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Tower
of London
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The film was based on the history of the House of York and the Wars of the Roses,
1471-1485. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, the father of the three brothers played
by Rathbone, Hunter and Price, had claimed a right to the throne for his family.
Parliament agreed that the claim was just. King Henry VI (House of Lancaster) mustered an
army of supporters, and thus began the Wars of the Roses. Richard Plantagenet was killed
in battle in 1461. Parliament crowned Richard's eldest son Edward King Edward IV, and
declared Henry VI a traitor. The film begins about 12 years later. Old King Henry has been
imprisoned in the Tower and is completely incapacitated. Richard, Duke of Gloucester,
(Rathbone) is the youngest son of Richard Plantagenet and sixth in line to the throne.
Rathbone gave an excellent portrayal of Richard as sinister, heartless, base, and
ambitious, much like the title character in Shakespeare's play Richard III.
In "Tower of London," Richard has a display with small dolls representing King
Edward (his brother), himself, and the five people who stand between him and the
throne. Every time one of them dies, he takes the doll, throws it in the fire,
and moves the doll representing himself closer to the throne. 
Richard pretends to
comfort Clarence, but Clarence doesn't
trust Richard and accuses him of trying to poison him. Richard replies, "You insulting beast! I will kill you, but honestly
and fairly. I challenge you to combat with any weapon you choose....
The prize to the winner--the whole of the Warwick
estates." Clarence chooses to joust with malmsey.
He is confident he can beat Richard in wine-drinking. Eventually Richard passes
out and Clarence laughs gleefully "I have won!" Then Richard wakes up and glares at
him. He knocks Clarence on the floor, then splashes wine on his face to wake
up. With Mord's help he carries Clarence to a butt of malmsey and they throw him
in. Clarence drowns. Richard removes his
"Clarence" doll and moves himself nearer to the throne. |
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| "They used watered-down cola for the wine, and Basil and I had to drink quarts of it and slosh around in it....I can't stand the stuff to this day. Like a fool, I volunteered to do the drowning scene myself rather than be doubled. Basil and Boris were kidding me before hand and took great delight in throwing their cigarette butts and other trash into the vat. The stunt coordinator told me that when they dumped me into the vat and slammed the lid down I was supposed to grab hold of a bar at the bottom and count to ten before coming up. After I did all that the lid was still closed! Then I heard the crew breaking in with axes. Boris had sat on it and Basil leaned on it and it got stuck. They managed to pull me out before I drowned." |
 Richard and Clarence |
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 Richard (Rathbone) is about to pass out. |
 Clarence (Vincent Price) is still going strong. |
Oddly enough, the story about Clarence drowning in a
butt of malmsey may be
true. But it wasn't at Richard's hands. Richard in fact pleaded with Edward to
show mercy on their brother, who really did conspire to oust Edward from the
throne. This treachery earned Clarence the death penalty. However, believing that the
public should not witness the execution of a prince, Edward ordered the sentence
to be carried out inside the Tower, in secret.
Later, Edward falls ill. On his deathbed he tells the Queen, "Richard is
the wisest man in England. Rely on his judgment. He will take my place as a
father to our sons." The Queen, however, doesn't trust Richard. On the death of Edward IV in April of 1483, his oldest son, a boy of 12,
became King Edward V, and Richard is appointed Lord Protector of the young king.
The Queen gives John Wyatt permission to steal the Royal treasure from the Tower
so that he and Henry Tudor can mount an assault. John succeeds in getting the
treasure away, but he is caught and arrested. Richard tortures John to try to
get him to reveal where the treasure is hidden.
Richard is furious with the Queen. To crush her spirit, he imprisons the young princes in the Tower. Richard crowned himself King Richard III on June 26, 1483. Shortly thereafter, he had his nephews murdered.
Two years later rebel forces commanded by Henry Tudor, head of the house of Lancaster, defeated an army led by King Richard III. Soldiers from Richard's army deserted to fight alongside Henry Tudor. After Richard was killed in the battle, Henry Tudor was crowned King Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England.
