Tower of London (1939)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Rowland V. Lee

Writer:

Robert N. Lee (original screenplay)

Release Date:

17 November 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Horror

Plot:

In the 15th century Richard Duke of Gloucester, aided by his club-footed executioner Mord, eliminates those ahead of him in succession to the throne...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Executioner | Brother | Drowning | Battle

Cast

Basil Rathbone	...	Richard - Duke of Gloucester
Boris Karloff	...	Mord
Barbara O'Neil	...	Queen Elyzabeth
Ian Hunter	...	King Edward IV
Vincent Price	...	Duke of Clarence
Nan Grey	...	Lady Alice Barton
Ernest Cossart	...	Tom Clink
John Sutton	...	John Wyatt
Leo G. Carroll	...	Lord Hastings
Miles Mander	...	King Henry VI
Lionel Belmore	...	Beacon - a Chamberlain
Rose Hobart	...	Anne Neville
Ronald Sinclair	...	Boy King Edward
John Herbert-Bond	...	Boy Prince Richard
Ralph Forbes	...	Henry Tudor

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #5819) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Castle, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Basil Rathbone was forced, due to scheduling conflicts, to simultaneously work on Rio (1939) during the first week of production. Rathbone's assignment on this film also effectively prevented him from being cast on the far more prestigious The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) at RKO.

Quotes:

Mord: [to Richard] You're more than a king, more than a man. You're a god to me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Best of Sex and Violence (1981)

Creeps Intrigue and Swordplay in the 15th Century

Richard III of England the maligned Plantagenent twisted by Shakespeare into the legendary ruthless embodiment of Machiavelli's Prince during the reign of the successful Tudor usurpers his only semi favorable appearance in literature is in R.L.Stevenson The Black Arrow. History wrote of him as a hunchbacked withered arm killer king. And in this movie,minus the shriveled left arm,he is. First seen on the local double dip of horror TV.show,it's really a historical drama that benefits from the presence of the great pairing of Karloff and Rathbone,as Mord the executioner and Richard ,respectively. It opens with an execution of a defeated Lancastrian lord during a moment of peace in the War of the Roses between Lancaster and York factions. Both the main villains share a common bond in both being physically flawed with Karloff/Mord having a clubfoot (Which he uses to great effect on a hapless page attempting to deliver a message!) In the hands of the capable director and the great star duo this modest budgeted epic delivers more than the ill-fated Alexander does. An interesting side note; Mr.Rathbone in a later interview said that the extras were wearing papier mache as a substitute for the real thing (modest budget) one of the battle scenes took place in the rain so there was the images of Yorkist and Lancaster men-at-arms flailing away in melting armor with soggy weapons.