I could see an old mill, just this side of the village. Yes, it's
04:58deep in the woods, deserted. There's moth on the water wheel, and the door hangs open by one hinge.
05:05You mean that you can see it from here? My eyes have become as good as your hearing.
05:13You thought of going there, living there? For a while, until I was ready to return to the world.
05:21Oliver, why don't you come with me? Then when we are both ready, we can go back together to the
05:28world. I could do that. Think of what it's going to mean, how much we're going to be able to help
05:34people. You with your sight, and I with my hearing. Helpful? Yes, yes, of course.
05:43All right, Simon. We'll go to your old mill.
06:03This way, Oliver. Up this path. What? Someone's coming. The farmer, he seems to be looking for
06:12something. Good evening. I'm looking for my cow. Have you seen her? What kind of a cow is she?
06:17A brown and a white one with a crooked horn. Wait, I hear her. She's grazing in a field on
06:25the other side of the woods. Hear her? That's almost a mile from here. I have good ears.
06:31Good? You must have ears like a fox. What? That field, that's the squires. How did you get there?
06:39You think someone took her? Who would? Well, it's the squire's land, but he's the richest man
06:44around here. Why should he have taken my cow? Wait a minute. Let me see. Yes, yes, I do see
06:53someone with your cow. He's just leaving her. You can see that? Right through the woods?
07:01I have good eyes. Who is it? What's he like? Is he tall, wearing a brown jacket? Yes. I knew it.
07:08It's the squire. He's trying to steal my cow. I'd better go get her. Thank you very much. Perhaps
07:12I'll see you both again. Perhaps. We'll both be staying around here for a while there in the old
07:17mill. Why did you tell him that, Oliver? Did you really see the squire taking his cow? I saw what
07:24he wanted me to see. What do you mean? He hates the squire because the squire's rich and he's poor.
07:30Never mind, Simon. Shall we go on to the mill?
07:39Here we are, and it's just the way I knew it would be. Quiet, peaceful, no noises,
07:47just sound. And even those are dulled by the waterfall. Yes, it's just the way I knew it
07:53would be too. Dark, dank, the home of the rats and spiders. We'll be happy living here with them.
08:02Happy with rats and spiders? Why? Because they're like me. Rats see in the dark, and spiders spin
08:10webs. I don't understand you, Oliver. Must you always see the worst, the most evil side of
08:17everything? Always. But why? Don't you love people? Don't you think that this is a good world?
08:24A good world when I was blind for more than two years? But whose fault was that? What difference
08:29does that make? I was blind, and did anyone care that I was? No. Love people? I hate them. But Oliver,
08:36that's wrong. You've no right to hate anyone or anything. What's that? What? It sounds like
08:43wings, like... Yes, there it is, there. A swallow. Why, it's frightened, trying to get out.
08:51Why, it's beating itself against the wall, and oh, poor thing, it's hurt itself, fallen to the ground.
08:59I'd better catch it. Is it badly hurt? No, I don't think so. Oh, just this one wing.
09:08Here, let's see. Perhaps we can, uh, put a splint on it, heal it. You think so? Here. Here, Oliver.
09:16But be gentle. It's still terribly frightened. I will. I will. Oliver! What are you doing to that bird?
09:26Doing? Blood, you... Why, you crushed the swallow, killed it. Why, so I have. You... you killed it
09:35deliberately. You think so? I told you we all have some badness deep inside us, even you. Here you
09:45are, ready to believe the worst of me, that I'd wantonly crush a harmless little sparrow to death and...
09:52Simon. What is it? I... I don't know, but there's something in your face,
10:00something that wasn't there before. I don't know what you're talking about.
10:06I'm going up to bed. Simon! Simon, wait! It wasn't he that was blind. It was I. I.
10:15Oh, he's bad, evil, clean fool. He's like one of the spiders he loves so much, lurking here and
10:23spinning cunning webs to catch innocent people in. And what he saw in my face just now,
10:31there was something there, something that wasn't there before. Death.
10:40Why did this have to happen to me? I was so happy just a little while ago. I loved everyone, the
10:45whole world. And now... now I have to kill him. And here I am, friend. Raymond, your host in the
10:56inner sanctum, who also loves everyone. So, Simon has decided he must murder his companion.
11:06Not because he wants to, but in order to keep him from spreading the hate and evil he seems to love.
11:12Hmm, that's a charming idea. But if Oliver's eyes are as good as he says they are,
11:19good enough to see death in Simon's face, how will he be able to do it, hmm?
11:32Well, friends, are you sorry I advised you to sit down before? I thought not. You still want me to
11:40go on with the story of the tell-tale heart? Very well. It's a little later that same evening,
11:47and Simon is sitting in the upper story of the old deserted mill, waiting, listening.
