A View from the Bridge

Although directed by American Sidney Lumet and shot on the Brooklyn docks in Red Hook, A View From The Bridge is a French production with some shooting in Rome. My guess is that Arthur Miller couldn't get the financing here and next to On The Waterfront, A View From The Bridge looks kind of cheap. It sure has an international cast though.

Raf Vallone stars as Eddie Carbone a veteran dock worker who lives with wife Maureen Stapleton in Red Hook near his work and their niece Carol Lawrence who made her big screen debut here. As is apparently the custom they help out friends and family from the old country which in this case is Sicily. French players Raymond Pellegrin and Jean Sorel are brothers and related distantly to the Carbones. They arrive here like so many other illegals looking for work, maybe to send money back home like Pellegrin does for his family. Or like Sorel he wants to immigrate here permanently.

The attraction between Sorel and Lawrence is instant. Always in the back of your mind is that Sorel is thinking this is a fast track to citizenship. But it's in the front of your mind that Vallone is building up an unreasoning hatred of Sorel because of his attraction for his niece. Lawrence either is naive or just puts it out of her mind, but Stapleton is seeing it all too clear.

When Budd Schulberg wrote On The Waterfront, part of it was an expiation and justification of Schulberg being a friendly witness at the House Un American Activities. Miller was a most unfriendly witness and his play on the docks affirms the code that stool pigeons are the lowest form of life.

A View From The Bridge was done on Broadway with Van Heflin playing Eddie Carbone. I would like to have seen him doing it as Heflin was one of the best and most under-appreciated actors around. But you can't deny that Raf Vallone authentically Italian is just great in this role.

Sidney Lumet who seemed to shoot all of his films in the city he loved shows a different and at times terrifying side of New York. A View From The Bridge could use a remake, especially with the topic of immigration reform center stage among issues now.

Based on a play by Arthur Miller, the film is very typical of its era (where many such classic plays were adapted for the screen) but also characteristic of director Lumet - who was constantly striving to push barriers (among the themes touched upon here are incest and homosexuality!) and always put his greatest emphasis on the acting. In fact, the cast here is an eclectic but surprisingly effective mix of American, French and Italian actors (though set in Brooklyn, the film was actually shot in France!) - with Raf Vallone especially impressive in his difficult role. The film's dock-side setting (gloomily photographed by Michel Kelber) recalls, to a certain extent, ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) - though this is more of a domestic melodrama; still, the final confrontation between Vallone and Raymond Pellegrin (with its tragic aftermath) reaches a fine pitch of tension.

A View From The Bridge transcends its stage-play roots to give an earthy feel for its neighborhood and its neighbors. This is high praise considering the play is one of Arthur Miller's very best to begin with. The chemistry is devastatingly hot between Raf Vallone and his illicit love for niece Carol Lawrence who, at first admires him, but later turns on him with disgust. Maureen Stapleton is magnificent as Vallone's desperate wife. Vincent Gardenia is disarmingly young in an early role. The cinematography seems to peel the layers of this blue-collar area like an onion, and the score is simply perfect. A View from the Bridge is a neglected classic that needs to be restored to prominence.

I saw this when it was first released, but I've never seen it since, not even on Turner or AMC. I'd love to know why it sank out of sight. Perhaps because Raf Vallone was virtually unknown in the USA? (Maybe if it had starred Van Heflin, who originated the lead role on Broadway.) I am glad to see a new production of it is underway. With Miller's recent death, maybe it will attract the attention it deserves as Miller's homage to Greek tragedy adapted to the lives of "ordinary" working people and to modern stagecraft. After more than 40 years, I finally saw a stage production last night, by the University of Oregon Theater Arts Dept. For a college production it was more than adequate, despite the awful acoustics of their theater. The young actor who played Eddie Carbone was quite good. But it whetted my appetite for a professional production. It's available in VHS on Amazon, but I don't want to buy it, just watch it.

Sparks fly when dock worker Eddie Carbone (Raf Vallone) rejects his loyal wife (Maureen Stapleton) while he desires their neice (Carol Lawrence) who is in love with an illegal immigrant (Jean Sorel). Filmed near the waterfront in Brooklyn, New York director Sydney Lumet captures the turmoil of a family torn apart from a story by Arthur Miller. All the players are excellent especially Mr. Vallone and Miss Stapleton. Unfortunately this film is no where to be found.Apparently it was also dubbed in French.