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Tower Of London
[MGM Home Entertainment]
1962; b&w
Directed by Roger Corman
Starring: Vincent Price, Michael Pate, Joan Freeman & Robert Brown
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An often overlooked classic, this 1962 "adaptation" of Richard III is one of Corman's best. Vincent Price completely dominates the action as Richard of Gloucester, a twisted hunchback of a man with a gimpy leg and an obsessive quest to become King of England. Things begin on the deathbed of King Edward, Richard's brother. Edward names another of his brothers, Ratcliffe, to be Protector of The Realm until his son (Edward Jr.) is old enough to assume the throne—which basically means Ratcliffe is king without officially having the title. It's here that we first get look at Richard's power-grabbing intentions as he quickly dispatches Ratcliffe with ye olde dagger in the back and dumps the body in a vat of wine. Since the dagger used bears the crest of the Queen's family, suspicion falls on her and her confidants, and Richard basically gets away with it. Except for Ratcliffe's pesky ghost, who soon appears and predicts Richard's eminent demise. Richard confides in his wife, Anne, who we see is as power mad (possibly more) and evil than her hubby and pushes him to keep killing to get to the throne. The only trouble is that each murder brings forth a fresh ghost to haunt ol' Rich, which begins to drive him crazy as he's thrown into a world of spectral hallucinations beyond his control. He even mistakenly strangles his beloved Anne, because he fails to see her and only sees the ghost of one of the Queen's confidants standing in the same spot. Richard's torment becomes so great that he even has a friend who offhandedly questions his mental state killed by placing his head in an iron box and then dropping a rather large, and apparently ravenous, rat inside it to gnaw away. The ghosts also begin to mention the word "bosworth," and imply that it does not bode well for Richard—the problem is Richard knows no one by that name and the word means nothing to him. Eventually Richard manages to "erase" all the obstacles in his path and crowns himself King, only to find that the former Queen is being supported by legions of armies from the North (which I'm pretty sure would be Scotland) that are marching toward London. One quick look at the map and he sees that his forces and those out to see his monarchy be a short one will be meeting at a spot on the map marked "Bosworth." Feeling like he has thus far cheated all predictions of his death, Richard boldly ventures into battle, only to emerge as the lone man on the field after a bloody, bloody day. As he stumbles around calling for his enemies to show themselves, he's confronted by the ghosts of everyone he's killed in his quest for the throne all at once, which sends him into a final panicked state that results in his own undoing at the hands (or, more accurately, battle axe) of a fallen soldier. The film was shot in black and white, which adds a lot as far as establishing and maintaining the mood; it just wouldn't feel right seeing the ominous tower castle or any of Richard's fog-shrouded hallucinations in color. A definite must-see for any Corman or Price fan.
—the Kommandant
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