utgard14 Shakespeare -- Universal Pictures style! Basil Rathbone plays Richard III, who rises to power with the help of his club-footed executioner Mord, played by Boris Karloff ("crookback and dragfoot"). Excellent historical suspenser from Universal. Not a horror movie, despite the cast and studio. Although Karloff's Mord would be right at home lurking around Castle Frankenstein. In addition to Karloff and Rathbone, the cast includes Vincent Price, Leo G. Carroll, Ian Hunter, and lovely Nan Grey. Great sets, costumes, and direction by Rowland V. Lee. Rathbone is having lots of fun being evil and Karloff is always a treat to watch. I really like this one!

AaronCapenBanner Basil Rathbone stars as Richard, the Duke Of Glouster, a ruthless and ambitious man who systematically plots to murder all those who stand in his way to the throne, held by King Edward the IV. He is helped in this by his loyal and sinister servant, the club-footed Mort(played menacingly by Boris Karloff) who tortures, imprisons or exiles all who oppose him. Eventually, Richard does come to power after Edward dies, becoming the famous King Richard the III of England, who must face a returning enemy in battle to secure his power, aided by the eager Mort... Vincent Price is amusing as a drunken Duke of Clarence, another victim. Good acting and direction(by Rowland V. Lee) with literate script make this film a winner.

TheLittleSongbird Tower of London is not exactly great by all means. The script does feel rather muddled, the pacing is uneven with some scenes that feel rushed and others that plod and the romantic subplot is just silly. However, it does look great, with striking cinematography and appropriately creepy settings. Frank Skinner's music gives a haunting edge and the memorable but here often grim story is full of great scenes, the two battles are spectacular, while the murders of Clarence and the two Princes are unforgettable. The whole cast give good performances, especially Leo G.Carroll, who makes any supporting character more interesting than it is. But there are three performances that are great. Basil Rathbone is a brilliant Richard, he dominates every scene he's in in every way and he never resorts to camp. Boris Karloff, with the bald head and clubbed foot, is terrifying as the Exexutioner, while Vincent Price's Clarence, the actor in a very early role and he went on to give even better performances, is memorable. So all in all, a decent film but elevated by some unforgettable scenes and three great performances. 7/10 Bethany Cox

comicman117 Tower of London (1939) Directed and Produced by Roland V. Lee. Starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff Barbara O'Neil, Ian Hunter, Vincent Price, Nan Grey, Leo G. Carroll, John Sutton, Miles Mander, and Donnie Dunagan (for some reason I can't stop laughing at those two names being together).The opening music in Tower of London would tell you that it's a horror film. The truth of the matter is, that Tower of London isn't much of a horror film, as it a historical piece. Despite the presence of Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and yes Basil Rathbone (he did some Horror films), this is attempting to be more straight than scary. The film is more or less a retelling of Richard iii (Rathbone) attempts to conquer the throne in England during the 15th century, by any means necessary. Richard is joined by his loyal executioner Mord (Karloff). It is a story of betrayal, power, and descent into madness. It is an interesting retelling, but does have some differences.Released the same year as Son of Frankenstein (both films feature the same two leads, Rathbone and Karloff). Tower of London was probably more or less an attempt to give Basil Rathbone a leading role, that wasn't Sherlock Holmes (this film even begins with Starring Basil Rathbone and then listing the rest of the cast members as with).This film features some fencing. With Rathbone being a naturally trained fencer, Roland V. Lee and the other people behind the film felt that they could probably get away with having fencing in the film (seeing as it was a common thing in that era). And the fights are pretty impressive, probably the best parts of the film, being extremely entertaining, as Richard likes to fence with other people.There is a particularly good scene where after King Henry death is announced, Richard goes to his room and there he set of a dolls lined up, these dolls all have something in common, they are people that he wants dead. With King Henry and two others descent for the throne having already been knocked out, he throws the dolls into the fire, and places the remaining heirs to the throne on top, plotting which one to kill next. The scene is particularly good, because it shows how far Richard will go just to ascend to the throne. The music that plays in the background is particularly good, giving the scene an eerie feeling.Three of the six actors in this film (Rathbone, Karloff and Price) would all reunite with the film, The Comedy of Terrors. A scene in that film mirrors this film, by having Price kill off Rathbone (after Rathbone wouldn't stop coming back to life).The scenery is terrific. It actually looks like we're in London in the 1400's.The acting is pretty good with Rathbone as usual perfect in the role of the sinister Richard the iii, with Karloff just as equally good in the role of his henchman Mord, who is sinister and freaky. Vincent Price is good in a small role, which was one of his earliest films. Here he plays the Duke of Clarence who meets gets challenged to a drinking contest by his brother Richard the iii (you heard me right), that ends with one survivor. Although Price is commonly associated with low-brow horror films, one must not forget that Price started as a serious dramatic supporting actor (including appearances in films such as Laura, and Dragonwyck, and then became started making horror films in the 50's. Another good performance in the film is Ian Hunter as King Edward IV. Here he is depicted as being stronger than what he was in say the Shakespeare play, Richard the iii.The film was remade in 1962 by Roger Corman (although maybe in name only). Ironically enough this time it starred Vincent Price in the role of Richard.All and all the Tower of London is fairly entertaining. I wouldn't call it the most accurate retelling of a historical event, but I wouldn't call it the worst. The acting makes up for most of its fault and for the most part, I suggest it worth a look. Of course I don't like the fact that people label this as a horror film, as there's nothing really scary about it.