'' (
1939 ) is a historical horror film released by Universal Pictures and directed by Rowland V. Lee. Based on a play by
William Shakespeare , it stars
Basil Rathbone and
Boris Karloff . Rathbone plays the part of the 15th century Richard, the Duke of Gloucester and Karloff plays his club-footed executioner, Mord. The film depicts Richard and his attempts to eliminate everyone ahead of him so he can become the King of England. Once he has completed his task, he now needs to defeat the exiled Henry Tudor to retain the throne. Each time, Henry accomplishes a murder, he removes one figurine from a dollhouse, resembling a throneroom.
This film is not very much considered a horror film. It is mainly a historical drama. It was however, well-acted and inspired a remake in 1962, starring
Vincent Price .
