A film that hasn't stood the test of time. Nowadays, the characters and entire story are painfully naive and downright cartoonish. There is no dread or suspense at all, but a hammy, amateur performance by Barbara O'Neil as the queen, and John Sutton playing a man fit and strong after being tortured for a week. The lone bright spots are Karloff as the vicious executioner Mord, Vincent Prince as a sissy drunk duke, and Basil Rathbone as the wonderfully evil Duke of Gloucester. It's not enough.

Narratively it's nothing particularly special, a pretty standard historical drama about British royal infighting, engaging but unoriginal. It does have a great lead performance from Rathbone, who makes a great conniving villain, and a fun supporting role from Vincent Price, both of which raise the level of the film enough to make stand out a bit. Probably won't be memorable but it was decent fun.

Often classified as a horror film, this is actually a straightforward Costume Drama with some horrific "comedy relief" supplied by Karloff in one of his most memorable roles as a torturer who really enjoys his work.

Astonishingly dull, considering the cast

Confusing plot, bad direction. High production values and good cast adds some points, but that doesn't really help it to be worthwhile.

The Shakespearean view of history played as a horror comic; despite an overall lack of pace, spirited scenes and good performances win the day.