Six Bridges to Cross

Tony Curtis may not have been the greatest of actors (though he did give some great performances), but he was very charismatic and immensely likeable and improved hugely with each film, it was very difficult to dislike him even early in his career. The more mature the film and role actually, the better he was.

'Six Bridges to Cross' for me is one of his better films, if not one of his very best like 'Sweet Smell of Success', which contained the meatiest character of his career, and 'Some Like it Hot'. On paper, it seemed that 'Six Bridges to Cross' would intrigue, entertain and nail-bite. It does all three. It's not quite great, though its good things are many and large in quality, but as an overall whole it's very good and deserves to be wider known.

It may be on the talky side at times and the ending agreed does frustrate.

Count me in as another person who found that it didn't make much sense or ring true.

On the other hand, Curtis gives a performance that is among his better ones, showing that he really delivers when given interesting intelligently-written characters and how in a short space of time how much his acting improved. George Nader is terrific in his role, while Sal Mineo charms in his screen debut, Julie Adams is sympathetic support and Don Kneefer enjoying his weasel-like character. Nader and Curtis have very believable chemistry together.

Visually, 'Six Bridges to Cross' is photographed atmospherically, while the direction is assured enough in the early stages and it goes along at a crisp yet not too rushed pace, letting the atmosphere speak for itself. The script mostly is taut and intrigues and entertains, while the story is absorbing and carried by the atmosphere and the chemistry between the cast.

In short, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This movie is the fourth film inspired from the famous Brink's facility - depot- in Boston, in the early fifties. It has already been adapted by Jerry Hopper's BLUEPRINT FOR ROBBERY; William Friedkin's BRINK'S JOB; Marvin Chomsky's BRINKS THE GREAT ROBBERY. This one. It is also under the influence of the Warner bros social crime films of the thirties, especially when watching the first part, exploring the youth of some of the opponents. You can think of ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES or any DEAD END KIDS stuff. This Jo Pevney movie is the less focused on the robbery among the three others. Good cop and gentle gangster friendship, with much moral against criminal life style, as in an old Warner Bros film.

It's no wonder that teenage girls in the 50s swooned over Tony Curtis. . . His looks, his smile and his charm are captivating. Putting these facts aside, it's a very good film noir, though brightly filmed.

This film is a crime drama that traces the strange relationship of a street smart hoodlum (Tony Curtis) with a straight arrow cop over 20 years. The film starts out with Sal Mineo playing adolescent hoodlum Jerry Florea in 1933, robbing street vendors of fruit with his gang and doing some nighttime breaking and entering. It is fleeing after one of these nighttime burglaries when Florea is shot by rookie cop Edward Gallagher (George Nader). Ed thought he shot an adult, and is upset when he realizes he shot a kid, plus due to his wound Jerry will never be able to have kids of his own. Being that this is during the production code era, that is as detailed as the wound description gets. The community is in an uproar over the shooting of a child, juvenile delinquent or not, but Gallagher manages to keep his job. Gallagher's guilt does cause him to strike up a friendship with Jerry that begins as Jerry is recovering in the hospital. Jerry gives Gallagher tips on crimes that help his career, and Ed tries to befriend the boy and point him in the right direction, only to be let down time and again.

Both Curtis and Mineo were great in this. They really do seem to be playing the exact same character at different ages. As adult Jerry Florea, Curtis flashes that charming smile of his and plays the lying sociopath so well that even an audience should have a hard time determining when he is conscientious and when he is not. Florea can be violent when he needs to be, but mainly thieving and its thrill are his game. He doesn't even seem to enjoy the actual fruit of his theft that much.

An interesting piece of trivia - Sammy Davis Jr. sings the film's theme song. It was in route to the recording studio to sing this song that he had the car accident that caused him to lose an eye.

Examing some of Tony Curtis's early starring work I've noticed that while seeing him costume dramas and swashbucklers has to be taken with a grain of salt, his work in modern setting films is very good. A really fine example is this film Six Bridges To Cross where Tony plays a young hood who forms a curious symbiotic relationship with a cop that shot him.

The cop is young patrolman George Nader who spots Sal Mineo leaving with his gang of youths from a warehouse robbery. After Mineo refuses to halt Nader shoots and wounds him. The shot went to the source of life and leaves him sterile.

Mineo and later Curtis have a certain charm to the character they play and he holds no grudges against Nader. In fact Nader tries to give Curtis every kind of break he can, but Curtis is an incorrigible criminal who is convinced he's smarter than most of the world.

Later on Curtis pulls a huge payroll robbery based on the Brinks case in Boston and Nader's relationship with Curtis is called into question. Which only resolves Nader to nail him once and for all.

Curtis is perfectly cast in this urban drama, his city diction and manner are suited perfectly for this role. Nader plays the earnest young cop who is caught between trying to give a man he permanently maimed a break and his duty as a police officer. Julia Adams gives good support to Nader as his wife and sympathetic understanding to Curtis.

Though he has a small role Don Keefer has some great moments as a real weasel of a prosecutor trying to make a career for himself by making out that Nader is corrupt. He's someone you'll love to hate.

Six Bridges To Cross is a wonderful urban drama and perfectly suited for Tony Curtis.