Tower of London (1962 film)

1962 film by Roger Corman

This article is about the Vincent Price film. For the Basil Rathbone film, see Tower of London (1939 film).

Tower of London

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Roger Corman
Screenplay by|

* Leo Gordon
* F. Amos Powell
* James B. Gordon

Story by|

* Leo Gordon
* F. Amos Powell

Produced by| Gene Corman
Starring|

* Vincent Price
* Michael Pate
* Joan Freeman
* Robert Brown

Cinematography| Archie R. Dalzell
Edited by| Ronald Sinclair
Music by| Michael Anderson

Production
company

Admiral Pictures

Distributed by| United Artists

Release date

* 24 October 1962 (1962-10-24)

Running time

| 79 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $200,000[1][2]

Tower of London is a 1962 historical drama and gothic horror film directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price and Michael Pate. The film was produced by Edward Small Productions.[3]

The film tells a highly fictionalised account of the rise to power and eventual downfall of King Richard III of England, freely combining elements derived from the plots of Shakespeare's plays Richard III and Macbeth.

Aside from the historical setting, the movie is not connected to the 1939 film of the same name, starring Price, Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff.

## Plot

[edit]

In 1483 England, Richard, the Duke of Gloucester (Vincent Price), is dismayed when his dying brother King Edward IV names their brother George, Duke of Clarence as Protector to his young son and heir, Prince Edward. Richard wants the position himself, to become de facto ruler after his brother's death. He secretly stabs George to death with a dagger bearing the crest of the Woodville family, framing the dying king's in-laws. Richard is now named Protector. His wife Anne approves of his crime and encourages him to take the throne for himself.

After the death of King Edward, Richard tries to achieve his ends by intimidating the widowed queen's lady-in-waiting Mistress Shore into claiming that the dead king's two children are illegitimate. She refuses, and Richard tortures her. After she dies on the rack, Richard claims he executed her for spreading the rumour that the princes were illegitimate. He says that the two princes should be placed in his protective custody.

The ghosts of Clarence, King Edward and Mistress Shore haunt Richard, warning him that they will be revenged at "Bosworth". He is also told that he will be killed by a dead man. Shore's ghost merges with the body of Anne, and a semi-deranged Richard strangles his own wife, believing her to be Shore. Without his beloved Anne, he is struck with guilt and loneliness. Richard consults the Moorish physician and sorcerer Tyrus, who shows him visions of his future, including the prophecy that he will be king.

Tyrus is disturbed by Richard's increasingly deranged demeanour. Fearful for the safety of the princes, he informs Sir Jasper, a young aristocrat who is looking after the lads. Jasper plots with his girlfriend, Lady Margaret Stanley, to rescue the princes. He manages to get the young Duke of York and his mother free, but he is trapped and captured with the child-king Edward. Lady Margaret, who has been sent to get aid from her father Lord Stanley, is also captured and imprisoned.

Richard spares Jasper, because he needs him to negotiate with Stanley, who is withholding his support for the Protector. Richard forces the Archbishop to give up the Duke of York, who has sought church sanctuary in Westminster Abbey with his mother. Aided by his crony, Sir Ratcliffe, Richard then murders the two princes in their beds and proclaims himself king.

The ghosts of the princes try to lure Richard to his death from the battlements of the Tower, but he is saved by Buckingham. Buckingham confides in Ratcliffe his doubts about Richard's sanity, suggesting that they should join Lord Stanley. Ratcliffe informs Richard, who has Buckingham tortured to death. Meanwhile, Tyrus helps Jasper to rescue Margaret, but is mortally wounded during the escape. Jasper and Margaret join Stanley to encourage him to topple Richard from the throne.

Richard is crowned, but is still haunted by fear. Ratcliffe informs him that Stanley has marched to the village of Bosworth with an army. Richard declares that he will fight. When Ratcliffe learns that Stanley has been joined by the Earl of Richmond, he advises Richard to flee, but the king is convinced of his invincibility. At the Battle of Bosworth Field Richard is eventually left alone on the battlefield after his army has been defeated. The ghosts of his victims appear, and he attempts to fight them. Jasper, Stanley and Richmond watch as Richard swipes at thin air. The king attempts to mount a horse, but is thrown and killed by a battleaxe held by a dead soldier.

