From contemporary reviews, Motion Picture Daily described the film as a "different kind of short", noting its lack of speech and letting the actions speak for themselves.

"[3] The reviewer praised director Jules Dassin for "skillful handing of a difficult assignment" and Doan Hoag for "a laudable script".

[3] In an article about Jules Dassin written the week of his death, Time film critic Richard Corliss called The Tell-Tale Heart "possibly the very first movie to be influenced by Citizen Kane ...

This short film ... is positively a-swill in Orson Wellesian tropes: the crouching camera, the chiaroscuro lighting, the mood-deepening use of silences and sound effects.

"[4] The film is a bonus feature on the Region 1 DVD box set The Complete Thin Man Collection, released by Warner Home Video on August 2, 2005.