11:55Sleep, Oliver, sleep. Aren't you ever going to sleep? Oh, I know you're lying down. I heard you
12:03getting undressed. I even heard the thread snap when you pull that button off your shirt.
12:09But you're not asleep yet. I can tell by your breathing, the way your heart's beating,
12:15and that's what I must wait for, the time when you're really asleep, when you close those
12:23hawk eyes that can see even in the dark, that could read murder in my face when I didn't know
12:29it was there myself. Wait a minute. There. Now you're asleep, and now I must go.
12:45Easy with the door, careful, and even more careful going down the stairs.
12:54Shh. Don't weep like that. Suppose he wakes.
13:01No, he can't. He won't wake up. He can't. And even if he does,
13:08here we are, the door to his room.
13:15How shall I do it? Those sacks he's using as a pillow,
13:20can I pull them out and hold them over his face and smothered him?
13:23That's it, yes. Then I wouldn't have to touch him. Who's there? Who's there?
13:30There is someone there. I can see you. It's Simon. Yes, it's Simon. What do you want?
13:40What are you doing here? I know you've come to kill me. Yes, Oliver, I've come to kill you.
13:47You can't do that. You can't. Yes, Oliver, I can, and I have to. Please don't struggle like that.
13:56I'm stronger than you are. You can't get away from me. You can't. You can't.
14:08That noise, hear it? It's your heart beating, pounding, driving the blood through your veins.
14:17It's beating more slowly now, slower and fainter, running down like a tired clock.
14:25I'm not going to let you go until it's stopped, so don't struggle. Don't struggle, please.
14:33Just a few seconds more.
14:36I can hardly hear it now. Just a faint, throbbing murmur, and now even that's gone.
14:48Yes, it's stopped, and you're dead.
14:55Oliver, listen. I didn't want to do it. I didn't, but I had to.
15:01I didn't, but I had to. You were only interested in hurting people. That's why I had to do it,
15:07and that's why I'm not going to give myself up or confess that I killed you,
15:11because I can still help people. You understand, don't you? That's why I must get rid of your body,
15:17hide it somewhere. Oh, what am I to do with you? I know. I'll keep you here, tear up the floor,
15:26and hide you underneath it. Let's see now, this crowbar. This one here, there.
15:38That should be big enough, and now in you go.
15:44Oh, there. Goodbye, Oliver. Goodbye. I'll just put these boards back,
15:59nail them down again with the same rusty nails, and it's done. Now I'll spread this dust over
16:08the cracks. No one will be able to tell what I've done. No, not even with your eyes. If you could
16:15still use them. What's that? A light, a lantern outside. Someone at the door. Maybe Christopher's
16:26come back again. Yes? Who is it? It's Trent, the constable. The constable? What do you want?
16:36Oh, nothing much. Thought I'd drop in, say hello. Come in, constable. Come right in.
16:48Thanks. We had time of night to be visiting, but I heard there were strangers living out here,
16:53and I thought I might... Well, of course, it's part of your job to investigate strangers,
16:57isn't it? No way. Not that you're a stranger, exactly. What do you mean?
17:03You've been around here for some time, haven't you? About Dr. Adair's place in the hill,
17:07I mean. Oh, yes, yes, of course. I just left there this afternoon. Uh-huh. And your friend,
17:13where is he? Sleeping, friend. Why, there's no one here with me. I'm all alone.
17:20Look at that, you said. You mind if I look around? No, of course not. I said I doubt your
17:26word or anything like that. Oh, now, don't apologize, constable. Go right ahead.
17:32Well, constable? There's certainly no sign of anyone else. Well, I told you so. Yes, you did.
17:41Now, I'll just sit down here for a minute. I'll get my pipe going. No, no, not there. Don't sit
17:47there. Why not? Because... Well, it was just that the floor looked a little rotten right there,
17:56and I was afraid that... Why? I guess it's all right. Sure. Don't have to hold me, anyway.
18:03Don't step in it, or I'll cut you. Good heavens. What's that? What's what?
18:11That... that throbbing. That noise. Beating away like... I don't hear any noise. But you must,
18:19you... Those ears are fine. Sometimes they're too good. It's just your watch ticking. Watch?
18:30I haven't got a watch on me. You... you haven't? But then what's the... Oh, look, constable.
18:39I could use a bit of exercise. Suppose I walk you back to the village. Well, that's mighty nice
18:45of you. I'm glad to have your company. There's no hurry, is there? Let's sit here for a while.
18:51I don't want to sit. Constable, will you come now? Now, this minute, if you don't...