## Cast

[edit]

* Vincent Price as Richard, Duke of Gloucester
* Michael Pate as Sir Richard Ratcliffe
* Joan Freeman as Lady Margaret Stanley
* Robert Brown as Sir Justin
* Bruce Gordon as the Earl of Buckingham
* Joan Camden as Anne Neville, Duchess of Gloucester
* Richard Hale as Tyrus the physician
* Sandra Knight as Mistress Shore
* Charles Macaulay as George, Duke of Clarence
* Justice Watson as Edward IV
* Sarah Selby as The Queen
* Donald Losby as Prince Richard
* Sara Taft as Richard's mother, the Duchess of York
* Eugene Mazzola as Edward V
* Morris Ankrum as The Archbishop (uncredited)
* Paul Frees as Opening Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
* Gene Roth as The Tailor (uncredited)
* Jack Tornek as Member of Court (uncredited)

## Production

[edit]

### Development

[edit]

In February 1961 it was announced Roger Corman had signed a "multi-picture pact" with Edward Small to make films for United Artists starting with The Intruder.[4]

Corman ended up producing The Intruder without Small but they made Tower of London together. Corman says Small had been impressed by Corman's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations with Vincent Price and approached him with the idea of making a story about Richard III.[5] According to Corman's brother Gene, who co-produced the film, the idea came from him and writer Leo Gordon. They were trying to come up with a fresh take on the Poe picture; they considered Nathaniel Hawthorne "and three or four other ideas" before deciding on William Shakespeare; Macbeth was not ideal but Richard III was. "We were exploring the same genre, but a different author," says Gene Corman.[6]

The film was known as To Dream of Kings.[7] Price's signing was announced in December 1961.[8]

### Shooting

[edit]

Filming started in March 1962 in London. The film was shot in 15 days.[9] Francis Ford Coppola worked on it as dialogue director.[10] Gene Corman says the main cost was the sets, built at the old Producer's Studio.[2] Gene Corman says the decision to shoot the film in black and white came from Eddie Small due to cost reasons; Small only informed them of this shortly before shooting, leading to a big argument between Roger Corman and Small. Gene Corman says "what Eddie obviously decided was that Vincent Price had a built-in audience and they would not realise up front that they were buying a black and white Price film. They'd take it for granted that this was in colour."[11]

The movie was meant to be the first of a three-picture contract between Corman and Small. Corman later called the movie:

> The most foolish thing I’ve ever filmed. Every night he [Small] would come to see me or call me. The script was changed, reworked without my consent. Lots of strange things were happening all the time, and finally I asked him to tear up our contract. He realized he wouldn’t get anything worthwhile out of me and tore it up. I have nothing against Eddie Small. He's an old man who had lots of success during the thirties, and who doesn't know that times have changed.[5]

## Reception

[edit]

Reviews were mixed.[12]

### Box Office

[edit]

Gene Corman says "I kind of liked that film and I know Vincent was always pleased with that performance."[11] He says the movie "opened big – for that kind of film – but the down-the-line play was not what it should have been, because at that point the distributor knew he didn't have a colour film."[11]

## See also

[edit]

* List of American films of 1962
* List of historical drama films

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Alan G. Frank, The Films of Roger Corman: Shooting My Way Out of Trouble, Bath Press, 1998 p 111
2. ^ a b Weaver p 101
3. ^ TOWER OF LONDON Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 34, Iss. 396, (Jan 1, 1967): 64.
4. ^ "Roger Corman and Small Slate to UA". Variety. 22 February 1961. p. 3.
5. ^ a b Nasr, Constantine (2011). Roger Corman: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series). Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. p. 17\. ISBN 978-1617031663.
6. ^ Weaver p101
7. ^ Pendleton, Thomas A. (2001). "What [?] Price [?] Shakespeare [?]". Literature/Film Quarterly. 29 (2). Salisbury, Maryland: Salisbury State University: 135–146.
8. ^ Hopper, Hedda (2 December 1961). "Looking at Hollywood: Busy Vincent Price Is Booked Until 1963". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. n5.
9. ^ Article on film at Turner Classic Monthly. Retrieved 17 January 2024
10. ^ Coppola Breaks the Age Barrier Madsen, Axel. Los Angeles Times 2 January 1966: m6.
11. ^ a b c Weaver p 103
12. ^ Price Stars as Mad King in New Film Scott, John L. Los Angeles Times3 November 1962: 15.

## Notes

[edit]

* Weaver, Tom (2000). Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes: The Mutant Melding of Two Volumes of Classic Interviews. McFarland. ISBN 9780786407552.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Tower of London (1962 film).

