Robert Armstrong Movies
Forever remembered by film buffs as the man who brought King Kong to New York, American actor Robert Armstrong was a law student at the University of Washington in Seattle when he dropped out in favor of a vaudeville tour. Learning by doing, Armstrong worked his way up to "leading man" roles in a New York stock company run by veteran character man Jimmy Gleason. Gleason's play Iz Zat So? led to a film contract for Armstrong, whose first picture was The Main Event (1927). The actor's stage training served him well during Hollywood's switchover to sound, and he appeared with frequency in the early talkie years, at one point costarring with Broadway legend Fanny Brice in My Man (1930). An expert at playing sports and showbiz promoters, Armstrong was a natural for the role of the enthusiastic but foolhardy Carl Denham in King Kong (1933). Armstrong enjoyed some of the best dialogue of his career as he coerced erstwhile actress Fay Wray to go with him to Skull Island to seek out "money, adventure, the thrill of a lifetime", and as he egged on his crew to explore the domain of 50-foot ape Kong. And of course, Armstrong was allowed to speak the final lines of this imperishable classic: "It wasn't the planes...It was beauty killed the beast." Armstrong played Carl Denham again in a sequel, Son of Kong (1933), and later played Denham in everything but name as a shoestring theatrical promoter in Mighty Joe Young (1949), wherein he brought a nice giant gorilla into civilization. Always in demand as a character actor, Armstrong continued to make films in the 1940s; he had the rare distinction of playing an American military officer in Around the World (1943), a Nazi agent in My Favorite Spy (1942), and a Japanese general in Blood on the Sun (1945)! In the 1950s and 1960s, Armstrong was a fixture on TV cop and adventure programs. Perhaps the most characteristic moment in Armstrong's TV career was during a sketch on The Red Skelton Show, in which Red took one look at Armstrong and ad-libbed "Say, did you ever get that monkey off that building?" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1927
No relation to the 1979 Barbra Streisand-Ryan O'Neal vehicle of the same name, Main Event was one of the first efforts of the newly-formed DeMille Pictures Corporation (as in "Cecil B.") Nightclub dancer Glory Frayne (Vera Reynolds) falls in love with championship boxer Red Lucas (Robert Armstrong). Luca's latest opponent is likeable young pugilist Johnny Regan (Charles Delaney). When Johnny meets Glory, he is instantly smitten, but Glory remains faithful to Red -- who, as it turns out, has been cheating on our heroine with another tootsie named Margie (Julia Faye), who happens to be Glory's roommate! Inveigled into making Johnny break training on the night before his bout with Red, Glory regrets her actions when she finds out that she's being double-crossed. Thus it is that Glory, with the considerable assistance of Johnny's manager-dad (Rudolph Schildkraut), whips the boy back into shape in time for our hero to knock Red senseless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vera Reynolds, Rudolph Schildkraut, (more)
- 1928
The ebullient Eddie Quillan made his talking-picture bow in the Pathe part-talkie Show Folks. After a chance meeting with counter-girl Rita Carey (Lina Basquette), vaudeville hoofer Eddie Kehoe (Quillan) invites Rita to join his act. On the eve of their all-important Broadway debut, however, Eddie and Rita have a lover's quarrel, prompting Rita to walk out on her partner. Eddie is forced to find another girl for the act; unfortunately, he chooses gold-digging Cleo (a very young Carole Lombard), who can't dance her way out of a wet paper bag. Not surprisingly, the act is a floperoo, and Eddie is sent back to the "small time." He is rescued from permanent obscurity by Rita, who foregoes her own big chance for fame and fortune to rejoin Eddie as his partner -- both onstage and off. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Quillan, Lina Basquette, (more)
- 1928
The Baby Cyclone was adapted from the George M. Cohan stage play of the same name, which originally starred Grant Mitchell and an up-and-comer named Spencer Tracy. The popular MGM screen team of Lew Cody and Aileen Pringle top the cast in this pleasant domestic comedy, wherein two suburban wives battle over the same pet Pekinese dog. Since F. Hugh Herbert's screenplay totally eliminated the play's third act, the roles played by William Morris and Georgia Hale -- both carryovers from the Broadway original -- were whittled down to nothing. Critics were most impressed by the performance of MGM contractee Gwen Lee, who was developing into a distinctive comedienne. The subtitles for Baby Cyclone were written by Bob Hopkins, the legendary MGM "idea man" whose one-sentence plot synopses provided fodder for Hollywood wits for nearly three decades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Cody, Aileen Pringle, (more)
