Tower Of London (1939)

 Tower Of London (1939)

With names like Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Vincent Price, one might expect to see an amazing and terrifying classic horror film, and undoubtedly audiences may have expected exactly that in 1939 when they went to the theater to see Tower Of London.  However that isn't exactly what they would receive.  Tower Of London is more of a historical fiction, and royal drama film rather than a horror film.  The film follows Richard the third from England, as he murdered his way to the crown, and Karloff plays his executioner Mord, who helps him to carry out his murderous plans.  Where the film had some opportunities, and the right characters, to come off as a horror film, the film instead is a slower drama.

Tower Of London was directed and produced by Rowland V Lee, with a screenplay by Robert N Lee.   Lee was notorious for going over budget and over schedule with his films, and Tower of London was no exception, he was given a decent budget of $500,000 to make the film, and still ended up going nearly $80,000 over budget.   The film is definitely not one of the better films that horror icons Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, or Vincent Price would do, but it is a reasonably entertaining film.   Tower Of London just feels like it got lost in the grandeur of itself, and it just felt muddled and confused. 

Tower Of London stars Basil Rathbone as Richard (Duke of Gloucester), Boris Karloff as Mord, Barbara O'Neil as Queen Elizabeth, Ian Hunter as King Edward IV, Vincent Price as Duke Of Clarence, Nan Grey as Lady Alice Barton, John Sutton as John Wyatt, Ernest Cossart as Tom Clink, Leo G. Carroll as Lord Hastings, Miles Mander as King Henry VI, Lionel Belmore as Beacon, Rose Hobart as Anne Neville, Ronald Sinclair as Boy King Edward, John Herbert-Bond as Young Prince Richard, Ralph Forbes as Henry Tudor, Frances Robinson as Duchess Isobel, G.P. Huntley as Wales, and Rodion Rathbone as Lord DeVere.   The film has a massive cast, and it is hard to keep all of the characters straight, the film also makes jumps in time without notice making it hard to figure out who is who and what their point is.  This film really seems to lose itself a lot.  Boris Karloff is great playing the monstrous club footed executioner Mord, though he is little more than a side character.  Other than Karloff none of the characters to me were really notable.  

Tower Of London isn't really a bad film, but it is a forgettable film.  The writing of the film felt muddled, and the film felt like it lacked effective direction.  The pacing is off, and it is hard to pay attention, and maybe what is the worst is that though the film is entertaining, it is also quite boring, and I found my mind wandering a lot while watching it.   I do feel like Karloff's performance is worth watching, but I also feel that overall this is a classic film that is just fine to skip over.  If you find historical dramas interesting, then maybe this film might be more for you, but beware that the film is hard to follow and has terrible pacing issues, which make it feel boring.   So if you haven't seen Tower Of London, I don't know if there is really any need to check it out, all in all, to me it was a disappointing film.  


Note:  I couldn't find a preview for this film to post with the review.