Civilised Role for Armstrong in Wanger Film

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20916, 22 September 1939, Page 4

Civilised Role for Armstrong in Wanger Film

lnstead of being a gangster, a “mug” or a machine-gunning G-man, Bobert Armstrong, after 23 years in motion pictures, has a role approximating his real life status. In Walter WangeT’s "WinteT Carnival,” this erstwhile “killer” is a quiet-mannered college graduate. Following his graduation from the University of Washington, Armstrong obtained" his first screen part. He was a prizefighter. From then on virtually every producer for whom he worked cast him either for or against the law—but always “mowing ’em down.” “Every time I asked for a civilised role,” Armstrong explains, “studio officials shook their heads and said, ‘No, you're too tough.’ I played so many hard-boiled parts that almost every time I went into a night club some drunk would come up to me and say: ‘I know you, you're a tough guy, huh? Well, I’m tough too. Wanna fight?’” In “Winter Carnival” Armstrong plays his first sympathetic characterisation. He is cast as a topflight newspaper man, out of a job and on relief. Armstrong’s role is a keystone in a brilliant cast which supports Ann Sheridan and Richard Carlson in the starring assignments. The film was directed by Charles F. Riesner from a screen play written by Sudd Sctralberg. Maurice Bapf and Heater dote.