Ken Annakin, a director not known for masterpieces but for trusty box office returns, takes an unusually serious approach in ACROSS THE BRIDGE, a dour British film interestingly enough filmed at Pinewood Studios but with the action taking place in US and Mexican territory.
The script is fair, with some credible twists and characters. Sadly, Steiger dominates the film with an over the top performance that rather jaggers things, taking your attention away from the subtlety of developments in the original story by British author Graham Greene. Thankfully, his histrionics are balanced by the restraint of superior contributions from Bernard Lee, as the Scotland Yard inspector trying to have Steiger extradited from Mexico; Paul Nagy, as the criminal he throws out of a train and whose passport he swipes; beautiful Maria Landi and David Knight as the couple seeking happiness at Steiger's cost; and Noel Willman as the corrupt chief of Mexican Police (Willman's facial nuances and controlled voice are memorable as he engages in a balancing act for his own benefit, though I found myself having to suspend my disbelief in that his underlings would speak in Spanish and he, the chief, in English).
Best of all, the contribution from a Cocker Spaniel canine called Dolores, who really steals the show with her sweet eyes soaring spiritually above the sordidness and pettiness of the human estate.
The part about the local population boycotting Steiger seems too contrived, and costs my rating another star.
Photography by Reginald Wyer is typically economical and effective, as in most British B&W films of the 1950s.
Worth watching, despite the above mentioned flaws. 7/10.
The script is fair, with some credible twists and characters. Sadly, Steiger dominates the film with an over the top performance that rather jaggers things, taking your attention away from the subtlety of developments in the original story by British author Graham Greene. Thankfully, his histrionics are balanced by the restraint of superior contributions from Bernard Lee, as the Scotland Yard inspector trying to have Steiger extradited from Mexico; Paul Nagy, as the criminal he throws out of a train and whose passport he swipes; beautiful Maria Landi and David Knight as the couple seeking happiness at Steiger's cost; and Noel Willman as the corrupt chief of Mexican Police (Willman's facial nuances and controlled voice are memorable as he engages in a balancing act for his own benefit, though I found myself having to suspend my disbelief in that his underlings would speak in Spanish and he, the chief, in English).
Best of all, the contribution from a Cocker Spaniel canine called Dolores, who really steals the show with her sweet eyes soaring spiritually above the sordidness and pettiness of the human estate.
The part about the local population boycotting Steiger seems too contrived, and costs my rating another star.
Photography by Reginald Wyer is typically economical and effective, as in most British B&W films of the 1950s.
Worth watching, despite the above mentioned flaws. 7/10.