Peter Armstrong Movies

Set in the 1830s, this historical drama stars Robin Soans as George Loveless, a Methodist minister whose flock is a group of working families in Tolpuddle, a small town in the British Southwest. Most of the workers in the community are under the thumb of Frampton (Robert Stephens), a ruthless land owner, and his overseer Clerk (Murray Melvin); Frampton and Clerk demand long hours from their workers and pay meager wages. Convinced that the workers deserve a better shake, Loveless, encouraged by organizer Mr. Pitt (Michael Hordern), forms the Society of Friends, an early labor union, and organizes the men to negotiate with Frampton for better pay. When their salaries are instead cut, Loveless and his men go on strike, which could cripple Frampton financially. However, Frampton is well-connected, and soon both the government and private militias are sent in to break the strike and punish the rebellious laborers. The supporting cast includes James Fox, Freddie Jones, and Vanessa Redgrave. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Made for Australian television, The Puzzle stars James Franciscus as an ex-tennis pro, turned adventurer with an archeological bent (we'd say "shades of Indiana Jones " except that this film was completed three years before Raiders of the Lost Ark). Right now, Franciscus in on the trail of an urn which purportedly contains the ashes of Buddha. The title refers to a series of cryptic clues leading to the urn's excavation. There are those who'd do anything to get their hands on that urn, as Franciscus soon discovers the hard way. The plot is thickened by the presence of an ex-wife and a desperate embezzler. Wendy Hughes and Robert Helpmann costar in this fast-paced meller. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Gloria Grahame joined the list of aging Hollywood stars who bloodied their hands in the wake of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? with this sick, effective horror film about nasty doings at a private orphanage. Grahame gives a wonderfully grotesque performance as Mrs. Dorothy Deere, a crazy widow who bilks the county out of money by running a home for wayward youths. If any of her tenants happens to run away, the wino handyman Tom kills them with a meat-cleaver and throws them into a deep-freeze in the cellar. Into this unsavory situation comes young Ellie Masters (Melody Patterson of TV's F-Troop), whose prostitute mother was viciously murdered with a claw-hammer while in bed with a john. Ellie witnessed the killer leaving the burning bedroom, and is warned by helpful cop Carruthers (Vic Tayback) that he could still be around. This film looks absolutely horrible considering the names involved, with an air of cheapness pervading even the most minor elements of the production. Nevertheless, it works because of the performances. Grahame brings a deadpan madness to her character that is a welcome and chilling change from the fright-wigged harridans of similar films, and Len Lesser exudes considerable menace as the murderous Tom. It might also amuse some to see a young Dennis Christopher as the nerdy Pete. The "shock" ending is pretty silly, but director Philip Gilbert manages to maintain a fairly skillful tone of depravity and madness until that point, making this an atmospheric (if ratty) treat. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

The bizarre premise for this often remote and uninvolving drama is that an otherwise apparently normal man can become so alienated from his own feelings and his own wife and children that he plans their murder. Paul Steward (Hal Holbrook) and his wife (Louise Fletcher) are about as interesting as a TV test pattern. Although Paul has realized the American Dream -- that it to say, he has money and is successful in business -- he finds the dream hollow and meaningless. Instead of waking up, he decides that his family is to blame for everything and begins to make elaborate plans for killing them off, talking it over with others and disguising it as a fictional story for his magazine. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This first effort from acclaimed writer/director Peter Weir is set in the secluded rural town of Paris, Australia, where the chief source of income is provided by the orchestration of automobile accidents -- which frequently claim the lives of passing tourists, though those who survive are usually subjected to bizarre brain experiments by a loony local surgeon. One such unfortunate survivor is young Arthur, who remains in Paris after his recovery to work in the hospital, unaware (at first) of the circumstances which brought him there. Although there are many amusingly weird moments, this black comedy is a bit too deadpan for its own good and may be too talky and meandering for horror fans. A condensed version was released in the U.S. under the title The Cars That Eat People. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi