The infamous Richard of Gloucester murders his way to the throne in The Tower of London, an interesting blend of horror and historical drama.
We open during the reign of King Henry IV (Ian Keith), whose brother Richard (Basil Rathbone), the Duke of Gloucester is sixth in line for the throne. Although he plays the loyal subject and supporter, Richard naturally wants the throne for himself - and he keeps a small diorama of a throne room, complete with figures of everyone in his way. Rather than wait his turn, Richard decides to jump the line with the aid of Mord (Boris Karloff), the clubfooted royal executioner who is devoutly loyal to Richard. Every time Mord murders one of Richard's rivals, Richard removes their figurine from his dollhouse. Ties of blood and age mean nothing to either of them. Richard willingly arranges the murder of his brother George (Vincent Price), Duke of Clarence, and even his young nephews. However, once he's won his crown, it remains to be seen how long he can keep it, as Henry Tudor (Ralph Forbes) sets out to rescue England from Richard's tyrannical reign.