Bridge Movies

                                                                        Part 2

     I couldn’t get all the good bridge movies into one column. So herewith another handful of movies about bridges. Are there any more? Probably, but these are all I could actually write about.     

    One of the best bridge movies connected to warfare is not about World War II. The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) is set in the Korean war. A rare screen appearance by Princess (okay, later on) Grace Kelly helps a lot. William Holden, Mickey Rooney and Frederick March are also on board. American pilots are asked to undertake a perilous mission to knock out the bridges at Toko-Ri. They are stiffly defended by the communist forces as they connect North Korea and China. Their initial attack is a success but then they try a second target and disaster follows. 

Ice Bridge: The Impossible Journey (2018) is about an entirely different kind of bridge. In this made for TV documentary two archeologists set about to prove that Ice Age people crossed the frozen Atlantic from Europe to North America in a time before the Vikings or Columbus. Their discovery of an artifact on the Maryland Eastern Shore buttesses their somewhat novel claim. You can watch this and decide for yourself- I was sold!

The Bridges of Madison County (2015) provide the backdrop of a romantic encounter between Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood)  and Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) He is a photographer on assignment to photograph the covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa. His chance encounter with Francesca provide the sparks in a romantic film that was exremely popular. It also became a Broadway Musical. She is an Iowa housewife just okay in a marriage become almost platonic. Their brief affair almost bursts into flame and they nearly run away together, but she cannot abandon her teen-age children and faithful husband. Her kids discover her romantic story after her death. 

The Cassandra Crossing (1976) is a real nail biter with really big stars. Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner are the eye candy. Richard Harris, Martin Sheen and Burt Lancaster provide the testosterone level. Fearing the passengers on a train are infected with a deadly virus and should be quarantined, their train is changed to a perilous route that must cross the old and doubtful bridge to Poland. There are many conflicts among the scientists and soldiers and the ending is edge of your seat stuff. 

An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge (1962) is a French film of an American Civil War story. A southern Confederacy sympathizer and saboteur is captured by the Union forces and sentenced to be hanged from Owl Creek bridge. As he prepares himself for death, he has visions of his home, his wife and his children. When he is pushed off the bridge, the rope breaks, he falls into the river and swims to safety. I will not reveal the ending here. It astounded me!

All of the movies in this article are available for streaming somewhere. All are for grown-ups. 

                                                         Bridges

Bridges play a large part in lots of movies. Over 50 actually. Whew! That’s a lot. But Mr. Movie is here for fans of bridge movies (and movies in general). 

    Let’s start with the most famous and best bridge movie: 1957' Bridge on the River Kwai. This is as suspenseful as they get! And keep in mind that it was made before computers could make anything look real. The film won seven Oscars including Best Picture. It is considered a classic, one of the best movies ever made. Allied POWs are ordered by the Japanese to build a bridge across the River Kwai, linking Thailand and Burma. Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guiness), the ranking British officer, becomes obsessed with building the bridge, despite the fact that’s what the Japs want. Jack Warden, William Holden and James Donald are also in the cast and they very much don’t want the bridge to succeed. The movie’s last 15 minutes are slam-bang wonderful. And that’s all you’ll get from me!

In Bridge of Spies (2015) the bridge is important as the place where the Russians and Americans trade spies. Mark Rylance won his first Oscar as Rudolf Abel, the guy the Russians want back. Tom Hanks is on board as attorney James Donovan, taxed with the task of arranging the trade. American downed pilot Gary Powers is the other part of the swap. The film keeps you on pins and needles as it often seems the trade will never actually happen. 

    A Bridge Too Far (1977) was called by one reviewer A Movie Too Long. And it sure is long, weighting in at one minute short of three hours! But has an all-star cast and a story that is perhaps worth the time. It is the true story of Operation Market Garden, involving over 35,000 Allied troops being parachuted into the Netherlands. Their orders are to secure and hold various bridges. They are completely outnumbered but strive valiantly to fulfil their mission. 

The Bridge at Remagen (1969) is certainly shorter and another good story based on actual history.  Allied troops are assigned to secure the Remagen Bridge over the river Rhine to secure the march into Germany. Stiff resistance from the dug-in Germans make it an iffy situation. Geoge Segal, Robert Vaughn and Ben Gazzara are all quite good.

Brooklyn Bridge (1981) is a documentary by Ken Burns about the construction of the magnificent bridge across the East River, connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan  The construction began in 1890 and the bridge was opened in 1893. It was very controversial at the time .It was the first fixed bridge across the river and the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. There were numerous deaths of workers on the project. As ever, Ken Burns knows how to make a documentary.

All of the movies in this article are available to stream somewhere. All are for adults. Next time even more bridge movies!

                                                        Joan Plowright

                                                         Part 2

Of course there are more good movies starring Dame Joan Plowright! And mosf of them are ensconced in this article.

