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Tower of London is a american film of genre Drama directed by Rowland V. Lee released in USA on 17 november 1939 with Basil Rathbone

Tower of London (1939)

Tower of London
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Released in USA 17 november 1939
Length 1h32
Directed by ,    
OriginUSA
Genres Drama,    Horror,    Historical
Rating65% 3.2931753.2931753.2931753.2931753.293175

Tower of London is a 1939 black-and-white historical film and quasi-horror film released by Universal Pictures and directed by Rowland V. Lee. It stars Basil Rathbone as the future Richard III of England, and Boris Karloff as his fictitious club-footed executioner Mord. Vincent Price, in only his third film, appears as George, Duke of Clarence. Actor John Rodion, who appears in a small role, is actually Rodion Rathbone, Basil's son.

The film is based on the traditional depiction of Richard rising to become King of England in 1483 by eliminating everyone ahead of him. Each time Richard accomplishes a murder, he removes one figurine from a dollhouse resembling a throneroom. Once he has completed his task, he now needs to defeat the exiled Henry Tudor to retain the throne.

The exterior castle sets constructed for this film became a staple of the Universal backlot and could be seen time and time again in subsequent films (most prominently in the 1952's The Black Castle).

A 1962 film, with Vincent Price now in the lead role, borrowed the title. The newer film--not a remake--was made on an extremely low budget, with a small cast (and used stock footage from the 1939 version for the battle sequences), and placed far more of an emphasis on horror. Price later told Rathbone's biographer Michael Druxman that he felt Rathbone's performance as Richard was probably more historically genuine than either Laurence Olivier's or his own.

Synopsis

The plot was not derived from Shakespeare's Richard III, but rather was written by Robert N. Lee (director Rowland V. Lee's brother) after reading a great deal of British history. George, Duke of Clarence (one of Richard's brothers) is depicted as something less than the tragically noble figure found in Shakespeare. Ian Hunter portrays Edward IV, who is not depicted here as the feeble, dying King found in Laurence Olivier's 1955 film version of Shakespeare's play.

Actors

Basil Rathbone

(Richard - Duke of Gloucester)
Boris Karloff

(Mord)
Vincent Price

(Duke of Clarence)
Barbara O'Neil

(Queen Elyzabeth)
Ian Hunter

(King Edward IV)
Trailer of Tower of London

Bluray, DVD

Streaming / VOD

Source : Wikidata

Universal Monsters

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1913) The Werewolf (1913) The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) The Phantom of the Opera (1925) The Cat and the Canary (1927) The Man Who Laughs (1928) The Last Performance (1929) The Last Warning (1929) The Will of the Dead Man (1930) The Cat Creeps (1930) Dracula (1931) Drácula (1931) Frankenstein (1931) Island of Lost Souls (1932) The Mummy (1932) Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) The Old Dark House (1932) Boo (1932) The Invisible Man (1933) The Black Cat (1934) Werewolf of London (1935) Bride of Frankenstein (1935) The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935) The Raven (1935) The Invisible Ray (1936) Dracula's Daughter (1936) Night Key (1937) Tower of London (1939) The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) Son of Frankenstein (1939) The Invisible Woman (1940) The Mummy's Hand (1940) The Invisible Man Returns (1940) Black Friday (1940) The Black Cat (1941) The Wolf Man (1941) Horror Island (1941) Man-Made Monster (1941) Invisible Agent (1942) The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) The Mummy's Tomb (1942) Night Monster (1942) The Mystery of Marie Roget (1942) The Mad Doctor of Market Street (1942) Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) The Mad Ghoul (1943) Phantom of the Opera (1943) Son of Dracula (1943) Calling Dr. Death (1943) Captive Wild Woman (1943) Weird Woman (1944) Dead Man's Eyes (1944) The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) The Climax (1944) Jungle Woman (1944) House of Frankenstein (1944) The Mummy's Curse (1944) The Mummy's Ghost (1944) Strange Confession (1945) The Frozen Ghost (1945) The Jungle Captive (1945) Pillow of Death (1945) House of Dracula (1945) She-Wolf of London (1946) The Brute Man (1946) The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946) House of Horrors (1946) Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) The Strange Door (1951) Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) The Black Castle (1952) Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) It Came from Outer Space (1953) Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) Cult of the Cobra (1955) Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) This Island Earth (1955) Tarantula (1955) Revenge of the Creature (1955) Curucu, Beast of the Amazon (1956) The Mole People (1956) The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) The Deadly Mantis (1957) The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) The Monolith Monsters (1957) Monster on the Campus (1958) The Thing That Couldn't Die (1958) Curse of the Undead (1959) The Leech Woman (1960) Dark Intruder (1965) Mad Monster Party? (1967) Mad Mad Mad Monsters (1972) Young Frankenstein (1974) Dracula (1979) The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979) The Monster Squad (1987) Darkman (1990) Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) House of Frankenstein (miniseries) (1997) The Mummy (1999) Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein (1999) Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000) The Mummy Returns (2001) Van Helsing (2004) The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) House of the Wolf Man (2009) The Wolfman (2010) Frankenweenie (2012) Hotel Transylvania (2012) Dracula Untold (2014) Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) The Mummy (2017)

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