One of the early scenes in the film is the execution of Lord DeVere, played by Basil Rathbone's son Rodion. He is listed in the credits as John Rodion. Rodion also played a small part in "The Dawn Patrol." (See pages two and three for pictures of Rodion.)
"Tower of London" should be enjoyed as entertainment, not accepted as historical fact. Although the real Richard of Gloucester did usurp the throne, there is little evidence that he was as evil as he has been portrayed in Shakespeare's Richard III, and in this film. Shakespeare was writing for the Tudors, who needed to strengthen their claim to the throne. Indeed, when the public was told that Richard had murdered the two young Princes, they were horrified. According to history, Edward V and his brother disappeared soon after Richard's coronation, but there is no evidence that Richard was responsible for having them killed. Modern research has cast doubt on many of the assumptions surrounding Richard.
It's strange to see Rathbone with graying temples in the film. In actual fact Richard III was only 19 when he fought at the battle of Tewkesbury and only 33 when he died. Richard had nothing to do with the death of Henry VI. After Richard became king, he had Henry's body moved and reburied at Windsor with the other kings. Would he show such respect for one he had murdered?
In "Tower of London" director Rowland V. Lee reused the musical score from "Son of Frankenstein," repeating the Monster theme for Karloff. Roger Corman remade "Tower of London" in 1962 with Vincent Price playing the role of Richard.
For more reading on the subject of Richard III and the Plantagenet kings, I recommend The Last Plantagenets by Thomas B. Costain (Buccaneer Books, 1994). Mr. Costain goes against the conventional history in claiming that Richard III was not a hunchback, not sinister, and did not murder his two nephews. He supports his claims with thoroughly researched facts and logical conclusions.
The three royal brothers: Edward, Richard, and "Clarence"
More pictures on
Page
Two and
Page
Three!
Cast |
Credits |
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| Basil
Rathbone..........................Richard III Boris Karloff..........Mord, the Executioner Barbara O'Neill.................Queen Elizabeth Ian Hunter...................................Edward IV Vincent Price...................Duke of Clarence Nan Grey.......................Lady Alice Barton John Sutton..............................John Wyatt Leo G. Carroll.......................Lord Hastings Miles Mander................................Henry VI Lionel Belmore............Beacon Chiruegeon Rose Hobart............................Anne Neville Ralph Forbes..........................Henry Tudor Frances Robinson.............Duchess Isobel Ernest Cossart.............................Tom Clink G.P. Huntley Jr...................Prince of Wales John Rodion............................Lord DeVere Ronald Sinclair.....................Prince Edward Donnie Dunagan................ ............................Prince Richard as a child John Herbert-Bond...Young Prince Richard Walter Tetley....................Chimney Sweep Georgia Caine...............Dowager Duchess Ivan Simpson.................................Retainer Nigel de Brulier........................Archbishop Holmes Herbert........................Councilman Charles Miller...........................Councilman Venecia Severn...............................Princess Yvonne Severn...............................Princess Louise Brien......................Lady in Waiting Jean Fenwick.....................Lady in Waiting Michael Mark.............Servant to Henry VI C. Montague Shaw.................Major Domo Don Stewart........................................Bunch Reginald Barlow..........Sheriff at Execution Robert Greig......................Father Olmstead Ivo Henderson............................Haberdeer Charles Peck..................................Page Boy Harry Cording...................Tyrell, Assassin Jack C. Smith......................................Forrest Colin Kenny.......................................Soldier Arthur Stenning................................Soldier Evelyn Selbie......................Beggar Woman Denis Tankard...................................Beggar David Thursby..................................Beggar Claire Whitney...................Civilian Woman Ernie Adams.....Prisoner begging for water Ann Todd........Queen Elizabeth's daughter |
Production
Co. .........................Universal Producer..........................Rowland V. Lee Director............................Rowland V. Lee Screenplay..........................Robert N. Lee Cinematographer.........George Robinson Editor.................................Edward Curtiss Art Director.........................Jack Otterson Music Composer................Frank Skinner Music Director..................Charles Previn Set Decorator..........Russell A. Gausman Costume Design......................Vera West Make Up..................................Jack Pierce |
Images on this page and pages two and three are from the film "Tower of London," copyright Universal Pictures.