- 1928
Celebrity was based on the play of the same name by Willard Keefe. Robert Armstrong stars as a thick-witted boxer who achieves fame for his literary efforts. Actually, Armstrong can barely write his own name; the poems published under his imprimatur have been ghost-written at the behest of the pug's publicity-hungry manager Clyde Cook. To uphold Armstrong's image as a "man of letters," unemployed chorus girl Lina Basquette is hired to pose as the boxer's debutante fiance. At Basquette's urging, Armstrong decides to stop living a lie and begins to write his own poems without the aid of his "ghost" -- and in so doing becomes more popular than ever. Beyond these rather novel plot twists, Celebrity is a standard prizefight drama, right down to the "comeback" finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Lina Basquette, (more)
- 1928
The 1928 Fox comedy-drama Square Crooks was based on James P. Judge's stage play of the same name (back then, "square" meant "honest", not "clueless"). After their release from prison, petty criminals Johnny Mack Brown and Robert Armstrong decide to go straight and seek out legitimate employment. But every time they land a job, it is ruined by the interference of an obnoxious detective, who refuses to believe that the two heroes are sincere. Not long after losing their jobs at a ritzy mansion, their ex-employer reports the theft of a diamond necklace. The detective is convinced that Brown and Armstrong are the thieves, obliging the duo to prove their innocence with the help of Brown's ever-loving wife Dorothy Dwan. As it turns out, the mystery is resolved by Brown and Dwan's little daughter, who uncovers the evidence necessary to trap the real culprits. Square Crooks was remade in 1934 as the Shirley Temple vehicle Baby Take a Bow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Mack Brown, Dorothy Dwan, (more)
- 1928
When Cecil B. DeMille's own production company was absorbed by Pathe in 1928, several DeMille contractees went along for the ride. One of these was William Boyd, the star of the 1929 Pathe effort The Leatherneck. The setting is China, specifically the headquarter of the 6th U.S. Marine regiment, where Calhoun (Boyd) and Schmidt (Alan Hale) are facing court-martial for desertion. In a series of flashbacks, the viewer is apprised of the reasons for the two leathernecks' supposed dereliction of duty. Essential to the action are a third marine, the unfortunate Joe Hanlon (Robert Armstrong), and a mysterious Russian girl named Tanya (Diane Ellis). A silent picture for most of its 76-minute running time, The Leatherneck includes approximately eight minutes' worth of dialogue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Alan Hale, (more)
- 1928
Future "Hopalong Cassidy" William Boyd essays the title role in Pathe's The Cop. It all begins when likeable police sergeant Alan Hale Sr. is bumped off by surly scar-faced underground chieftain Robert Armstrong. Unfortunately, the authorities aren't able to pin the crime on Armstrong, so patrolman Boyd takes it upon himself to trap the killer. He is aided in this endeavor by "mystery woman" Jacqueline Logan, who may or may not be working both sides of the fence. Coincidentally, Quality Productions' The Lookout Girl, featuring Jacqueline Logan in a similar role, premiered two weeks before The Cop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Alan Hale, (more)
- 1928
Jacqueline Logan stars as Paula, a beautiful and fearless circus leopard trainer. Working hand-in-glove with the police, Paula joins a circus where several murders have occurred. Among the suspects is gorilla trainer Caesar (Alan Hale Sr.), who previously in the picture had saved Paula's life. Nonetheless, when Caesar is revealed to be the murderer, he unleashes one of his killer apes with orders to tear Paula and her sweetheart Chris (Robert Armstrong) apart. Luckily, Paula proves to be as adept at "staring down" the ape as she is at pacifying the big cats. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Hale, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1928
