Could you imagine spoofing the life of British King Richard III as a musical? Song titles such as my overview, "Disconnected With Winter" and of course, "I have a hunch I'm going to be King" could do for Shakespeare's tragedy the same way that the current Broadway smash "Something Rotten" is doing for "Hamlet".
Not a remake of the Universal classic where Vincent Price played the Duke of Clarence, this has its own structure in telling the story of the mad king whose remains are rumored to have been recently found. King Richard has gotten his share of dramatization, and a recent revival of Shakespeare's play got him further interest. But this is American International's version of his life, one that is practically a one man show for Vincent Price, excellent if hammy, and a vision of one man's madness that controls his inner torment and feelings of guilt, manipulated by an insane ambition under the guise of doing what he felt was best for England.
As the Duke of Clarence, Price was a victim of Richard's madness, another excellent performance by Basil Rathbone who along with Boris Karloff was responsible for his gruesome demise. The tortures and demises here are far more gruesome, involving a stretching rack, a rat in a wooden box covering somebody's head, and the attempted strangulation of a ghost which has a gruesome discovery of the victim for the devastated Price. Not as poetically written as Shakespeare's play, this adds more of the horror element, and it makes the story accessible to all audiences. As done in black and white, it comes off moodier and much more haunting. The usage of all of the victims as ghosts adds to the spookiness, and this makes it truly gripping rather than gory thanks to the insinuations of the horror rather than the use of excessive blood. Price has one of his great roles here, using melodramatic mannerisms to show Richard's inner torment. Shakespeare buffs may quibble a bit, but I don't think that they will be un-entertained.
Not a remake of the Universal classic where Vincent Price played the Duke of Clarence, this has its own structure in telling the story of the mad king whose remains are rumored to have been recently found. King Richard has gotten his share of dramatization, and a recent revival of Shakespeare's play got him further interest. But this is American International's version of his life, one that is practically a one man show for Vincent Price, excellent if hammy, and a vision of one man's madness that controls his inner torment and feelings of guilt, manipulated by an insane ambition under the guise of doing what he felt was best for England.
As the Duke of Clarence, Price was a victim of Richard's madness, another excellent performance by Basil Rathbone who along with Boris Karloff was responsible for his gruesome demise. The tortures and demises here are far more gruesome, involving a stretching rack, a rat in a wooden box covering somebody's head, and the attempted strangulation of a ghost which has a gruesome discovery of the victim for the devastated Price. Not as poetically written as Shakespeare's play, this adds more of the horror element, and it makes the story accessible to all audiences. As done in black and white, it comes off moodier and much more haunting. The usage of all of the victims as ghosts adds to the spookiness, and this makes it truly gripping rather than gory thanks to the insinuations of the horror rather than the use of excessive blood. Price has one of his great roles here, using melodramatic mannerisms to show Richard's inner torment. Shakespeare buffs may quibble a bit, but I don't think that they will be un-entertained.