Classic Horrors Club

Disaster Film Checklist

• All-Star Cast ?:
  • James MacArthur
  • Desi Arnaz Jr.
  • Char Fontane
  • Richard Gilliland
  • Leslie Nielsen
  • Eve Plumb
  • Barbara Rush
  • Gregory Sierra
• Multiple Lives in Danger:
  • Eight people and a sick baby are trapped on a collapsing bridge.
• Warnings are Disbelieved or Ignored:
  • Engineer Cal Miller warns Mayor Warren Meech that the integrity of the bridge has been compromised, but he refuses to close it.
• Characters and Relationships:
  • Johnny Pyle is on his way to Acapulco with his girlfriend, Dee, wiith whom he’s involved only because of her family’s wealth.
  • Harvey Lewis is a policeman depressed over the fact that his girlfriend, Terry Kelly, has broken up with him to become a nun.
  • Paul Warren is a scoundrel who has manipulated his mistress, Elaine Howard, into stealing bonds from their boss.
  • Diego Ramirez is a painter who, after suffering the loss of his daughter, is able to give comfort to the young orphan Terry is escorting to her new home. 
• Death of Someone Who Deserves It:
  • Bye-bye Johnny. After multiple attempts to get off the bridge and holding everyone else hostage at gunpoint, he finally takes a long fall.
  • Bye-bye Paul. More worried about stolen bonds than his sick baby, he grabs Elaine’s purse instead of her, even as she’s sliding closer to the edge.
• Survival of Babies, Children and/or Pets:
  • Held in the arms of Harvey, who’s been shot in the chest, the sick baby is lowered off the bridge in a rescue chair.
  • Sitting on the lap of Terry, holding Diego’s “heart,” the young orphan is lowered off the bridge in a rescue chair.
• Theme:
  • Greed
  • Revenge

Thoughts

One thing I’ve noticed during this series is that the longer the disaster movie subgenre ran, the more unlikable its characters became. I failed to mention it twice now, but it’s unavoidable with The Night the Bridge Fell Down (1980.) Instead of cheering for heroes to survive, we’re cheering for villains to die. Sadly, a lot of running time is wasted before we get any satisfaction.

Here, it’s Johnny Pyle (Desi Arnaz Jr.) At first, we sympathize because he’s framed for embezzling and spent five years in prison. Bent on revenge, he robs a bank, exchanges the stolen money for laundered cash, and demands to be rescued from the collapsing bridge before anyone else, even the sick baby and the young orphan.

Let me rephrase that. At first, we don’t sympathize with Johnny. That’s because his unfortunate past is revealed after he’s been naughty, thanks to a flashback such as those used more frequently in Hanging by a Thread (1979.) This movie is as long as that one, but has fewer flashbacks and rescues that are even more tedious.

This discussion could very well be a repeat of that one; however, all points would be even more egregious. Whatever Hanging by a Thread is, The Night the Bridge Fell Down is… not as good. At least the characters and their motivations were connected and backed by a shocking secret. Here, they are not. 

There is one thing I really enjoyed about The Night the Bridge Fell Down: Barbara Rush’s performance as Elaine Howard. She is terrific and realistic as a woman terrified of climbing down the main pylon of the collapsing bridge after there’s nothing left on which to attach the rescue chair. Her cries and whimpering feel natural for the situation and are prevented from going over the top by the actor. She’s really good.

As the disaster movie subgenre was waning, The Night the Bridge Fell Down was made in 1980, but not aired until 1983. Then, NBC, in one of the dumbest moves ever, aired it opposite the series finale of MASH, which attracted the largest audience for any single show in television history. It’s not over yet, folks. Cave in! aired three months later and it was made before even this one.