The rampant male chauvinism in A Girl in Every Port might be hard for contemporary audiences to stomach, but fans of director Howard Hawks will be delighted. Victor McLaglen and Robert Armstrong play Spike and Salami, two sailors who become close pals but only after dukeing it out over a dame. Together, Spike and Salami travel all of the world in search of women and adventure and women. Their friendship is sorely tested when Spike decides to settle down to marry French fortune hunter Marie (Louise Brooks), but eventually Salami convinces his pal that this "skirt" just ain't worth it. Famed exotic dancer Sally Rand co-stars as one of the heroes' many sexual conquests. A Girl in Every Port was remade two years later as Goldie, with Spencer Tracy, Warren Hymer and Jean Harlow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor McLaglen, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1929
A primitive early talkie from Pathé, this crime drama starred relative newcomers Robert Armstrong and Carole Lombard, the latter still spelling her first name Carol. They play husband and wife, she threatening divorce unless he devotes more of his time to their marriage. In reality, Armstrong is an undercover detective busy investigating a dope ring lead by Reno (Sam Hardy), a crook with friends in high places. When Armstrong gets too close to the truth, Reno has him framed in the murder of corrupt newspaper publisher Addison (Charles Sellon). A Dictaphone recording Addison was making when he was murdered ultimately exonerates Banks, who can now return to his forgiving wife. Both Robert Armstrong and Carole Lombard would see their careers soar in the 1930s, he as the nominal star of King Kong (1933), she as one of Hollywood's best light comediennes. In fact, director Gregory La Cava and Lombard would collaborate again on My Man Godfrey (1936), one of the era's best screwball comedies and a far cry from the pedestrian Big News. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1929
This late-20s gangster movie features Carole Lombard as a young gal who agrees to marry a smooth-talking gangster in exchange for the mob man's pledge to arrange a big-time concert appearance for her violinist boyfriend. The only thing that can save the day for the mis-aligned lovers is a shootout between the cops and the gangland thugs. This film is notable because it is one of the early 'talkies," and uses the newly developing audio technology with abandon. In fact, most of the action takes place off screen and the characters tell the cameras just what's happened. This one's small on sets, big on dialog. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Carole Lombard, (more)
- 1929
Filmed silent, but outfitted with a Movietone musical score and sound effects, Woman From Hell was inspired by From Hell Came a Lady, a play by Jaime Del Rio, George Scarborough and Lois Leeson. The title character, played by Mary Astor is Dee Renaud, the principal attraction of a cheap sideshow. The seedy barker promises the yokels that if they're able to catch the "Lady From Hell," she will reward them with a kiss. When rapacious customer Slick Ericks (Roy D'Arcy) tries to go beyond kissing, Dee is rescued by lighthouse keeper Jim Coakley (Dean Jagger, in his film debut). Marrying Jim out of gratitude, Dee unsuccessfully tries to convince Jim's salty old father (James Bradbury Sr.) that she'll be a good and faithful wife. Alas, she is a slave to her passions, and it isn't long before she has become smitten by Jim's best friend Alf (Robert Armstrong), who responds in kind, inviting the girl to run off with him. When Jim's dad is incapacitated, however, Dee loyally remains in the lighthouse to operate the beam and avert a shipwreck. Realizing that Dee's true place is with her husband and father-in-law, Alf does the "right thing" and walks out of her life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1929
Two vagabonds find romance in this love story. It all begins when they get jobs as railroad brakemen by proving to the foreman that they are strong. Both of them simultaneously think about giving up their wandering ways when they meet two eligible women: the railroad's paymaster and commissary chief, and a dumbbell waitress. Things are looking up until one of the hoboes loses his savings in a crap shoot and later finds himself framed for theft. Fortunately, the two are able to finger the real thieves before it is too late. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, James Gleason, (more)
- 1929
