SIX BRIDGES TO CROSS: Blu-ray (Universal-International, 1955) Kino Lober

Odd, Tony Curtis should be top-billed in director, Joseph Pevney’s Six Bridges to Cross (1955), since much of the tale is centered on George Nader’s tough and devoted cop, Edward Gallagher and his distinct disillusionment in failing to reform Curtis’ congenial ne’r-do-well, Jerry Florea – played for the first 20-minutes as a teenage hood by a smart-mouthed, Sal Mineo. The story has a lot more guts, unintentionally gay subtext and father/son meaning while Mineo’s tough-talking teen is on the screen – the sensation and steam, almost immediately, to evaporated once Curtis assumes the role of this small-time slickster who only thinks he has all of the answers. The picture proves a refreshing change of pace for Nader who, at 6’1” and 180 rippling lbs., usually was typecast as the beefcake du jour in roles already discarded by Universal’s other hunks on the backlot - Jeff Chandler and Rock Hudson. Six Bridges to Cross affords Nader the opportunity to ‘play it straight’ and rely exclusively on the merits of his performance, instead of ‘body type’, to sell the role. And, in fact, Nader illustrates how good he can be as this stoic purveyor of truth and justice, tireless in his desire to see Jerry make a success of his life.

The difficulty here is in buying Curtis’ Jerry as the object of Eddie’s reformation. Fervently believing in the goodness of man, Ed has high hopes for Jer’ – to see him ascend to a life, apart from crime, as an upstanding citizen of the community, with a solid 9 to 5, wife and child waiting for him at home; all fine and dandy, insofar as it goes. But Jerry is the proverbial bad seed. Unable to see the ‘villainy’ in him behind that china-closet sly smile, Edward spends the bulk of Sydney Boehm’s screenplay (based on Joseph F. Dinneen’s They Stole $25,000,000 - And Got Away with It) bitterly invested in trying to make Jerry see the light, and, frequently, to intervene and rescue him from one jam after the next. It’s no good, as the pupil is not willing to accept the master’s tutelage for very long. Jerry does not want life to be safe, equating quiet domesticity with dullness and drudgery. Instead, he keeps going after the proverbial ‘brass ring’ – focused on getting his latest fix by instigating several flawed heists that threaten not only his welfare, but young marriage and infant child’s future stability. Rather predictably, it is Jerry’s ‘better late than never’ change of heart that proves his undoing. Six Bridges to Cross would be an engaging B-grade melodrama, if only it played more on the flawed buddy/buddy symbiosis – the few scenes that allow Nader to act his way out of that studly stereotype and confront Jerry on his own level and terms, crackling with a sort of unsympathetic bro-mantic chemistry that makes for some good solid moments in genuine tragedy. In these, we can distinctly relate to Edward’s bittersweet disillusionment with his young charge – having wounded Jerry as a boy, attempting escape after breaking into a local grocery store, and later, to accept full responsibility for his welfare in the eyes of the court (who would rather relegate Jerry to hard time in a reform school) and begin the awkward makeover from con to citizen, never to be entirely achieved to either’s satisfaction.   

Six Bridges to Cross begins with a noir-ish voice over supplied by Jeff Chandler, setting the time and place in Depression-era Boston (Robert Clatworthy and Alexander Golitzen’s production design, gravely grounded in the here and now of 1955). We meet Jerry (Sal Mineo) and his gang-land cohorts, Jan Merlin (Andy Norris), Skids Radzevich (Richard Castle), Red Flanagan (Wiliam Murphy), Sherman (Don Keefer) and Sanborn (Kendall Clark). One of the oddities in the movie is that while Mineo’s diminutive operator eventually morphs into the more adult Tony Curtis, the rest of the gang remain hermetically untouched by time itself. Jerry and his friends are fond of placating cop, Edward Gallagher – then, barely 3 months on the force. Alas, while covering his beat after hours, Edward comes across a local grocer’s being robbed by the boys. Making chase down a dark alley, Edward draws his service revolver on Jerry, wounding the boy in the back. Edward’s superior, Vincent Concannon (Jay C. Flippen) suggests Jerry can be put to good use as a stoolie. Shortly thereafter, Edward arrives at the hospital to befriend Jerry, who, estranged from his own father, bonds with him and even offers a few leads to procure several noteworthy arrests that help advance Edward’s career. Grateful and eager to do something in return for Jerry, Edward now endeavors to help him turn over a new leaf – to leave crime behind and accept his place in honest society.

