Tower of London (1939)
You ever wonder what happens when Sherlock Holmes goes postal? Well you get a prime example of how not to be king.
Brief Backstory
When one thinks of horror movies in the 1930s, Universal Pictures is one of, if not, the very first thing that comes to mind disregarding other horror movies by other companies like RKO’s King Kong and The Most Dangerous Game.
Story
Richard just can’t wait to be king! …so he resorts to having the heirs to the throne murdered and making it look like accidents to become king.
Random Facts
Although I put this under horror, it’s more of a suspense movie, something like in Hitchcock movies. The tape I have of Tower of London is under the Universal Monster movies lineup from the early 90s for some reason, but that’s likely because Boris Karloff is Mord, the executioner.
Vincent Price was on another adaptation of Tower of London in 1962.
I saw the name Donnie Dunagan as a baby. Yes, the very same kid who voiced Bambi early in that movie.
No, there are not constant beheadings in this movie. Only one.
While it’s named “Tower of London” a lot of the movie doesn’t involve that.
Random Opinions
Sherlock Holmes gone bad in this one.
Haven’t heard of someone getting married as 5-6 year old.
I know the name “Tower of London” refers to the place in this movie, but at the same time it might also refer to the “tower” that Richard has to “climb” to become king.
Pros
- The deaths aren’t all stock.
- Acting is great for the time.
- Secretly this movie has a good message about greed.
- The torture scene holds up well.
Cons
- I know this was 1939, but the two giant battle scenes aren’t that exciting; you can get more excitement from playing with rock ’em sock ’em robots. It doesn’t help that Adventures of Robin Hood released a year prior (also with Basil Rathbone) had a much better duel with the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Rating: 6.5/10 – Decent
I’ll probably need to watch this one again, but it’s a good suspenseful horror movie that doesn’t rely on monsters much like the majority of the Universal Horror lineup.
One response to “Tower of London (1939)”
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I haven’t seen a ton of Sherlock Holmes. Except for two movies with Robert Downey Jr. If you like detective films, I highly recommend a few like Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia, Seven, Zodiac, L.A. Confidential & Shutter Island. They’re top-tier filled with legit stakes.
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