Tower of London

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roger Corman directs. Archie R. Dalzell behind the camera. Michael Andersen scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
• 264 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 3Directed by Roger Corman, shot by Archie R. Dalzell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Michael Andersen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Vincent Price and Michael Pate and Joan Freeman carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "Do you have the courage to spend 83 minutes in the Tower of London?".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0056606 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Only 68 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
• 9Classified under 10 themes, including "child murder", "battlefield", "descent into madness", "black and white".

The technical file

Cinematography

Archie R. Dalzell

Original score

Michael Andersen

Costume design

Marjorie Corso

Makeup / hair

Ray Forman

Runtime

80 min · 1h 20m

Status

Released

Original language

EN

IMDB

Tower of London (1962) ↗

Also by

Roger Corman

• 
  The Intruder

  1962 · ★ 7.2
• 
  The Pit and the Pendulum

  1961 · ★ 6.8
• 
  The Haunted Palace

  1963 · ★ 6.7
• 
  House of Usher

  1960 · ★ 6.7
• 
  Tales of Terror

  1962 · ★ 6.7
• 
  A Bucket of Blood

  1959 · ★ 6.6

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Tower of London (1962) | Original Theatrical Trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• talisencrw2016-06-30
  ★ 8/10

  This was great--having Vincent Price do Richard III in the midst of his great run for Roger Corman. Well worth seeing--mine was on my blu Vincent Price Collection, Volume III.

  Read full review ↓
• CinemaSerf2023-06-05
  ★ 6/10

  I think this might have been Vincent Price's first leading role in a film here, and he actually carries it off quite well - if a little too hammily. His elder brother King Edward IV is dying and Prince Richard of Gloucester is determined to usurp his sons and claim the English crown for himself. What ensues now are three stories illustrating his ability to be cruel, to manipulate and to murder - but each act comes with it's own form of spiritual retribution from the victims. The first is a lady-in-waiting whom he wants to discredit the paternity of the new Edward V, then his own brother, the Duke of Clarence, (Charles Macaulay) before, finally, the reckoning with the victims the blame for which history is still uncertain it can lay at his door. It's a bit wordy but the simple visual effects have a suitably haunting feel to them and Price exudes a malevolent vulnerability that plays very much to the Shakespearean interpretation of his character. Short and sweet with plenty going on, it passes the time quite effortlessly but an history lesson it isn't.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• ED

  Edward Small Productions

  US

• 

  United Artists

  US

• AD

  Admiral Pictures

Key crew

• ProducerGene Corman
• Supervising Film EditorRonald Sinclair
• Art DirectionDaniel Haller
• Set DecorationRaymond Boltz Jr.
• Costume DesignMarjorie Corso
• HairstylistRay Forman
• Makeup ArtistTed Coodley
• ElectricianLloyd Garnell
• Property MasterRichard M. Rubin
• Assistant DirectorJack Bohrer
• Production ManagerJoseph Small
• Original StoryWilliam Shakespeare

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• child murder
• battlefield
• descent into madness
• black and white
• series of murders
• vengeful ghost
• tortured to death
• king of england
• brother killing brother
• power madness

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1962-10-24

Also known as

International titles

• Der Massenmörder von LondonDE
• La torre di LondraIT
• La torre de LondresES
• La Tour de LondresFR