Dave Banks

When I watched the cast credits at the end of the movie I was surprised to see that the homely, frumpy woman who played Robert Duvall's wife was Tuesday Weld. She HAS NOT aged gracefully.

This is a very uneven film. At times the viewer is in total sympathy with the lead character, played nicely by Michael Douglas. But, as the story starts to wind down, it becomes obvious that he is just another wacko who would not think twice about killing anyone who angers him. Robert Duvall does his usual great job as a cop who is working his last day before early retirement. But, it remains to be seen if he will really retire once he realizes that he will have to spend every day of the rest of his wife with his ugly, nagging wife.

The ultimate connection between Duvall the cop and Douglas, the wanted man is one that defies credibility. But, all in all, the film is reasonable entertaining. SCARY THOUGHT: This film was made in 1992. My God, what must Tuesday Weld look like now, ten years later.

I just read a review by a "newbie" that slams this film. According to said "newbie", this is a bad film that is not scary "like other horror films". I'm guessing that the film is not scary enough for the newbie because it shows no graphic details of someone's head being chopped off, eyeballs gouged out, or total dismemberment. Sadly, that's what the film industry shovels out to the "short attention span" generation that pays tremendously inflated prices to sit in a crowded, noisy theater and watch what passes for a "Horror" film today.

I make it a point to watch Bride Of Frankenstein, every time it's on TCM. One mark of a really great movie is that, even with repeated showings, the viewer can find something new and interesting each time they watch the film. "Bride" definitely achieves this characteristic.

Of course, like most others, I have some favorite scenes that I eagerly await each time I view this classic. Foe me, one of the true highlights is the scene with the Monster and the blind hermit. Both of the actors in this scene are absolutely masterful. When the volume of the music (Ave Maria) is increased and we see the tear running down the face of the monster, we are witnessing (IMHO) one of the greatest scenes in movie history. Boris Karloff was a wonderful actor and his abilities are well showcased in this superb film.

This film is a simple little B type action flick that moves quickly and contains a lot of action. The plot has been done many times before and the characterizations are sort of cliches.

Having said all that, I found Armstrong to be a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours at home on a Saturday evening, courtesy of my TIVO unit. I wasn't expecting any complicated, clever plot development nor did I expect any award winning performances. Frankly, I didn't want either to happen. My wife and I liked the fact that the film moves at a very brisk pace with no long, boring, character development scenes.

If you consider yourself to be somewhat "above" watching this type of film, do yourself a favor and stay away. The rest of us simple minded folk will continue to enjoy this type of movie and not take the film, or ourselves, too seriously.