A Bridge Too Far (film)

A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 epic war film based on the 1974 book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan, adapted by William Goldman. It was produced by Joseph E. Levine and Richard P. Levine and directed by Richard Attenborough.

The film tells the story of the failure of Operation Market Garden during World War II, the Allied attempt to break through German lines and seize several bridges in the occupied Netherlands, including one at Arnhem, with the main objective of outflanking German defences in order to end the war by Christmas of 1944.

The name for the film comes from an unconfirmed comment attributed to British Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning, deputy commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, who told Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, the operation's architect, before the operation: "I think we may be going a bridge too far."

The ensemble cast includes Dirk Bogarde, Ryan O'Neal, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Hardy Krüger, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell and Liv Ullmann. The music was scored by John Addison, who had served in the British XXX Corps during Market Garden.

Plot

Introduction and planning

The film begins with a montage of archival film footage narrated by a Dutch woman, Kate ter Horst, describing the state of affairs in September 1944. The Allied advance is being slowed by overextended supply lines. A Dutch family, part of the Dutch resistance underground, observes the German withdrawal toward Germany. The Germans in the Netherlands have few resources in men or equipment and morale is very poor.

U.S. General George S. Patton and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery have competing plans for ending the war quickly, and being the first to get to Berlin. Under political pressure, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower chose Montgomery's Operation Market Garden.

Operation Market Garden envisions 35,000 men being flown 300 miles from air bases in England and being dropped as much as 64 miles behind enemy lines in the Netherlands. The largest airborne assault ever attempted, with Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning saying, "We're going to lay a carpet, as it were, of airborne troops" over which armored divisions of XXX Corps can pass and confidently suggests that "We shall seize the bridges - it's all a question of bridges - with thunderclap surprise, and hold them until they can be secured".

Two divisions of U.S. paratroopers, the 82nd & 101st Airborne divisions, are responsible for securing the road and bridges as far as Nijmegen. A British division, the 1st Airborne, under Major-General Urquhart is to land near Arnhem, and take and hold the far side of the bridge at Arnhem, backed by a brigade of Polish paratroopers under General Sosabowski. XXX Corps are to push up the road to Arnhem, as quickly as possible, over the bridges captured by the paratroopers, and reach Arnhem two days after the drop.

After the Market Garden command briefing, General Sosabowski voices his deep doubts that the plan can work. American commander Brig. General Gavin of the 82nd worries about parachuting in daylight.

British commanders brief that they are badly short of transport aircraft and the area near Arnhem is ill-suited for a landing. They will have to land in an open area eight miles (13 km) from the bridge. The British officers present at that briefing do not question the orders, but Sosabowski walks up to check the RAF briefing officer's uniform insignia and says "Just making sure whose side you're on." Later, when General Urquhart briefs his officers, some of them are surprised they are going to attempt a landing so far from the bridge, but they have to make the best of it. General Urquhart tells them that the key for the eight mile distance from the drop zone to the bridge, is the use of gliders to bring in reconnaissance Jeeps. Browning lays out that if any one group fails, the entire operation fails.

The consensus among the British top brass is that resistance will consist entirely of "Hitler Youth or old men", but young British intelligence officer, Major Fuller, brings reconnaissance photos to General Browning showing German tanks at Arnhem. Browning dismisses the photos, and also ignores reports from the Dutch underground. Browning does not want to be the one to tell Montgomery of any doubts because many previous airborne operations have been cancelled. Major Fuller's concerns are brushed off and he is removed from duty, sent on 'sick leave'.

British officers note that the portable radios are not likely to work for the long distance from the drop zone to the Arnhem Bridge amid the water and trees of the Netherlands. They choose not to rock the boat and do not convey their concerns up the chain of command.

At the XXX Corps briefing, the overall plan is outlined by Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks, laying out the bridges that will be taken by the paratroopers, held and then secured by ground forces. Speed is the vital factor, as Arnhem must be reached within 2â€"3 days. It is the crucial bridge, the last means of escape for the German forces in the Netherlands and an excellent route to Germany for Allied forces. The road to Arnhem, however, is only a single highway linking the various key bridges - trucks and tanks have to squeeze to the shoulder to pass. The road is also elevated causing anything moving on the road to stand out. The XXX Corps column would be led by the Irish Guards, under Col. 'Joe' Vandeleur.

