The Girl on the Bridge (1951 film)

The Girl on the Bridge is a 1951 American film noir crime film cowritten and directed by Hugo Haas. It stars Haas, Beverly Michaels and Robert Dane.^[1] The film's sets were designed by the art director Vin Taylor.

In an unnamed American town, David Toman, a middle-aged watchmaker, who lost his family in the Holocaust, sees Clara, a beautiful young blonde woman, on a bridge and dissuades her from committing suicide. She is a single mother struggling to look after her young baby. He asks her to become his housekeeper and she moves in with her baby. Soon, they marry and she becomes pregnant.

Mario, the father of her first baby, who deserted her while she was pregnant to him, returns, intending to ask for money, but then changes his mind rather than ruin her chance of a happy life. His underworld associates are more hard-hearted, and one of them, Olson, goes to David and asks for $5000, supposedly so their musical group can go to Mexico City and make a career there. David strikes him with a heavy candlestick, accidentally killing him. Panicking, David disposes of the body in the sea. Mario, who had been seen arguing with Olson, is charged with his murder.

David is wracked with guilt, but cannot bring himself to go to the authorities; if only Mario is acquitted, David thinks his troubles will be over. But when Mario is acquitted, David feels just as guilty, and kills himself. Mario returns again to Clara, this time seeking her forgiveness, and offers to marry her and be the father to both her children.

• Hugo Haas as David Toman
• Beverly Michaels as Clara Barker
• Robert Dane as Mario Venti
• John Close as Harry Olson (as Johnny Close)
• Anthony Jochim as Jonathan Cooper
• Judy Clark as Blonde Doll
• Darr Smith as Husband
• Maria Bibikov as Young Wife (as Maria Bibikoff)
• Dick Pinner as Prosecutor (as Richard Pinner)

• The Girl on the Bridge at IMDb
• The Girl on the Bridge at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• The Girl on the Bridge at the TCM Movie Database