* Tower of London at IMDb
* Tower of London at the TCM Movie Database
* ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Tower of London at AllMovie
* Tower of London at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
* Tower of London at Letterbox DVD

* v
* t
* e

Roger Corman

Filmography

Director|

* Five Guns West (1955)
* Apache Woman (1955)
* Day the World Ended (1955)
* The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955, uncredited)
* Swamp Women (1956)
* The Oklahoma Woman (1956)
* Gunslinger (1956)
* It Conquered the World (1956)
* Naked Paradise (1957)
* Carnival Rock (1957)
* Not of This Earth (1957)
* Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)
* The Undead (1957)
* Rock All Night (1957)
* Teenage Doll (1957)
* Sorority Girl (1957)
* The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1957)
* I Mobster (1958)
* War of the Satellites (1958)
* Machine-Gun Kelly (1958)
* Teenage Caveman (1958)
* She Gods of Shark Reef (1958)
* A Bucket of Blood (1959)
* The Wasp Woman (1959)
* Ski Troop Attack (1960)
* House of Usher (1960)
* The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
* Last Woman on Earth (1960)
* Atlas (1961)
* Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)
* The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
* The Premature Burial (1962)
* The Intruder (1962)
* Tales of Terror (1962)
* Tower of London (1962)
* The Young Racers (1963)
* The Raven (1963)
* The Terror (1963)
* The Haunted Palace (1963)
* X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes (1963)
* The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
* The Secret Invasion (1964)
* The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)
* The Wild Angels (1966)
* The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967)
* The Trip (1967)
* A Time for Killing (1967, uncredited)
* The Wild Racers (1968, uncredited)
* Target: Harry (1969)
* De Sade (1969, uncredited)
* Bloody Mama (1970)
* Gas-s-s-s (1970)
* Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)
* Frankenstein Unbound (1990)

Producer only|

* Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954)
* The Fast and the Furious (1954)
* Dementia 13 (1963)
* Devil's Angels (1967)
* Boxcar Bertha (1972)
* Unholy Rollers (1972)
* I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973)
* Cockfighter (1974)
* Big Bad Mama (1974)
* Capone (1975)
* Death Race 2000 (1975)
* Fighting Mad (1976)
* Eat My Dust! (1976)
* Thunder and Lightning (1977)
* Deathsport (1978)
* Avalanche (1978)
* Saint Jack (1979)
* Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider (1979)
* Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
* Smokey Bites the Dust (1981)
* Galaxy of Terror (1981)
* Forbidden World (1982)
* Space Raiders (1983)
* Love Letters (1984)
* Cocaine Wars (1985)
* Big Bad Mama II (1987)
* Munchies (1987)
* The Terror Within (1989)
* Two to Tango (1989)
* Bloodfist (1989)
* Lords of the Deep (1989)
* Time Trackers (1989)
* Overexposed (1990)
* Watchers II (1990)
* Immortal Sins (1991)
* Kill Zone (1993)
* Dracula Rising (1993)
* Hellfire (1995)
* Scene of the Crime (1996)
* Black Scorpion II (1997)
* A Very Unlucky Leprechaun (1998)
* Running Woman (1998)
* The Haunting of Hell House (1999)
* White Pony (1999)
* Enemy Action (1999)
* The Suicide Club (2000)
* Stray Bullet II (2000)
* Moving Target (2000)
* Aladdin and the Adventure of All Time (2000)
* Nightfall (2000)
* Raptor (2001)
* When Eagles Strike (2003)
* The Hunt for Eagle One (2006)
* The Hunt for Eagle One: Crash Point (2006)
* Saurian (2006)
* Cyclops (2008)
* Splatter (2009)
* Dinoshark (2010)
* Sharktopus (2010)
* Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader (2012)
* Palace of the Damned (2013)
* Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda (2014)
* Fist of the Dragon (2014)
* Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf (2015)
* Death Race 2050 (2017)

Related|

* Julie Corman (wife)
* Gene Corman (brother)
* Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel
* Roger Corman Presents
* New World Pictures
* The Filmgroup
* New Concorde
* American International Pictures
* Millennium
* Concorde Anois
* New Hollywood

* v
* t
* e

Films produced by Edward Small

1910-20s|

* Who's Your Neighbor? (1917)
* The Sporting Lover (1926)
* The Cohens and Kellys (1926)
* The Gorilla (1927)
* McFadden's Flats (1927)
* Ladies' Night in a Turkish Bath (1928)
* The Cohens and the Kellys in Paris (1928)
* My Man (1928)
* Companionate Marriage (1928)
* Song of Love (1929)