Operation begins

The airborne drops catch the Germans totally by surprise, and there is little resistance. Most of the men come down safely and assemble quickly, but the Son bridge is blown up by the Germans, just before the 101st Airborne secures it. German Field Marshal Model, thinking that the Allies are trying to capture him, panics and retreats from Arnhem. However, soon after landing, troubles beset Urquhart's division. Many of the Jeeps either don't arrive by gliders at all or are shot up in an ambush. Their radio sets are also useless, meaning no contact can be made with either paratroopers moving into Arnhem under Lt. Col. John Frost or XXX Corps. Meanwhile, German forces reinforce Nijmegen and Arnhem. Meanwhile, US Sergeant Eddie Dohun is driving his jeep searching for his commanding officer, Captain Glass. He finds the captain with a bullet in his head and thinking he is alive decides to take him to medical care. He encounters German troops but manages to avoid them. Arriving at the hospital, Dohun takes the captain to a medic who refuses to look at the captain until Dohun threatens to shoot him. The medic manages to get the bullet out of the captain's skull and says he'll possibly live. He places Dohun under arrest for 10 seconds as punishment for pointing a gun at him.

XXX Corps' progress is slowed by German resistance, the narrowness of the highway and the need to construct a Bailey bridge to replace the destroyed bridge at Son. XXX Corps is able to move onto the Grave bridge without much resistance, but is halted at Nijmegen. There, soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division perform a dangerous daylight river crossing in flimsy canvas-and-wood assault boats. Ultimately, despite heavy casualties the river crossing is successful, and the Nijmegen bridge is captured. The Germans close in on the isolated British paratroopers occupying part of Arnhem at the bridge. Urquhart is separated from his men, and the supply drop zones are overrun by the Germans. German attacks on the paratroopers at the bridge are repelled. British armour continues to fight its way up the corridor, but is delayed by strong German resistance.

Operation Ends

After securing Nijmegen Bridge, XXX Corps waits several hours for its infantry to secure the town. Finally, Sosabowski's troops enter the battle. Yet they are unable to effectively reinforce the British at Arnhem. The Germans, now on full alert, intercept and gun down numerous Poles during their drop; only a handful survive to reinforce the British. After days of house-to-house fighting at Arnhem, pitted against crack SS infantry backed by panzers, the outgunned paratroops are captured or forced to withdraw. Arnhem itself is indiscriminately razed. Although Operation Market Garden is determined by Montgomery and his High Command to be 90% successful, most of those who actually carried it out feel quite differently. Urquhart escapes Arnhem with fewer than a fifth of his original 10 thousand crack troops; those who were too badly injured to flee stay behind and cover the withdraw, then give themselves up. Urquhart confronts Browning about his personal sentiments regarding the operation; did it go as well as Montgomery estimates? Browning's reply (and the film's last line of dialogue, not counting the Allied prisoners who sing Abide With Me en route to the German POW camp) contradicts his earlier optimism for Market Garden: "Well, as you know, I always felt we tried to go a bridge too far."

In the film's final scene, Kate Ter Horst (Liv Ullman) and her children are forced to abandon their bombed-out residence. Placing their belongings in a cart which is drawn by their husband/father (Lawrence Olivier), they pass through their front yard - which has been converted to a cemetery for fallen Allied troops - and trek across the countryside to an uncertain future. One of their sons brings up the rear, marching with a rifle-shaped branch he has found.

Cast and roles

Allies

Germans

Source: A Bridge Too Far at the Internet Movie Database

Dutch civilians

Source: A Bridge Too Far at the Internet Movie Database

Military consultants

• Colonel John Waddy
• Major General John Dutton Frost
• General James M. Gavin
• Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks
• Major General Roy Urquhart
• Brigadier Joe Vandeleur

Source: Goldman, William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far

Production

Air filming was done in the first weeks of September 1976, culminating in a series of air drops of a total of 1,000 men,) together with the dropping of supplies from a number of Dakota aircraft. The Dakotas were gathered by the film company Joseph E. Levine Presents Incorporated. All aircraft were required to be CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) or FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) registered and licensed to carry passengers. An original deal for the purchase of ten fell through when two airframes were rejected as passenger configured without the necessary jump doors. Eleven Dakotas were procured. Two Portuguese, ex-Portuguese Air Force, 6153, and 6171, (N9984Q and N9983Q), and two Air International Dakotas, operating from Djibouti in French Somaliland, F-OCKU and F-OCKX, (N9985Q and N9986Q) were purchased by Joseph E. Levine. Three Danish Air Force, K-685, K-687, and K-688, and four Finnish Air Force C-47s, DO-4, DO-7, DO-10 and DO-12, were loaned for the duration of the parachute filming.

