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Tower of London

Play trailer Poster for Tower of London 1939 1h 32m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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83% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Ambitious Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Basil Rathbone), brother of King Edward IV (Ian Hunter), maneuvers to get the powerful John Wyatt (John Sutton) to France, then has his brother make him the Lord Protectorate for Edward's sons, the two young princes. Impatient that the ill Edward clings to life, Richard arranges his death, as well as that of his other brother, the Duke of Clarence (Vincent Price). With only the princes remaining, Richard's obsession to rule shows no sign of abating.

Critics Reviews

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Alberto Abuín Espinof 04/25/2020
Corman worries about "embracing" all his sequences in an elegant way. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 12/22/2019
2.5/4
Tower of London won't be confused with Shakespeare, but it's a fairly diverting historical epic. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 04/21/2011
B
Gruesome chilling tale of dynasty change. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 06/14/2005
2/5
Randy Shulman Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) 08/06/2004
3/5
Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) 09/11/2003
4/5
Makes for pretty compelling entertainment. Just don't take it for anything like historically accurate Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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DanTheMan 2 Feb 6 Ambitious to a point, Tower of London gives a uniquely sinister and highly compelling history lesson in what is a late 30s Universal and very loose take on Shakespeare's Richard III. It's a very well-made film and can be highly entertaining if you can give it a chance, but this film is less focused on horror and more on giving a compelling history lesson with lots of battles and much power struggling. Rowland V. Lee is a very proficient director, his technical prowess, even with his limited resources, shines through. Unfortunately, the romantic matters slow things down enormously and although clearly striving for some measure of authenticity, there are just too many characters for the budget or script to be able to deal with as one might have liked. Universal really did get their mileage out of Frank Skinner's score to Son of Frankenstein as it crops up again here and is used to great effect. Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff give great central performances, with Rathbone playing Richard as a man whose greatest weapon is his self-effacing charm; rarely has utter ruthlessness been so likeable. While the glowering thuggery is Karloff's job here, and he does it with all his usual brilliance, there's even an early role for future master of malevolence Vincent Price, which certainly makes an impression as it's very against his type if you know his works. Deemed too graphic upon its release, Tower of London does offer a lot of dazzling and hypnotic entertainment, injecting an element of sardonic humour amidst what should be a tale of terror, but one done so well, it's hard not to be impressed. See more Liam D @Mediawatcher2003 08/10/2024 One of the more unknown titles in Universal’s older backcatalogue. It has a great cast but it isn’t that memorable See more Andrew L 07/27/2024 This film contains a lot of firsts. It is the first horror film Vincent Price ever starred in, it is the first time we see Karloff and Price together, and it is the first time we see Rathbone, Karloff, and Price teaming up together. We wouldn't see these three big names together again until 24 years later in THE COMEDY OF TERRORS. This film is a big piece of horror history that gets so often overlooked and forgotten. See more Steve D 04/12/2023 Plays fast and loose with history while providing little scares. See more 08/27/2015 Excellent movie! It was like watching a 1939 version of Game of Thrones. Featuring Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Basil Rathbone. Three great actors in one great movie. Highly recommended. See more 05/17/2015 based on historical events-with a horror spin See more Read all reviews
Tower of London

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Movie Info

Synopsis Ambitious Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Basil Rathbone), brother of King Edward IV (Ian Hunter), maneuvers to get the powerful John Wyatt (John Sutton) to France, then has his brother make him the Lord Protectorate for Edward's sons, the two young princes. Impatient that the ill Edward clings to life, Richard arranges his death, as well as that of his other brother, the Duke of Clarence (Vincent Price). With only the princes remaining, Richard's obsession to rule shows no sign of abating.
Director
Rowland V. Lee
Producer
Rowland V. Lee
Screenwriter
Robert N. Lee
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 17, 1939, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 24, 2006
Runtime
1h 32m