Taking a rap for Skids on a charge of rape, Jerry wastes no time avenging his 3-years sentence, beating Skids to a pulp in the backroom of a local speakeasy. From this inauspicious start, Edward and his wife, Ellen (Julie Adams) re-enter Jerry’s life as the guiding influence to shape and mold his outlook towards a more prosperous future. Edward gets Jerry a job working at a local gas station, working his way up to management, and then, ownership of a series of stations.  One is located just opposite the Federal Depository and this gets Jerry thinking about re-assembling the old gang for one last heist to pay off handsomely in $2 million cold hard cash. Jerry orchestrates an alibi. While the rest of his gang are knocking off the depository, he is having a quiet dinner at Edward’s home. Later, the investigating detective (Scott Lee) infers Edward and Jerry are in cahoots, citing Edward’s fashionable home as a possible payoff from his cut of their ill-gotten gains. Insulted by the insinuation he is a crooked cop, Edward lays bare the whole of his finances – explaining how the house has a hefty mortgage yet to be paid, and, his bank account barely totals $250 in personal savings.

Realizing Jerry has set him up as his alibi, Edward decides to get even with Jerry by orchestrating a deal with the Judge (Howard Wright), calling for nothing less than Jerry’s being permanently deported from the United States.  As Jerry now has his own young wife and child to consider, he begs Edward to help him beat these charges. At the same time, Edward orchestrates a confession from Skids for his complicity in another crime with which Jerry has been charged. As both indictments need to stick in order for Jerry to be deported, Edward now approaches his protegee with an ultimatum. Either he confesses his part in the depository heist and return the $2 million, or Edward will remain silent on Skids’ confession and let Jerry swing for both crimes. Forced between the proverbial rock and hard place, Jerry relents, gathering his gang in an abandoned warehouse to make his purpose known. He will return the money, offering them a 20-minute head start to escape the police who are already on their way. Alas, Edward has sent backup ahead. The police arrive as Skids and the others refuse to surrender their share of the loot. A shoot-out over the money results in Jerry being mortally wounded. The gang is apprehended and the money, recovered. Regrettably, Jerry dies in Edward’s arms.

Six Bridges to Cross ought to have been a more engaging crime/thriller. Its lack of staying power can be directly attributed to the pedestrian nature of Boehm’s screenplay, more interested in the tiny tidbits of flawed domesticity than in either the crime story or the buddy/buddy nature of Jerry and Edward’s friendship. Shot on location as well as on sound stages, Pevney and his cinematographer, William H. Daniels get a certain amount of verisimilitude out of this stock story. It isn’t enough, however, to make for an engaging – even moderately fascinating – movie. Apart from Jay C. Flippen, and Julie Adams, the rest of the supporting cast are forgettable to a fault, leaving the strength of the whole show to revolve around Tony Curtis and George Nader. When the two are together in a scene, their playfully antagonism has good male-bonding chemistry. Alas, Boehm’s screenplay does everything to keep them apart. So, the brief exchanges we get between Jerry and Edward are meant to sustain us through the lesser points and parts, that are more evolved in this screenplay. Awkwardly scripted, and not terribly prepossessing when Nader’s stoic cop is momentarily out of the picture, Six Bridges to Cross is a disposable entertainment.

Six Bridges to Cross arrives on Blu-ray via Kino Lorber’s alliance with Universal Home Video. It’s a lousy 1080p transfer, riddled in age-related artifacts and blown out contrast. Most of the image exhibits anemic tonal gray values, with blooming whites and no distinct blacks. Minor edge enhancement sporadically crops up and gate weave is prevalent from beginning to end. The image is in constant flux from sprocket damage with no stabilization applied to ready it for this hi-def debut. Rips, tears, speckling, and other age-related damage plague this entire presentation. Honestly, would it have broken Uni’s bank to perform some basic clean-up before slapping this one to disc? Badly done! The 1.0 DTS audio is adequate, though just. Kino has shelled out for an audio commentary from historian, Samm Deighan who covers a lot of ground. Actually, Deighan’s reflections are of more interest than the movie. Currently, this disc is only being sold as part of a 3-movie set: Film Noir – The Dark Side of Cinema IV. Bottom line: Six Bridges to Cross is a depressingly second-rate crime/drama. This Blu-ray is at least several notches below that. Regrets.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

2.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

1.5

EXTRAS

1