Aircraft 6171 doubled as the camera ship on most formations, with a camouflaged Piper Aztec, G-AWDI. A camera was mounted in the astrodome, one on the port upper mainplane surface, with a third camera on the outside of the forward port cabin window and a fourth under the aircraft centre section. In addition, centre escape hatches were removed to make additional camera ports available, provided that no troops were aboard during filming. A second Aztec, G-ASND, was a back-up camera ship on some shots, but it was not camouflaged. An Alouette, G-BDWN, was also employed. After a mishap with G-AWDI, two locally-hired Cessna 172s, PH-GVP and PH-ADF, were also used. Ten Horsa glider replicas were built, but a wind storm damaged almost all of them. Seven or eight were hastily repaired for the shoot. The replica gliders were tail-heavy and required a support post under the rear fuselage, with camera angles carefully chosen to avoid revealing this. Dakota 6153 was fitted with tow gear and Horsa replicas were towed at high speed, though none went airborne. A two-seat Blaník sail-plane, provided by a member of the London Gliding Club, Dunstable, was towed aloft for the interior take-off shots.

Four Harvards portrayed American and German fighters. Their original identities were PH-KLU, PH-BKT, B-64 and B-118, the latter two aircraft loaned by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. These were flown by members of the Gilze Rijen Aero Club, which also provided an Auster III, PH-NGK, which depicted an Auster V, RT607, in wartime camouflage. Spitfire Mk. IX, MH434, depicting a photo reconnaissance variant, coded AC-S, was lent by the Hon. Patrick Lindsay, and was flown by aerobatic champion Neil Williams.

The scenes around the 'Arnhem' bridge were actually shot in Deventer, where a similar bridge over the IJssel was still available. Although the original bridge in Arnhem still existed, it was, by the mid-1970s, sitting in a modern urban surroundings which could not be used to portray a 1940s city. A few scenes were shot in Zutphen, where the old municipality house (a white building which in the film featured the Nazi command centre) and the main church can be seen.

The film includes some distortions of military history that are not present in the book; in particular, the reasons for the delay in XXX Corps reaching the Arnhem bridge (leading to the failure of the attack) differ considerably from those given in Cornelius Ryan's text.

An episode of the Dutch TV history programme Andere Tijden (English: Different Times) about the making of this movie stated that producer Joseph E. Levine told the Deventer town government that their town would host the world premiere for A Bridge Too Far, on June 14, 1977. This never came to be, though, and Deventer even missed out on the Dutch premiere, which was held in Amsterdam.

