Racketeer Rabbit is a 1946 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng . The short was released on September 14, 1946, and features Bugs Bunny .
51-425: Bugs Bunny seeks shelter for the night and unwittingly ends up in an abandoned gothic farmhouse, which serves as the hideout for two gangsters, Rocky and Hugo. A chaotic series of events unfolds when Rocky and Hugo return, pursued by rival gangsters, leading to a frenzied gunfight inside the farmhouse. Despite the chaos, Bugs nonchalantly interrupts the mayhem to attend to his basic needs before returning to bed. During
102-541: A coin like George Raft in Scarface (1932). His Brooklynite accent serves to complete the image of a tough crook. Inner Sanctum Mystery 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. It was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the imprint given to the mystery novels of Simon & Schuster . In all, 526 episodes were broadcast. In 1930,
153-414: A conversation already in progress between the narrator and another person who is not identified in any way. It has been speculated that the narrator is confessing to a prison warden, a judge, a reporter, a doctor, or a psychiatrist. In any case, the narrator tells the story in great detail. What follows is a study of terror but, more specifically, the memory of terror as the narrator is retelling events from
204-531: A disease that causes hypersensitivity . A similar motif is used for Roderick Usher in " The Fall of the House of Usher " (1839) and in "The Colloquy of Monos and Una" (1841). It is unclear, however, if the narrator actually has very acute senses, or if it is merely imagined. If this condition is believed to be true, what is heard at the end of the story may not be the old man's heart, but deathwatch beetles . The narrator first admits to hearing deathwatch beetles in
255-509: A division of the loot from a recent heist, Bugs cleverly tricks Rocky into relinquishing all the money by assuming various disguises. However, Rocky catches on and demands the money back, leading to a confrontation. Bugs outwits Rocky again by posing as different characters, ultimately causing Rocky's humiliation. In a final showdown, Bugs assumes the role of a gangster and engages in a comedic altercation with Rocky, culminating in Bugs orchestrating
306-612: A filmy pale blue "vulture-eye", as the narrator calls it. The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder, attempting the perfect crime, complete with dismembering the body in the bathtub and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately, the narrator's actions result in hearing a thumping sound, which the narrator interprets as the dead man's beating heart. The story was first published in James Russell Lowell 's The Pioneer in January 1843. "The Tell-Tale Heart"
357-509: A mock police raid. Using his wit and ingenuity, Bugs ultimately triumphs over Rocky, leaving the gangster defeated and fleeing the scene in a panic. Bugs, with a sigh, reflects on the inability of some individuals to handle humorous situations before returning to his carefree demeanor. When entering the house, Bugs remarks "Huh? Sounds like Inner Sanctum!", a reference to the popular mystery radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952. Bugs impersonates Bugsy Siegel and flips
408-413: A mockingly sardonic voice. A spooky melodramatic organ score (played by Lew White) punctuated Raymond's many morbid jokes and playful puns. Raymond's closing was an elongated "Pleasant dreeeeaams, hmmmmm?" His tongue-in-cheek style and ghoulish relish of his own tales became the standard for many such horror narrators to follow, such as Maurice Tarplin (on The Mysterious Traveler ). When Johnson left
459-428: A neighbor to summon the police, who the narrator invites in to look around. The narrator claims that the scream heard was their own in a nightmare and that the old man is absent in the country. Confident that they will not find any evidence of the murder, the narrator brings chairs for them and they sit in the old man's room. The chairs are placed on the very spot where the body is concealed; the police suspect nothing, and
510-418: A squeaky door. Bugs said as he was entering the house, "Huh? Sounds like Inner Sanctum!" The Tell-Tale Heart " The Tell-Tale Heart " is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe , first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the narrator committed. The victim was an old man with
561-436: A year with each film featuring Chaney and Gale Sondergaard in the lead roles. Sondergaard was dropped from the lead role shortly before the filming of Calling Dr. Death . The films in the series are Calling Dr. Death (1943), Weird Woman (1944), Dead Man's Eyes (1944), The Frozen Ghost (1945), Strange Confession (1945) and Pillow of Death (1945). From retrospective reviews, Kim Newman described
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#1732801293016612-423: Is also possible that the narrator has paranoid schizophrenia . Paranoid schizophrenics very often experience auditory hallucinations. These auditory hallucinations are more often voices, but can also be sounds. The hallucinations do not need to derive from a specific source other than one's head, which is another indication that the narrator is suffering from such a psychological disorder. The relationship between
663-474: Is often considered a classic of the Gothic fiction genre and is one of Poe's best known short stories. The specific motivation for murder (aside from the narrator's hatred of the old man's eye), the relationship between narrator and old man, the gender of the narrator, and other details are left unclear. The narrator denies having any feelings of hatred or resentment for the man who had, as stated, "never wronged"