I’m going to start with the last movie of hers of any note because a couple of readers have mentioned it. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005) is just a wonderful film. Joan Plowright plays the title character, an elderly lady nearly forgotten by her own family and friends. She has an accidental fall outside the flat of Ludovic Meyer, a young writer. Their unlikely friendship ripens as the days go by and each discovers more things alike than not about the other. He leads her gently through her past and she inadvertently leads him to his future. 

The Dressmaker (1988) is one of those quiet little British dramas that seem to just get under your skin. Joan Plowright is Nellie and Billie Whitelaw is her sister Margo. The lead a somber existence in a small apartment, trying to guide their somewhat fragile niece who is having an affair with an American soldier. 

Avalon (1990) is one of Barry Levinson’s Baltimore films, and it is really good. The Kachinsky family are Polish Jewish immigrants who land in Baltimore and have various degrees of success. Joan Plowright is the matriarch, Eva, stuck with both feet in the past and refusing to acclimate herself to her new surroundings. When her daughter-in-law Ann (Elizabeth Perkins) learns to drive a car, Eva not only disdains the accomplishment but refuses to ride with her. She takes the streetcar instead. This is one of the best films about the immigrant experience in America. 

Joan got her only Oscar nomination for her acting in Enchanted April (1992). She lost to Marissa Tomei for My Cousin Vinny. Two English ladies, complete strangers to each other, decide to rent an Italian castle based on an ad they see in a travel magazine. They advertise for two more ladies to help share expenses and enjoy the castle and its surroundings. It would be hard to find four more mismatched women. Though some of their life stories intersect in interesting ways, most of them begin as total unknowns. As time goes by, their stories begin to meld in unforseen ways. By the end of the film, everyone has happily found her niche within the group and one senses they will be friends for life. 

There are many productions of Jane Eyre. The 1968 is as good as any, with William Hurt as Mr. Rochester, Anna Paquin as the young Jane, Charlotte Gainsbourg as the mature Jane, and Joan Plowright as Mrs. Fairfax. Jane is a poor orphan who escapes the dreadful orphanage to get a job as a governess. She is employed to take care of the unwanted daughter of Mr. Rochester. Mrs. Fairfax isn’t enchanted by Jane, but it turns out that Mr. Rochester has been paying attention. Jane sticks with him when he his luck turns really bad.

You can also see Joan to good advantage in the curious Tea With Mussolini (1999). All of the movies in this article are for grown-ups.  

                                                     Joan Plowright

    She was one of the Grand Dames of British entertainment, along with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins. Joan Plowright lived to the grand old age of 96 and we only recently lost her. Ms. Plowright famously married Lawrence Olivier but was never overshadowed by him. She was made a Dame in 2004 (that’s the same as Knighthood for us colonists). She won a Tony  for A Taste of Honey. Her movie resume’ is outstanding.

    Her first appearance of note came in The Entertainer (1960). It stars Lawrence Olivier as Archie Rice, a fading music hall entertainer trying to hang on. Joan Plowright is quite good- not as his wife, but as his daughter!. During this filming is probably when romance bloomed between the two. They married the next year. Olivier owns the thing, and was nominated for Oscar. It’s one (of many) of his best performances.

Uncle Vanya (1963) is one of Chekov’s biggest hits and is still performed quite often around the world. In this version, Olivier not only stars but directs. It is the filmed version of the stage play and critic Harold Hobson said it is “the admitted master achievement in British 20th century theater”. Wow, I guess he liked it! Joan Plowright is on board as Sonya and capably holds up her end. Unfortunately, this version appears almost impossible to find. 

As Masha, one of the Three Sisters (1970) in another Chekov masterpiece, Ms. Plowright is as good as it gets. She proves she could be good in a bad production. However, Olivier’s direction is simply not up to snuff and the movie suffers. The critics hated it and the audiences weren’t far behind.

Equus (1977) has always been a difficult play - and movie. A disillusioned psychiatrist tries to treat an adolescent boy who has terrible problems. The boy has blinded horses that were in his care as a stableboy. His bizzare explanation of the act doesn’t solve much. Peter Firth appears as the boy, Alan Strang, and Joan Plowright is cast as his mother, Dora. Richard Burton portrays the doctor. Burton was nominated for an Oscar as was Peter Firth. Both lost. Peter Shaffer was nominated for his screenplay but also lost. Audiences have wrestled with Equus through the years. Theories abound about its meaning. 

Drowning By Numbers (1988) is a grim (!) fairy tale about three women, all of whom drown their husbands. All are named Cissy Colpitts..Joan Plowright is the matriarch of the group. Juliet Stevenson plays her daughter and Joely Richardson portrays her niece. Numbers are central to the plot, with various numbers appearing at random intervals in random places. If this sounds like I don’t understand it, that’s because I don’t. I did think it was pretty good, though! 

All of the movies in this article are available for streaming somewhere, probably for a price. All are for grown-ups. Next time, more movies featuring the iconic Dame Joan.