Sat 15 Jan 2011
ACROSS THE BRIDGE. J. Arthur Rank, UK, 1957. Rod Steiger, David Knight, Marla Landi, Noel Willman, Bernard Lee, Bill Nagy, “Dolores.†Based on a story by Graham Greene. Director: Ken Annakin.
I do not believe I have ever seen a movie in which Rod Steiger had an important if not starring role that I did not find fascinating in one way or another, and that fascination has almost always meant considerable enjoyment.
I cannot tell you why I had never heard of this movie until last month, nor do I remember who pointed it out to me then, but I owe that person or website a huge, great big thank you. I was fascinated with Mr. Steiger’s performance all the way through, and I enjoyed every minute of it tremendously.
Steiger plays a German financier named Carl Schaffner in Across the Bridge, an arrogant fellow (as arrogant as having lots of money, mostly questionably gained, will allow, if not cause) who gets into trouble with Scotland Yard while he’s in Manhattan scheming away at his next plan.
Trouble that’s serious enough that he makes his way headlong out of the country by train – no passenger lists, you see – but not fast enough for the news of his escape to make the newspapers while he’s still riding the rails.
Thinking fast, he drugs a fellow passenger who looks like him, a gentleman traveling with Mexican papers, which he steals after dropping him off the end of the train. Fate has fickle fingers. The man who identity Schaffner has assumed is even more wanted than he is – an assassin with 100,000 pesos on his head, dead or alive.
Ending up – after considerable travail, which I will restrain myself from going into – in a small town in northern Mexico, Schaffner finds himself with an unfriendly police chief watching his every move; a man from Scotland Yard breathing down his neck (but unable to touch him as long as he does not cross the bridge back to the US); no friends; and a dwindling supply of money. He is a victim of his own making, a desperate man trapped by his own avarice and greed.
What Across the Bridge is, in my not-so-humble opinion, is a true noir film, as noir as noir can get. In this case, and I invite you to see this for yourself, the ultimate irony is that the worse his problems become, the more we (the audience) begin to empathize with him, with the plot taking some very surprising (if not bizarre) twists and turns (plus a good old-fashioned handful of healthy coincidence as well) along the way.
There is one note I have to add, and it’s an important one. I said he had no friends in the paragraph above. I was incorrect in saying that, quite wrong.
You cannot watch this movie and ignore the role played by mongrel dog (part cocker spaniel?) who belonged to the man whose identity he stole. A dog who steals nearly every scene she’s in. Remarkably, and totally in spite of himself, Schaffner does has one friend, one with the saddest eyes you will ever see.
I don’t know whether Dolores was a method actor or not, but it is one of the characteristics of Steiger’s performances that he is known for. During the making of this film this put him at odds, so we are told, with Bernard Lee, for example, who plays Schaffner’s not totally ethical adversary from Scotland Yard, but the technique gives Steiger an edge up in every film I’ve seen him in. Across the Bridge, a movie that’s unfairly all but unknown today, is no exception.
January 16th, 2011 at 1:00 am
I’m amazed to find someone else who’s seen this film, which seems to have largely vanished without a trace.
Believe it or not it was remade in 2001 as a comedy called DOUBLE TAKE, with Graham Greene and the writers of the earlier film receiving credit. It’s … not as good.
January 16th, 2011 at 3:04 am
The film certainly hasn’t vanished, Vince, although it may have been hard to find at one time. The image at the top of the review is that of the movie on DVD, an official release easily purchased from Amazon and other online sources.
What is surprising, as I indicated in my comments, is how little known the movie seems to be. Many of the reviewers on IMDB say the same thing. (Many of them left their comments before the DVD came out and had to base their comments solely on memory.)
As for DOUBLE TAKE, the one starring Orlando Jones and Eddie Griffin, I’d hadn’t heard of it either, until you brought it up, and I kind of think I’ll take your word for it.
January 16th, 2011 at 6:54 am
Steve,
This is a British film. And film historians have systematically ignored British cinema – both made for theaters and television. It just isn’t studied much, screened or discussed. There are histories of it – but the average movie lover just doesn’t know much about British film.
January 16th, 2011 at 6:55 am
I’m reading the review and getting a strong sense of deja vu. I know this story. I’ve read this story, and recently.
