Tower of London (1939)

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, then occupied by his brother King ... See full summary »

Director:

Rowland V. Lee

Writer:

Robert N. Lee (original screen play)

Stars:

Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Barbara O'Neil

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Rose Hobart	...	Anne Neville
Ronald Sinclair	...	Boy King Edward
John Herbert-Bond	...	Young Prince Richard
Ralph Forbes	...	Henry Tudor

Storyline

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, then occupied by his brother King Edward IV of England. As each murder is accomplished he takes particular delight in removing small figurines, each resembling one of the successors, from a throne-room dollhouse, until he alone remains. After the death of Edward he becomes Richard III, King of England, and need only defeat the exiled Henry Tudor to retain power.

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Plot Keywords:

king | murder | executioner | 15th century | brother | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin French

Release Date:

17 November 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Torre de Londres

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The battle scenes were an ordeal to film. Principally shot on August 19, 1939 at a ranch in Tarzana, the fog machine proved ineffective in the face of high winds. The 100-degree heat caused the 300 extras to suffer and rain machines caused the soldier's cardboard helmets and shields to disintegrate. Additional battle scenes were shot on August 22 and on September 4, 1939, but the California heat continued to play havoc with the cast, crew and equipment.

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Goofs

(at around 15 mins) A person can be seen walking past the window.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in Vincent Price: The Sinister Image (1987)

User Reviews

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.