714-403: Is self-destructive, because in attempting to prove their sanity, they fully admit that they are guilty of murder. Their denial of insanity is based on their systematic actions and their precision, as they provide a rational explanation for irrational behavior. This rationality, however, is undermined by their lack of motive ("Object there was none. Passion there was none"). Despite this, they say,
765-551: Is slowly opened. Organ begins to play. Raymond: Good evening, friends of the Inner Sanctum . This is Raymond, your host. I'm glad you came tonight, because we have a very special guest of horror with us. I'd like you to meet the late Johnny Gravestone, the most celebrated member of the Inner Sanctum Ghost Society. He's the best haunter of them all. Johnny's the tall figure in the white sheet wearing
816-464: Is that the deathwatch beetles make a "uniformly faint" ticking sound that would have kept at a consistent pace but as the narrator drew closer to the old man the sound got more rapid and louder which would not have been a result of the beetles. The beating could even be the sound of the narrator's own heart. Alternatively, if the beating is a product of the narrator's imagination, it is that uncontrolled imagination that leads to their own destruction. It
867-517: The Broadway Journal . That edition omitted Longfellow's poem because Poe believed it was plagiarized. "The Tell-Tale Heart" was reprinted several more times during Poe's lifetime. "The Tell-Tale Heart" uses an unreliable narrator . The exactness with which the narrator recounts murdering the old man, as if the stealthy way in which they executed the crime were evidence of their sanity, reveals their monomania and paranoia . The focus of
918-405: The "Tea Lady"), whose blithesome pitches for Lipton Tea contrasted sharply with the macabre themes of the stories. She primly chided the host for his trademark dark humor and creepy manner. The program's familiar and famed audio trademark was the eerie creaking door which opened and closed the broadcasts. Himan Brown got the idea from a door in the basement that "squeaked like Hell." The door sound
969-522: The "proprietors" on the front cover. The magazine was published in Boston by Leland and Whiting and in Philadelphia by Drew and Scammell. Poe was likely paid $ 10 (equivalent to $ 327 in 2023) for the story. Its original publication included an epigraph that quoted Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 's poem " A Psalm of Life ." The story was slightly revised when republished on August 23, 1845, edition of
1020-462: The 1970s, with his CBS Radio Mystery Theater series, Himan Brown recycled both the creaking door opening and, to a lesser extent, the manner of Raymond. The hosts were E. G. Marshall and during the final season, Tammy Grimes . When the series was rebroadcast during the late 1990s, Brown himself rerecorded the host segments and mimicked Raymond's "Pleasant dreeeeaaams, hmmmmm?" for the familiar closing. Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder satirized
1071-533: The blue ribbon. He's haunted everything from a palace to a telephone booth. And uh, if you're very nice to him, he'll be glad to consider giving your house the once-over. Who knows? He might even haunt you! Ha-ha-ha-ha! (Commercial) Raymond: Well, we're about to begin our story. Oh, I forgot to warn you about the Trembliens. They're those pesky, invisible cousins of the gremlins. They uh, sidle up to [ sic ] you, give quick little shoves, and give
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#17328012930161122-436: The controversy over the insanity defense in the 1840s. The confession can be due to a concept called " Illusion of transparency ". According to the "Encyclopedia of Social Psychology", "Poe's character falsely believes that some police officers can sense his guilt and anxiety over a crime he has committed, a fear that ultimately gets the best of him and causes him to give himself up unnecessarily". The narrator claims to have
1173-459: The exception of Pillow of Death , each film is prefaced with a sequence featuring the bobbing head of actor David Hoffman staring out of a crystal ball, giving warnings to the audience about how each audience member is capable of murder. Lon Chaney Jr. was hopeful for the series, craving diversity in his roles after Universal had placed him in various monster roles in their horror films. Pivar planned to produce two Inner Sanctum mystery films
1224-411: The eye, then, is removal of conscience. The eye may also represent secrecy: only when the eye is found open on the final night, penetrating the veil of secrecy, is the murder carried out. Richard Wilbur suggested that the tale is an allegorical representation of Poe's poem " To Science ", which depicts a struggle between imagination and science. In "The Tell-Tale Heart", the old man may thus represent
1275-448: The false impression that you're trembling. If you're being troubled by a Tremblien, just grab him by his invisible little horns and stick him into the nearest pin cushion. In June 1943, Universal purchased the screen rights to the series from Simon and Schuster , Inc. The Inner Sanctum Mysteries feature a "stream of consciousness" voiceover which Edward Dein stated he incorporated into his script at Lon Chaney Jr. 's insistence. With
1326-432: The film series as "straddling whodunnit and horror" and that "the films vary in quality but mostly deliver as strange entertainment." Newman found that Weird Woman was the standout film in the Inner Sanctum series, being the sole entry in the series to have supernatural elements. The authors of the book Universal Horrors declared the series "feeble melodramas with little to recommend them beyond their camp qualities and