Then I went back to the top and saw it was based on a Graham Greene story. Aha! I just finished Greene’s complete stories. It sounds like the movie follows the story pretty closely (although the latter takes place wholly in Mexico), even down to the dog.
January 16th, 2011 at 10:15 am
Mike Grost brings up a good point about our lack of knowledge concerning British film. Over the years I’ve noticed as a general rule the British crime/mystery TV series are consistently better than US series. Also historians keeping talking about American film noir but I’ve seen many British film noir that are just as interesting.
Recently a couple books have drawn attention to British film such as Michael Keaney’s BRITISH FILM NOIR GUIDE and the TV series listed and discussed in Barry Forshaw’s BRITISH CRIME WRITING.
Jeff Meyerson reminds me that it is time for another reading of one of my favorite writers, Graham Greene.
January 16th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
There is a very good interview with Ken Annakin, the director of ACROSS THE BRIDGE on the DVD I have. I’m not sure when it was conducted, but it was after Rod Steiger died in 2002.
Annakin himself died in 2009, so that narrows it down from both ends.
But it was from the interview that I learned about the conflict between Steiger and Bernard Lee about the former’s approach to acting, a technique that apparently confounded the latter no end.
All of which is a long lead-up to respond to Jeff’s comment about the movie and the story by Graham Greene it was based on. The whole first half of the film, Annakin said, was made up.
It was, first of all, a means of filling in the back story, but secondly, of course, to create a full-length feature film. It runs only just over 100 minutes as it is.
What I found amusing about this is that at least one review I’ve since read of the movie calls the first half of the movie the more interesting. Well, yes, that’s right. That’s where all of the action is, very true.
Annakin also added that Steiger had told him in later years that he considered ACROSS THE BRIDGE as his second-favorite role and performance, the first being THE PAWNBROKER.
What just caught my eye, even though I’ve always thought myself generally familiar with Rod Steiger’s work in films, looking at the list of credits for him on IMDB, he made a lot of movies I never heard of, much less ever saw — and I mean a lot.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001768/
I’ll have to track some of them down and see if the statement I made in the first paragraph of this review still stands up.
January 23rd, 2011 at 10:46 pm
watched this in mysore, india. year was 57 or 58, at the Ganesha Talkies, which is no more.
still remember the ending. loved it.
May 11th, 2011 at 3:54 am
I saw the last half hour of this film thirty years go on TV. It had a fascinating ending, and being a fan of Greene’s and Carol Reed’s The 3rd Man, Fallen Idol, this looked like an excellent noir. I downloaded and tried watching it today — Was a bit disappointed at the shameless conveniences and coincidences. I’ll look at it again, maybe with a better attitude. editorterryataol.
March 26th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Across The Bridge
Excellent synopsis and review. Fine, forgotten gem, beautifully shot, Steiger is magnificent as ever but dare I say it- Delores was definitely a scene stealer.
March 13th, 2018 at 1:48 am
I remember seeing this film as a teenager, probably in 1957. Growing up in Miami, there was one foreign film theater that I attended occasionally, especially when a Brigitte Bardot film was playing.
Steiger’s performance was so memorable that years later I attempted to find out information, but forgetting the title I was unable to do so. I feel fortunate to have found this reference.
March 12th, 2020 at 8:35 am
Just discovered this amazing film a few days ago…March 2020! I was attracted by a still of Steiger huddling with a dog so decided to investigate.
However Dolores is not a mongrel/ cocker spaniel. She is an English Setter. I have one identical to her.
September 17th, 2020 at 7:46 pm
Thanks for your review and interesting comments
This is showing on YouTube now. (9-20)
Not a movie critic or reviewer, I was quite proud I recognized Steiger’s unmistakable voice in one of the first few scenes.
And was it a goof, guy at the gas station/motel had a distinct English accent?
January 14th, 2024 at 5:49 pm
I’m a big Steiger fan. One of my top five favorite movies is In the Heat of The Night where he overacts a bit but he’s still just great. In Across the Bridge he doesn’t over act. He’s amazing and how do they get a dog to do scenes like that? I found a library with a classics section. I started with “A” and what a treasure I found in this movie. Loved it.