Tower of London (1962)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Roger Corman

Writers:

Leo Gordon (story) and
F. Amos Powell (story) ...

Release Date:

24 October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Horror

Tagline:

Do you have the courage to spend 83 minutes in the Tower of London?

Plot:

The twisted Richard III is haunted by the ghosts of those he has murdered in his attempt to become the King of England. |

Plot Keywords:

England | Ghost | Sociopath | Ambition | Obsession

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Richard of Gloucester
Michael Pate	...	Sir Ratcliffe
Joan Freeman	...	Lady Margaret
Robert Brown	...	Sir Justin
Bruce Gordon	...	Earl of Buckingham
Joan Camden	...	Anne
Richard Hale	...	Tyrus
Sandra Knight	...	Mistress Shore
Charles Macaulay	...	Clarence
Justice Watson	...	Edward IV
Sarah Selby	...	Queen
Donald Losby	...	Prince Richard
Sara Taft	...	Richard's mother
Eugene Martin	...	Edward V

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 | Argentina:13 | USA:Approved (PCA# 20236)

Company:

Edward Small Productions

Trivia:

According to producer Gene Corman, he and his brother, director Roger Corman, considered leaving the production several times due to the cost cutting measures forced on them by uncredited executive producer Edward Small.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Just after Richard throws the ax through the stained glass window, you can see the shadow of the camera crane on the floor, rising higher and higher and pulling back.

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!

Movie Connections:

Edited from Tower of London (1939)

Vincent Price is the KING...of agony!

In between basing no less than seven movies on the wondrously macabre writings of author Edgar Allan Poe, the mega-versatile cinema wizard Roger Corman also found the the time to adapt a famous William Shakespeare play and turn it into an effectively creepy and atmospheric 60's chiller. The greatest actor who ever walked the earth – Vincent Price, who else? – plays another malicious but emotionally tormented protagonist in the English kingdom of the late 15th century. He is Richard Plantagenet, unlikely to ever inherit the throne in a righteous way, but willing to kill blood relatives in order to become King of all England. But immediately after murdering his own brother and other innocent people that stand in his way, the restless spirits of his victims come back to haunt him in visions. "Tower of London" is a fascinating history lesson, perhaps not very accurate, but at least vastly entertaining and providing more than enough genuine frights and atmosphere. Continuously descending further into madness, sir Richard submits his victims to uncanny medieval torture devices, like a stretching-rack and a rat cage that gets placed on a poor guy's head. The photography is in stylish black & white, the costumes are downright enchanting and the use of medieval vocabulary sounded like pure music to my ears. Vincent Price is amazing, as always, portraying the historical madman that also suffered from a hereditary handicap. The performances of the supportive cast are sadly a bit hammy. For some reason and unlike most other masterpieces starring Price, this baby is rather difficult to find but definitely worth searching for. A must for fans of classic horror.