This is probably the closest Roger Corman ever came to directing Shakespeare. It's a remake of a 1939 film that tells the story of Richard III, minus all the Shakespearean language. Corman added elements of Macbeth (and Hamlet?) to make it perhaps even a bit classier, but also so he could show lots of ghosts. Vincent Price, who played a drunken Clarence in the original, gets promoted to Richard for this version, and also gets a nasty hump on his back (the most pronounced of any version I've seen). It's good, solid costume drama, with extensive and creative use of torture chambers. Honestly, I somewhat prefer Richard as an unabashed villain, as portrayed by Ian McKellen, not as a tortured and haunted man, desperately trying to justify himself and flee his tormentors, but Price holds up well, and the photography and sets are memorable.
Review of Tower of London