1930s|

* Clancy in Wall Street (1930)
* Igloo (1932)
* I Cover the Waterfront (1933)
* Palooka (1933)
* The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
* Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)
* Let 'Em Have It (1935)
* Red Salute (1935)
* The Melody Lingers On (1935)
* The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
* The Bride Walks Out (1936)
* We Who Are About to Die (1937)
* Sea Devils (1937)
* New Faces of 1937 (1937)
* Super-Sleuth (1937)
* The Toast of New York (1937)
* The Duke of West Point (1938)
* King of the Turf (1939)
* The Man in the Iron Mask (1939)

1940s|

* My Son, My Son! (1940)
* The Son of Monte Cristo (1940)
* South of Pago Pago (1940)
* Kit Carson (1940)
* International Lady (1941)
* The Corsican Brothers (1941)
* A Gentleman After Dark (1942)
* Twin Beds (1942)
* Miss Annie Rooney (1942)
* Friendly Enemies (1942)
* Up in Mabel's Room (1944)
* Abroad with Two Yanks (1944)
* Brewster's Millions (1945)
* Getting Gertie's Garter (1945)
* Temptation (1946)
* The Return of Monte Cristo (1946)
* T-Men (1947)
* The Black Arrow (1948)
* The Fuller Brush Man (1948)
* Raw Deal (1948)
* Walk a Crooked Mile (1948)
* Black Magic (1949)

1950s|

* Davy Crockett, Indian Scout (1950)
* The Iroquois Trail (1950)
* Valentino (1951)
* Lorna Doone (1951)
* The Texas Rangers (1951)
* Indian Uprising (1952)
* Scandal Sheet (1952)
* The Brigand (1952)
* Cripple Creek (1952)
* Kansas City Confidential (1952)
* The Bandits of Corsica (1953)
* Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953)
* Dragon's Gold (1953)
* Gun Belt (1953)
* The Neanderthal Man (1953)
* 99 River Street (1953)
* Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953)
* Sabre Jet (1953)
* The Steel Lady (1953)
* Wicked Woman (1953)
* Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl (1954)
* Khyber Patrol (1954)
* The Lone Gun (1954)
* Overland Pacific (1954)
* Return to Treasure Island (1954)
* Southwest Passage (1954)
* Down Three Dark Streets (1954)
* New York Confidential (1955)
* The Naked Street (1955)
* Top Gun (1955)
* Comanche (1955)
* Gun Brothers (1956)
* UFO (1956)
* Chicago Confidential (1957)
* 5 Steps to Danger (1957)
* Gun Duel in Durango (1957)
* The Iron Sheriff (1957)
* Monkey on My Back (1957)
* Curse of the Faceless Man (1958)
* Hong Kong Confidential (1958)
* It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
* Toughest Gun in Tombstone (1958)
* Witness for the Prosecution (1958)
* The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)
* Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1959)
* Inside the Mafia (1959)
* Invisible Invaders (1959)
* Pier 5, Havana (1959)
* Riot in Juvenile Prison (1959)
* Solomon and Sheba (1959)
* Timbuktu (1959) (had name removed from credits)
* Vice Raid (1959)

1960s|

* Cage of Evil (1960)
* A Dog's Best Friend (1960)
* Gunfighters of Abilene (1960)
* The Music Box Kid (1960)
* Noose for a Gunman (1960)
* Oklahoma Territory (1960)
* Three Came to Kill (1960)
* The Walking Target (1960)
* Boy Who Caught a Crook (1961)
* The Cat Burglar (1961)
* Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)
* Frontier Uprising (1961)
* Five Guns to Tombstone (1961)
* The Flight That Disappeared (1961)
* The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)
* Gun Fight (1961)
* Mary Had a Little... (1961)
* Operation Bottleneck (1961)
* Police Dog Story (1961)
* Secret of Deep Harbor (1961)
* The Snake Woman (1961)
* Three on a Spree (1961)
* When the Clock Strikes (1961)
* You Have to Run Fast (1961)
* The Greengage Summer (1961)
* Beauty and the Beast (1962)
* The Clown and the Kid (1962)
* Deadly Duo (1962)
* Gun Street (1962)
* Incident in an Alley (1962)
* Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
* Saintly Sinners (1962)
* Tower of London (1962)
* Diary of a Madman (1963)
* Twice Told Tales (1963)
* I'll Take Sweden (1965)
* Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966)
* Frankie and Johnny (1966)
* The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)
* The File of the Golden Goose (1969)
* The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970)

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