1377-456: The first title was published in Simon & Schuster's "Inner Sanctum" mystery series: I Am Jonathan Scrivener by Claude Houghton . Although the imprint "Inner Sanctum" also included serious drama (published with blue covers) and romance (published with red covers), for the most part it was associated with mysteries (published in green covers). Lee Wright was the editor of the series, and over
1428-431: The idea of murder "haunted me day and night." It is difficult to fully understand the narrator's true emotions about the blue-eyed man because of this contradiction. It is said that "At the same time he disclosed a deep psychological confusion", referring to the narrator and the comment that "Object there was none. Passion there was none" and that the idea of murder "haunted me day and night." The story's final scene shows
1479-603: The morose spectacle of seeing a badly miscast Chaney struggle his way through acting assignments that were painfully beyond his depth." They concluded that the series was "generally regarded by buffs and film historians as a missed cinematic opportunity." The 1954 syndicated television series featured Paul McGrath as the off-camera host/narrator. The TV shows were produced at the Himan Brown Production Center (now Chelsea Studios ) in Manhattan . In
1530-401: The murder. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a first-person narrative told by an unnamed narrator. Despite insisting that they are sane, the narrator suffers from a disease (nervousness) which causes " over-acuteness of the senses ". The old man, with whom the narrator lives, has a clouded, pale, blue " vulture -like" eye, which distresses and manipulates the narrator so much that they plot to murder
1581-407: The narrator has a pleasant and easy manner. The narrator begins to feel uncomfortable and notices a ringing in their ears. As the ringing grows louder, the narrator concludes that it is the heartbeat of the old man coming from under the floorboards. The sound increases steadily to the narrator, though the officers do not seem to hear it. Terrified by the violent beating of the heart and convinced that
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1632-411: The narrator. The narrator also denies having killed for greed. Critics have speculated that the old man could be a father figure, the narrator's landlord, or that the narrator works for the old man as a servant, and that perhaps his "vulture-eye" represents a veiled secret or power. The ambiguity and lack of details about the two main characters stand in contrast to the specific plot details leading up to
1683-454: The officers are aware of not only the heartbeat but also the narrator's guilt, the narrator breaks down and confesses. The narrator tells them to tear up the floorboards to reveal the remains of the old man's body. "The Tell-Tale Heart" was first published in January 1843 in the inaugural issue of The Pioneer: A Literary and Critical Magazine , a short-lived Boston magazine edited by James Russell Lowell and Robert Carter who were listed as
1734-420: The old man and the narrator is ambiguous. Their names, occupations, and places of residence are not given, contrasting with the strict attention to detail in the plot. The narrator may be a servant of the old man's or, as is more often assumed, his child. In that case, the "vulture-eye" of the old man as a father figure may symbolize parental surveillance or the paternal principles of right and wrong. The murder of
1785-408: The old man's heart beating, which only gets louder and louder. This increases the narrator's anxiety to the point where they decide to strike. They jump into the room and the old man shrieks once before he is killed. The narrator then dismembers the body and conceals the pieces under the floorboards, ensuring the concealment of all signs of the crime. Even so, the old man's scream during the night causes
1836-426: The old man, despite also insisting that the narrator loves the old man and has never felt wronged by him. The narrator is insistent that this careful precision in committing the murder proves that they cannot possibly be insane. For seven nights, the narrator opens the door of the old man's room to shine a sliver of light onto the "evil eye." However, the old man's vulture-eye is always closed, making it impossible to "do
1887-494: The opening narration of the program, naming it "The Outer Sanctorum." The opening of an Inner Sanctum episode was used to open one side of The Whole Burbank Catalog , a 1972 compilation album in the Warner/Reprise Loss Leaders series from Warner Bros. Records . The announcer's jokey pun in this case concerned an author friend, specializing in best-sellers, who "tried to bury [him] in one, because all
1938-451: The past. The first word of the story, "True!", is an admission of their guilt, as well as an assurance of reliability. This introduction also serves to gain the reader's attention. Every word contributes to the purpose of moving the story forward, exemplifying Poe's theories about the writing of short stories. The story is driven not by the narrator's insistence upon their "innocence," but by their insistence on their sanity. This, however,
1989-431: The police that the body of the old man was under the floorboards. Even though the old man was dead, the body and heart of the dead man still seemed to haunt the narrator and convict them of the act. "Since such processes of reasoning tend to convict the speaker of madness, it does not seem out of keeping that he is driven to confession", according to scholar Arthur Robinson. Poe's contemporaries may well have been reminded of