Interesting facts

• Joseph E. Levine financed the $22 million budget himself. During the production, he would show footage from the film to distributors who would then pay him for distribution rights. By the time the film was finished, Levine had raised $26 million, putting the film $4 million in the black before it had even opened.
• United Artists agreed to pay $6 million for US and Canada distribution rights.
• All the star-name actors agreed to participate on a favoured-nation basis (i.e. they would all receive the same weekly fee), which in this case was $250,000. per week (the 2012 equivalent of $1,008,250. or £642,000).
• According to Levine, the foreign star that distributors most wanted in the film was Robert Redford, followed by Sean Connery.
• Richard Attenborough wanted to use Steve McQueen for a role and approached him. McQueen's manager demanded $6 million for three weeks on A Bridge Too Far and three weeks on Apocalypse Now, plus Levine would buy McQueen's house which McQueen was having trouble selling. Levine refused.
• Shooting of the American-led assault on the Bridge at Nijmegen was dubbed the “Million-Dollar Hour”. Because of the heavy traffic, the crew had permission to film on the bridge between eight and nine o'clock on October 3, 1976. Failure to complete the scene, would have necessitated rescheduling at a cost â€" including Redford's overtime â€" of at least a million dollars. For this reason, Attenborough insisted that all actors playing corpses keep their eyes closed.
• Michael Caine's scripted line to order the column of tanks and armoured cars into battle, was "Forward, go, charge". Luckily for Caine, Lieutenant Colonel Joe Vandeleur was on the set, so he could ask him what the actual line was. Vandeleur told him, "I just said quietly into the microphone, 'Well, get a move on, then'", which is what Caine says in the film as released.
• Edward Fox had known General Horrocks before working on the film, and considered him a friend; thus, Fox took great care to portray him accurately. Years later, he would cite his portrayal of Horrocks as his favorite film role.
• Dirk Bogarde had known General Browning from his time on Field Marshal Montgomery's staff during the war and took issue with the film's largely negative portrayal of the general. General "Boy" Browning's widow, the author Daphne du Maurier, ferociously attacked his characterisation and "the resultant establishment fallout, much of it homophobic, wrongly convinced [Bogarde] that the newly ennobled Sir Richard had deliberately contrived to scupper his own chance of a knighthood."
• Sean Connery initially turned down his role, fearing that the film would glamorize a military disaster, but changed his mind after reading the finished screenplay.
• Connery and Caine worked together on the 1975 film The Man Who Would Be King, although they had no scenes together in this movie.
• Even though Maximilian Schell spoke fluent English, he remained true to his character as General Bittrich and spoke no English in the movie.
• Audrey Hepburn (who had lived in the Netherlands during Market Garden) was the first choice to play Kate Ter Horst, but declined due to the low salary. Roger Moore was the first choice to play Horrocks but his contractual commitment to The Spy Who Loved Me prevented him from taking the part. Steve McQueen was originally offered the role of Major Cook but declined.
• Redford was paid $2 million for five weeks work.
• A Bridge Too Far was the first war film in which actors were put through boot camp prior to filming. Attenborough put many of the extras/soldiers through a mini-boot camp and had them housed in a barrack accommodation during filming.

Reception

Critical

The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. According to a "making-of" documentary included in a special edition DVD of A Bridge Too Far, at the time of its release, "the film was shunned by American critics and completely ignored at Oscar time for daring to expose the fatal inadequacies of the Allied campaign." Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 73% of 11 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 6.8 out of 10. While critics agreed that the film was impressively staged and historically accurate, many found the film too long and too repetitive. James Caan and Anthony Hopkins were cited by many critics for the excellence of their performances in a film filled with hundreds of speaking roles and cameos by many of the period's top actors.

Box Office

The film was a box office disappointment in the US but performed well in Europe.

William Goldman's Story of A Bridge Too Far

To promote the film, scriptwriter William Goldman wrote a book titled Story of A Bridge Too Far, published in December 1977. It falls into three sections:

1. "Reflections on Filmmaking in General and A Bridge Too Far". This section features some essays that would be reprinted in Goldman's famous Adventures in the Screen Trade.
2. "A Bridge Too Far: The Story in Pictures" - 150 sequential photographs from the film with captions from Goldman.
3. "Stars and Heroes" - some of the movie's actors and the men they play tell Goldman their thoughts on the film and the battle.

Goldman explains he wrote the books as a favour:

Joseph E. Levine was very kind to me and I had a great experience on A Bridge Too Far. It was my first movie with Richard Attenborough and he's a marvelous human being. A lot of movies are shit, the experience is just terrible, and Bridge was wonderful and Mr Levine wanted something to publicize the movie so I wrote that for him. It was just something like I've never done, but it was a as a favour for Mr Levine.

See also

• Theirs is the Glory (1946 British film about the Battle of Arnhem)

Notes

References

• Arthur, Max, Forgotten Voices of the Second World War: A new history of world war two in the words of the men and women who were there, Ebury Press, 2004 ISBN 0091897351 OCLC 57691717
• Goldman, William (1977), William Goldman's Story of a Bridge Too Far, Coronet Books, ISBN 0-340-22340-5  [NB: Book has no page numbers]
• Ryan, Cornelius (1974), A Bridge Too Far, London: Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-340-19941-5 
• Waddy, Colonel John (1977), "The Making of a Bridge Too Far", After the Battle (London: Plaistow Press) (17): 10â€"34 
• Ambrose, Stephen E. & Immerman, Richard H., Ike's spies: Eisenhower and the espionage establishment, University Press of Mississippi, 1999. ISBN 0-385-14493-8 OCLC 6863017

External links

• A Bridge Too Far at the Internet Movie Database
• A Bridge Too Far at Box Office Mojo
• A Bridge Too Far at AllMovie
• A Bridge Too Far at the TCM Movie Database
• "A Bridge Too Far". at British Cinema Greats.