Tight entertaining crime drama about a decades-long relationship between a cop and a criminal, "Six Bridges to Cross" has an engrossing story and a solid cast. While fleeing a petty crime, young Jerry Florea is shot and wounded by Edward Gallagher, a Boston policeman. Florea's injury prevents him from ever having children, and, feeling remorse, Gallagher visits the kid in the hospital, where their bonding begins. However, despite Gallagher's encouragement to reform, Florea continues to mastermind and carry out various crimes, which include one major heist that nets $2.5 million.
The excellent cast features Sal Mineo as the tough young Florea, a smart kid and natural leader of his gang of delinquents. Mineo matures into Tony Curtis as the adult delinquent, who invests in a chain of service stations, while he perseveres in crime despite a string of arrests and incarcerations. Intentionally naive to Florea's false promises and duplicitous nature, George Nader as Gallagher is sturdy as the overly patient, overly loyal cop; having made a moral bargain with himself, Gallagher is willing to turn a blind eye in exchange for Florea's inside information on other criminals. As Gallagher's wife, Julie Adams is equally blind to Florea's true nature and assumes that "settling down" will solve everything, a quaint 1950's concept. However, a tough J.C. Flippen as Concannon, Gallagher's superior, appears more objective. Unfortunately, Curtis maintains a smirk throughout that undercuts any credibility in his character's words and any believability that Gallagher could trust him.
After a needless and insipid Henry Mancini title song mercifully concludes, the fine black-and-white wide-screen cinematography by William H. Daniels opens on the film's Boston street locations, which include the six bridges of the title. Directed by Joseph Pevney, a contract director at Universal Studios, from a screenplay by Sydney Boehm, "Six Bridges to Cross" is an engrossing well-acted crime drama that features a capable cast. The film's flaws slip by, Curtis's charms are apparent, and two hours pleasantly pass.