2040-762: The program in the early years included Bela Lugosi , Mary Astor , Helen Hayes , Peter Lorre , Paul Lukas , Claude Rains , Frank Sinatra , and Orson Welles . Most of the lead and supporting players were stalwarts of New York radio. These included Santos Ortega , Larry Haines , Ted Osborne , Luis van Rooten , Stefan Schnabel , Ralph Bell , Mercedes McCambridge , Berry Kroeger , Arnold Moss , Leon Janney , Myron McCormick , and Mason Adams . Players like Richard Widmark , Everett Sloane , Burgess Meredith , Agnes Moorehead , Ken Lynch , and Anne Seymour also found fame or notability in film or television. Of more than 500 programs broadcast, only about 200 remain in circulation. Sound effect: A door with squeaky hinges
2091-405: The result of the narrator's feelings of guilt . Like many characters in Gothic fiction , they allow their nerves to dictate their nature. Despite their best efforts at defending their actions, their "over-acuteness of the senses"; which helps them hear the heart beating beneath the floorboards, is evidence that they are truly mad. The guilt in the narrator can be seen when the narrator confessed to
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2142-512: The series in Mad ' s fifth issue (June–July 1953) with "Outer Sanctum!" In the opening panels, host Ramon greets the reader: "Come in, I've been waiting for you! I've been waiting for you to fix my squeaking door!... What?... You say you're not the carpenter?... You have come to hear a story?... Very well!" In the Three Stooges short The Ghost Talks , a creaking door prompts Shemp to parody
2193-552: The series in May 1945 to serve in the Army, he was replaced by Paul McGrath , who did not keep the "Raymond" name and was known only as "Your Host" or "Mr. Host". (Berry Kroeger had substituted earlier for a total of four episodes.) McGrath was a Broadway actor who turned to radio for a regular income. Beginning in 1945, Lipton Tea sponsored the series, pairing first Raymond and then McGrath with cheery commercial spokeswoman Mary Bennett (aka
2244-437: The squeak orally. The stories were effective little chillers, mixing horror and humor in equal doses. Memorable episodes included "Terror by Night" (September 18, 1945) and an adaptation of " The Tell-Tale Heart " (August 3, 1941). The latter starred Boris Karloff , who was heard regularly in the first season, starring in more than 15 episodes and returning sporadically thereafter. Other established film stars who appeared on
2295-422: The story is the perverse scheme to commit the perfect crime . One interpretation is that Poe wrote the narrator in a way that "allows the reader to identify with the narrator". The narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" is generally assumed to be a male. However, some critics have suggested a woman may be narrating; no pronouns are used to clarify one way or the other. The story starts in medias res , opening with
2346-430: The very best sellers (cellars) have corpses in them." A backwards version of the creaking door sound effect led directly into "Get It On" by T. Rex . The popular British 60s radio comedy Round The Horne had occasional sketches that were influenced by the style of the show. Regular cast member Hugh Paddick would introduce the "scary" sketch with the words "Inner Sanctum-um-um-um-um-um..." – pretending to echo! This
2397-412: The wall after startling the old man from his sleep. According to superstition, deathwatch beetles are a sign of impending death. One variety of deathwatch beetle raps its head against surfaces, presumably as part of a mating ritual, while others emit ticking sounds. Henry David Thoreau observed in an 1838 article that deathwatch beetles make sounds similar to a heartbeat. The discrepancy with this theory
2448-409: The work," thus making the narrator go further into distress. On the eighth night, the old man awakens after the narrator's hand slips and makes a noise, interrupting the narrator's nightly ritual. The narrator does not draw back and after some time, decides to open the lantern. A single thin ray of light shines out and lands precisely on the "evil eye," revealing that it is wide open. The narrator hears
2499-659: The years she introduced such authors as Craig Rice , Gypsy Rose Lee , Patrick Quentin , Thomas Sterling and Anthony Boucher . On January 7, 1941, the Inner Sanctum radio program premiered, the name licensed by Simon & Schuster on condition that at the end of each broadcast the announcer would promote the latest book title published in the series. The anthology series featured stories of mystery, terror and suspense, and its tongue-in-cheek introductions were in sharp contrast to shows like Suspense and The Whistler . The early 1940s programs opened with Raymond Edward Johnson introducing himself as "Your host, Raymond" in
2550-425: Was accompanied by a warbling, quivering, high pitched tone from a Theremin played by an orchestra member. The sketches nearly always ended in confusion as the plots were deliberately circular and convoluted whilst playing up the "spookiness" of the part. The 1946 Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoon Racketeer Rabbit had Bugs enter an abandoned Victorian house (which was actually the gangsters' hideout) that had
2601-403: Was actually made by a rusty desk chair. The program did originally intend to use a door, but on its first use, the door did not creak. Undaunted, Brown grabbed a nearby chair, sat in it and turned, causing a hair-raising squeak. The chair was used from then on as the sound prop. On at least one memorable occasion, a staffer innocently repaired and oiled the chair, thus forcing the sound man to mimic
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