TOWER OF LONDON (1962)
Article #891 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 8-23-2003
Posting Date: 1-20-2004
Directed by Roger Corman
Featuring Vincent Price, Bruce Gordon, Michael Pate

This movie tells the story of Richard III, and his rise to power.

Richard III seems to be another historical personage whose life story is often presented as horror. Part of it is probably the physical deformities that are attributed to him (hunched back and club foot), and part of it is the brutality of his rise, in which he does away with anyone who stands in his way. This version ups the horror content from the 1939 version of the story by having Richard being haunted by the ghosts of his victims, though these apparitions may merely be a part of Richard’s madness. Vincent Price appeared as Clarence in the original version, where he was drowned in a vat of malmsey; here, he is Richard and gets to do the dunking himself. Price isn’t the only thing borrowed from the 1939 movie; according to the accompanying documentary, the battle scenes at Bosworth are also lifted from that movie, probably for budgetary reasons. This could not have been done had the movie originally been done in color as planned, but a last minute decision was made to make the movie in black and white. Though it’s not entirely successful, the sets look beautiful, and Vincent Price is fun as always.