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6.3/10
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The twisted Richard III is haunted by the ghosts of those he has murdered in his attempt to become the King of England.The twisted Richard III is haunted by the ghosts of those he has murdered in his attempt to become the King of England.The twisted Richard III is haunted by the ghosts of those he has murdered in his attempt to become the King of England.
Eugene Mazzola
- Edward V
- (as Eugene Martin)
Morris Ankrum
- The Archbishop
- (uncredited)
Paul Frees
- Opening Narrator
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Gene Roth
- The Tailor
- (uncredited)
Jack Tornek
- Member of Court
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Battle of Bosworth is made up of stock footage from the original Universal version of Tower of London (1939).
- GoofsIn this film, Richard of Gloucester, also known as Richard III (played by Vincent Price), kills Mistress Shore (played by 23-year-old Sandra Knight) on the torture Rack. This changes history. In real life, Mistress Shore (1445 -1527) lived to be 82 years old. And if she would have died at age 23, she would never have lived to become the mistress of King Edward IV of England, and the mistress of other noblemen, including Edward's stepson, Thomas Grey (1st Marquess of Dorset), and William Hastings (1st Baron Hastings).
- Quotes
Richard's mother: I brought this curse upon this house when my womb concieved you... Better I should have died in my labor... and never unleashed your evil... upon this Earth.
Richard of Gloucester: You talk of evil... You, who gave me deformity in form of a twisted spine and a withered, arm. Who possesses the greater evil my mother? You who made me this way, or I who have to bare it!
- Crazy creditsNo credit is given to Robert N. Lee, who wrote the 1939 original, nor William Shakespeare, from whose "Richard III" this was freely adapted.
- ConnectionsEdited from Tower of London (1939)
Featured review
Feels limp and hurried compared to the Corman-Poe cycle
Tower of London represented the first time Roger Corman and star Vincent Price had worked outside of the American International Pictures studio, and likely soon regretted the decision shortly into the shooting process. Producer Edward Small had approached Corman with the idea of making a film based on Richard III, and the thought of tackling Shakespeare clearly appealed to the B-movie auteur. Knowing that audiences were tiring of his still-popular Edgar Allen Poe cycle, Corman could stick to his Gothic, cobweb-laden style, only this time under the guise of the Bard. Tensions began to simmer almost straight away, as Small only informed Corman that the film would be shot in black-and-white days before filming was to commence. Price had a legion of fans anyway, but the box-office receipts quickly started to dwindle as word-of-mouth got around that the film was not in colour.
The result is a mixed bag. Part a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III and part remake of Rowland V. Lee's superior 1939 effort of the same name, Tower of London still has plenty to offer to fans of these low-budget spook stories, and Price has so much fun that his performance would be more digestible if served with mayonnaise and bread. He plays the sneering, hunchbacked eldest brother of the dying King Edward IV (Justice Watson), and is shocked and angered when his younger brother George, the Duke of Clarence (Charles Macaulay), is named Protector of the Realm instead of him. It isn't long before George finds himself in a vat of wine with a knife in his back, and Richard sets about turning family against family in his bloodthirsty quest for the throne. Price actually played the Duke of Clarence in Lee's previous film, and it almost feels like Price takes great pleasure in stealing the lead role and disposing of his replacement.
Although Corman was working away from home, the aesthetic is certainly recognisable. The sets are small but detailed, but there aren't many of them. Price schemes and snarls in only a handful of locations, but Corman counteracts this by focusing more on the supernatural elements. The ghosts of those Richard kills frequently haunt him, driving him to a paranoid madness that results in the death of his beloved wife. Price goes way over-the-top in these moments, even for an actor who was well-known for delighting in ham, but watching him engulf the screen never gets old. The budget restrictions set in place by Small were even too much for Corman, and he insisted their three-picture contract be torn up after the film was released. The result is a laughable climax that has ended before you even realise it has begun, and the great Battle of Bosworth Field is reduced to a few silly close-ups and re-used stock footage from the 1939 version. It doesn't demand much at 79 minutes, but Tower of London feels limp and hurried when compared to the lushness of Corman and Price's Poe adaptations.
The result is a mixed bag. Part a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III and part remake of Rowland V. Lee's superior 1939 effort of the same name, Tower of London still has plenty to offer to fans of these low-budget spook stories, and Price has so much fun that his performance would be more digestible if served with mayonnaise and bread. He plays the sneering, hunchbacked eldest brother of the dying King Edward IV (Justice Watson), and is shocked and angered when his younger brother George, the Duke of Clarence (Charles Macaulay), is named Protector of the Realm instead of him. It isn't long before George finds himself in a vat of wine with a knife in his back, and Richard sets about turning family against family in his bloodthirsty quest for the throne. Price actually played the Duke of Clarence in Lee's previous film, and it almost feels like Price takes great pleasure in stealing the lead role and disposing of his replacement.
Although Corman was working away from home, the aesthetic is certainly recognisable. The sets are small but detailed, but there aren't many of them. Price schemes and snarls in only a handful of locations, but Corman counteracts this by focusing more on the supernatural elements. The ghosts of those Richard kills frequently haunt him, driving him to a paranoid madness that results in the death of his beloved wife. Price goes way over-the-top in these moments, even for an actor who was well-known for delighting in ham, but watching him engulf the screen never gets old. The budget restrictions set in place by Small were even too much for Corman, and he insisted their three-picture contract be torn up after the film was released. The result is a laughable climax that has ended before you even realise it has begun, and the great Battle of Bosworth Field is reduced to a few silly close-ups and re-used stock footage from the 1939 version. It doesn't demand much at 79 minutes, but Tower of London feels limp and hurried when compared to the lushness of Corman and Price's Poe adaptations.
helpful•30
- tomgillespie2002
- Oct 23, 2017
- How long is Tower of London?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Ghost of London Tower
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $200,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 19 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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