Rival arms smugglers in Cuba endeavor to be the first to send their weapons to the revolutionaries in Central America in this crime drama. One of the smugglers uses a woman to dupe the other smuggler into tripping up. Unfortunately, the woman, who has criminal problems of her own, ends up falling in love with the rival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Haver, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1929
This very early talkie stars Irene Rich as the daughter of gruff old ferryboat captain Theodore Roberts. Rich runs a restaurant out of her house, while her husband George Barraud collects the ferry's tolls. Unbeknownst to Rich, Barraud is allowing his bootlegger brother Robert Armstrong to use the house as a hiding place for his liquor. But Barraud is the film's true villain: He steals the ferry money from his father-in-law in order to entertain his mistress, waitress Carol (later Carole) Lombard. When a prohibition agent comes snooping, Barraud kills the man and hides the body in one of Armstrong's liquor barrels. Armstrong, who's really an OK guy underneath, steps in to protect Rich and her children from his brother's homicidal activities. Escaping from the law, Barraud grabs his own kids to use them as a shield. He is killed, but Armstrong rescues the children; the bootlegger promises to go straight for the sake of Rich, whom he's grown to love. Ned McCobb's Daughter was based on a play by Sidney Howard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irene Rich, Theodore Roberts, (more)
- 1930
Breezy comic actor Eddie Quillan starred in several amiable Pathe programmers in 1929, 30' and '31. Big Money finds Quillan cast as a go-getting bank messenger, who falls in with unsuccessful gambler Jimmy Gleason. Entering a high-stakes card game, Quillan bets the bank's money, and is promptly cleaned out. Soft-hearted professional gambler Robert Armstrong rescues the pair from the hoosegow. Big Money was among a handful of talking features directed by Russell Mack, who was no mean gambler himself (especially with other people's money). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Quillan, Miriam Seegar, (more)
- 1930
Paid was the third film version of the Bayard Veiller stage play Within the Law. Joan Crawford is cast as a shopgirl falsely arrested for stealing and sent to jail for three years. She swears vengeance on the store owner (Purnell Pratt), and to that end sets up a shady but legal racket wherein she and partner Marie Prevost act as "matchmakers" for lonely old men. It's all part of a plan to fleece the store owner by placing him in a compromising position, but Joan is sidetracked when she meets the owner's son (Kent Douglass. Marrying him in order to exact revenge on his father, Crawford falls in love with the young man and abandons her scheme. But once more, Crawford is wrongly accused of a crime, this time of murder. Paid ends happily for all concerned--especially MGM, which remade this reliable property (again!) under its old title Within the Law (1939), with Ruth Hussey in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong, (more)
While Barbra Streisand played musical-comedy star Fanny Brice in Funny Girl and Funny Lady, the closest Brice ever came to playing a Streisand-like role on film was in the 1930 comedy-drama Be Yourself. The Rose of Washington Square is cast as Fanny Field, the long-suffering girlfriend of no-account, gin-swilling prizefighter Jerry Moore (Robert Armstrong). After sacrificing everything to advance Jerry's career, Fanny is "repaid" when Jerry dumps her in favor of femme fatale Lillian (Gertrude Astor). Our heroine gets her revenge by telling Jerry's ring opponent to "go after" her man's nose, which was recently reconstructed by plastic surgery. As a result, Jerry loses the bout, but comes to his senses, returning to Fanny for good. Highlights include Brice's takeoff of "Dante's Inferno" and her song solo "Cookin' Breakfast for the One I Love," co-written by her then-husband Billy Rose. Unfortunately, the public didn't respond to Be Yourself, and Fanny Brice never again starred in a film, though she appeared as supporting player and guest performer from time to time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Brice, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1930
In this drama, an older railroad supervisor is engaged to a lovely young woman. Unfortunately, she falls in love with the handsome hobo her husband befriended and employed as an engineer. A rivalry ensues, but when a life is endangered the two team up and save the day. The film may be most interesting for its detailed look into the railroads of the past. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Wolheim, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1930