18:57I don't know what I'll do. Hey, you have gotten yourself into a state.
19:04Is there anything the matter? Oh, no, of course not. It's... oh, it's just that I get nervous,
19:09restless, and you won't mind if I... if I walk up and down right here, will you?
19:17It'll make you feel any better. Go ahead. Thank you. This floor, it... it is noisy, isn't it?
19:27Noisy enough. Constable, this... this lever here, I've been wondering about it. What's it for,
19:34you know? Why, yes. I think it opens the sluice. Starts the mill, we'll turn it. It does? Then...
19:41then let's try it. See if it still works. There. Yeah, still works all right.
19:49It's better I could do. Still not loud enough, still. Constable, by heaven's sake,
19:55will you come now and leave here with me? If you don't, I'll... I'll go back. Oh, look, look,
20:00there's no need to get so excited. I... if I'm not excited, I'm perfectly calm and quiet.
20:07Will you come now, right away? But I told you... I know what you're doing. Sitting there,
20:12pretending you haven't heard, making me stay here and listen to it, speaking louder and louder and
20:19louder. All right, I confess. I killed you. I killed him! His body is right underneath you,
20:27under the floor. I killed him! And that noise you hear is his heart. The beating of his
20:34tell-tale heart. Hello, Doctor, dear. Oh, Constable, hello. Well, did you find him? Yes,
20:49Doctor. I'm glad. Some of my boys will be bringing the other one, Oliver, along in a little while.
20:54Bringing him? Is it a matter with him? Well, sort of. They were in the old mill by the river.
21:01Simon had evidently tried to kill Oliver, but he hadn't done a good job of it.
21:04He nailed him up underneath the floor, and when we got him out, he was unconscious. He's still
21:10pretty weak. I see. Bring Simon in, will you? Sure. All right, Simon, in here. Yes, Constable.
21:20Now, turn him around so that he's facing me. That's it. Well, hello, Simon. Hello, Doctor.
21:29Simon, why did you run away from here this afternoon? Run away? I didn't run away. I left.
21:37What need was there for me to stay when I was cured? Oh, and what you did, or rather tried to
21:46do to Oliver? Oh, that was wrong. I know it was wrong, but I had to do it. He was bad, Doctor,
21:54bad. He hated everyone, wanted to hurt them, and I couldn't let him. You know, it's strange,
22:01Constable. Two men, both mental cases because of a sudden affliction. But while Oliver's blindness
22:10made him hate, Simon's deafness filled him with love for all mankind. Deafness? You mean he's
22:19deaf? But when you talk to him, he answers you. Yes, he reads lips. That's why I had you turn him
22:28around so he was facing me. But he's stone deaf. He will never hear again. What's that you're saying?
22:36Deaf? But I'm not deaf. Why, there's no one can hear better than I, no one.
22:43I heard everything when I left here. Things no man has ever heard before.
22:50The song of the swan, the breathing of the fish. Why, I even heard the beating of Oliver's heart
22:59after I'd killed him. Yes, Simon, of course. I'm not deaf, I tell you. I'm not. I'm not.
23:22So, Simon did hear all the things he said he did. Even the beating of the telltale heart.
23:29And not with his ears, but with something else deep inside his poor, sick brain.
23:35Speaking of telltale hearts, oh, I'm sorry, it's not a heart at all. It's just Mr. Hurley,
23:40his knees knocking together. And if you think you're kidding, Raymond, you're crazy. Oh, I'm
23:44not kidding, Ed. And Mr. Carlisle's audiences, that's the equivalent of applause, since everyone's
23:49generally much too scared to show the usual approval with their hands. So we won't take
23:54any chances. We'll just use words and say thanks, Boris Kovar, for your splendid performance of
23:59tonight's dramatization of Poe's The Telltale Heart. It's a pleasure, Raymond, to be able to
24:04bring our friends one of the world's most famous stories. And I'm very grateful to Everett Sloan
24:09as Oliver and Santos Orteaga, who played Christie, for the help they gave me. So now I suggest that
24:17you listen to Ed Hurley, who has some helpful advice for which you may be very grateful.
24:27This is Raymond again, your host, getting ready to close that door to the Inner Sanctum and say
24:32good night, until the same time next week. In the meantime, if you care to do a little
24:38bloodthirsty reading, try this month's Inner Sanctum novel, I'll Eat You Last, by H.C. Brandon.
24:46Uh, in case you've already read that, why not try some of the other stories by the author of
24:50tonight's mystery drama, Edgar Allan Poe. According to all critics, this writer has quite a future.
24:59Oh, good night. Pleasant dreams, eh?