What's this about?

Lately, it seems like many of the movies/shows are just a rehash or reboot of things that have already been done. And so I started to dive into the past. It's been fun, but I find myself losing track of which ones I’ve seen and whether or not I enjoyed them. Sometimes the titles themselves just don't tell me enough to remember.

I wouldn’t have voluntarily watched a lot of these movies when I was younger. It’s strange how interests change. That goes for what I read, too. I have another blog that explores books. I’m mostly reading older fiction and memoirs, and some of the books have led me to movies/shows and vice versa. In those cases, I may post the book review over here as well.

There will be spoilers, which is different than my book reviews. That’s mostly because I want to have enough information to help me remember what I’ve seen. I’m getting older. The brain doesn’t cooperate like it used to. What can I say? The gray hairs are catching up with me!

Monday, May 27, 2024

Tower of London - 1939

Next up on our list of Universal Classic Monsters list was Tower of London.

In this "monster" movie, we get a recreation of the murders of Richard III. He wanted to be king, but there are multiple people in line ahead of him. With a little (or a lot) of scheming, he gets there. He also has a weird diorama locked in a little cabinet that he updates with each murder. I like his attention to detail and making sure to change the dolls as the children age. Who made those for him? Probably Mord...

Oh Mord. The Grinch (Boris Karlof) plays the minion of Richard III (Basil Rathbone - I know him best as Sherlock). He really wants to please Basil. I feel like they made him a bit too dedicated. Calling him a god and kissing his hand was a bit much. Props to Basil, though, he did have crazy eyes a few times. He was probably upset about his hair.

Ok. I didn't do any research on this movie beforehand. I don't want to accidentally spoil anything. I remember the basic parts of this story and the hauntings in the Tower of London. What I didn't expect was this listed as a monster movie. I suppose you could make an argument about Basil's character being a monster, but it was definitely not what I expected. I understand The Grinch, Sherlock and Vincent Price are in this, but I don't think that automatically makes it a monster movie. A horror? Questionable. Richard III was definitely a horrible person, but this movie shouldn't have been on the list. Putting that aside, it was okay, but I probably won't remember much about it. Except the diorama. It was weird.



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