In this romantic comedy, a fighter goes to a southern town to train for the championship. He soon falls in love. The girl loves him too; they are very happy until the girl's grandmother, who wants her granddaughter to marry a rich man, begins interfering. She tries her best to break them up, but she ultimately fails and the couple leads a happy life together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Barbara Kent, (more)
- 1931
Coney island vendors Baltimore Clark (Bill Boyd), Dutch Herman (Robert Armstrong) and Skeets O'Reilly (James Gleason) spend their off-hours (and some of their on-hours) carrying on a friendly rivalry for the affections of pert drugstore counter girl Sally (Ginger Rogers). But when America enters WW1, our three heroes leave Sally behind and join the Navy. Before long, Baltimore, Dutch and Skeets find themselves smack in the middle of an ongoing conflict between the German U-boat fleet and a shadowy "mystery" ship. Naturally, the boys are crewmen on the aforementioned mystery vessel, which is used as a decoy to bring the enemy out into the open. Despite this tense situation, the film spends a goodly amount of time showing the three protagonists cheerfully cheating on Sally with fetching foreign damsels in other ports of call. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, James Gleason, (more)
- 1931
Any movie that teams Robert Armstrong with Jean Arthur is certainly worth at least one look. Armstrong plays Chester Binney, a small-town rube who hopes to impress local beauty Ethel Simmons (Arthur). Aware that Ethel is ga-ga about "men of the world," Chester invents a shady past for himself and poses as a citified roue. He is forced to prove the veracity of his fabricated past when movie queen Letta Lardo (Lola Lane) shows up in town for a location shoot. Our hero is rescued from making a total fool of himself when it turns out that his rival (Jason Robards Sr.) for Ethel's affections turns out to be an even bigger phoney-baloney than he is. Ex-Bad Boy is based on John Emerson and Anita Loos' stage play The Whole Town's Talking (which ironically served as the title for an unrelated 1935 film, likewise co-starring Jean Arthur). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1931
In this boxing drama, a prizefighter is left by his money-grubbing showgirl wife who aspires to be a movie star. The fighter's manager is tickled by the turn of events and immediately snaps the boxer out of his love-struck funk and sets him a challenging training program. Sure enough the fighter makes a strong comeback. As soon as the fame and fortune starts rolling in, the avaricious wife shows up at his door. She fires his manager and hires her secret lover in his place. Soon the fighter begins losing again. Just before the championship bout the old manager proves that his wife is being unfaithful. That is only the beginning of the end for the champ. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Ayres, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1931
A boxer and his girl try to dissuade their friend from getting involved with a Mafioso's gal. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Quillan, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1932
Edna May Oliver makes the first of three appearances as Hildegarde Withers, the schoolteacher/sleuth created by mystery writer Stuart Palmer. While conducting her students on a tour of the Battery Park Aquarium, Hildegarde spots a dead body in the penguin pool. Police inspector Piper (James Gleason) believes it's an open-and-shut case when he collars the faithless wife (Mae Clarke) of the victim, but Hildegarde suspects there's more to the case than meets the eye. Detective and teacher mellow from antagonists to friends in the course of the investigation, the denouement of which isn't revealed until the suspect is put on trial, where she is defended by her attorney-lover (Robert Armstrong). The murderer's identity isn't too surprising, but Penguin Pool Murder takes several unexpected twists all the same, including a neat reversal on the old "reunited lovers" finale. At the end, Hildegarde and Piper are contemplating marriage, but in the subsequent Edna May Oliver/James Gleason "Hildegarde Withers" films (Murder on the Blackboard, Murder on a Honeymoon) they retain their single status. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, (more)
