User Reviews

***SPOILERS*** Feeling that he has every right to sail his new boat into Long Island Sound so that he and his wife Abbie,Ruth McDveitt, can go out and enjoy themselves retired postal worker Tom Dobbins, James Barton,finds out that the draw bridge leading into the sound has been closed since 1935 as well as inoperable! That's since a major railroad company bought up the property that the bridge is on and built a railroad line over it! With Tom breaking his chops in getting the draw bridge open and having his company pay, according to the documented evidence he has, as much as $10,000.00 a month if he doesn't railroad CEO Herbert B. Warick, Albert Dekker, sends two of his executives Banning & Grainger, Dan Tobin & Fred Clark,to try to buy off Dobbins in order to pacify him. And if that doesn't work then have them threaten to have him arrested and thrown behind bars, and his home and boat confiscated, on a number of trumped up charges.

Not realizing whom their messing with, a man very capable of going postal, Dobbins counterattacks with a number of iron clad documents not only proving his innocence against what Warick & Co. charged him with but in having them tired in civil court for undo harassment of a not only retired government worker but a WWI US Army veteran! With his back now against the wall and Dobbin not giving him a inch or any breathing space a frustrated Warick now unleashes his top gun New york shyster lawyer Donald Chavers, Horse Jameson, to really turn the screws on him. Chavers plans in bankrupting Dobbins, who's government pension is abut $250.00 a month, in the courts by appealing and re-appalling any unfavorable decision against his client Hrbert B. Warwick until Dobbins ends up, win lose or draw, flat broke.

***SPOILERS*** As it soon turned out Dobbins wasn't exactly the easy mark that Warick thought he was. It just happened that his dad was close friends with one the best defense lawyer in the country who just happens to be Dobbins' next door neighbor Jack S. Moreland, Joseph Sweeney. With Moreland taking up Dobbins' case Pro Bono, for free, Warick as well as his high priced lawyer Chavers knew that they were licked and up against it and thus quickly headed for the exits. It was in fact Dobbins who showed to Warick & co. far more class they they showed to him in wanting Warwick to rehired, as part of the deal he makes with him, the two "hit-men" Banning and Grainger that Warick had fired for not getting the job done for him! Something that if the shoe was on the other foot Warick would never have dreamed of doing!

P.S We also have a sort of comedy relief like side story having to do with NYPD Detective Arcaro, Harry Bellaver, getting his head bashed in when a suspect in his custody escaped from the Tombs Detention Center because he forgot to have him handcuffed! It was later that Det. Arcaro and about a half dozen policemen caught the escapee, a Simon Flaxman, in a deserted wear-house using a water cannon!

One of the chief assets of a series like Naked City is its preservation of the legacy of its guest stars, some of whom had remarkable, lengthy careers but are largely forgotten today.

Case in point is James Barton, star of this episode, who had a MAJOR career in vaudeville, burlesque, minstrel show, stage (with many notable legitimate Broadway roles, including plays by O'Neill and Saroyan), film and TV. Check him out, if you are interested.

Barton was known primarily as a DANCER--- one who amazed audiences and colleagues alike---but also created the role of "Kit Carson" in both the stage and film versions of Saroyan's "The Time of Their Lives", the latter starring James Cagney. Bing Crosby counted Barton as one of the TEN MOST TALENTED entertainers of the day, along with Sinatra, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole and Al Jolson.

Oddly enough, you could never have guessed ANY of this from "Bridge Party", in which Barton plays a mild-mannered but principled "little guy"--a retired postman who lives in a lovely little house with his wife, some ducks, a few cats, and who takes great pride in his father's boat, which he is determined to take out into the bay for a day's sailing. That, however, requires that the local railroad bridge be raised-- which it hasn't been in 25 years.

It's an engaging show, well-directed and paced by William ("Fatman") Conrad, and featuring a Trio of delightful performances from Albert Dekker, Fred Clarke, and the wonderfully prissy Dan Tobin--- 3 high-level corporate men who have a major stake in the legalities and costs associated with raising the bridge. Barton has a couple of witty, nicely played scenes with these guys, and has a knack for tying them in knots with his clear-eyed, common sense moral outlook. All of this, naturally, endears him to Detective Flint, who is assigned to the case in its early stages.

I should also mention everybody's favorite "old guy" of the era, actor Joseph Sweeney (so effective in 1957's "Twelve Angry Men") who plays a very small but VERY crucial role in all of this. Surprise! ----------------------------------------------------- INTERESTING TO NOTE that this episode, anticipating the standard device of many of today's drama shows--- that of multiple, parallel story-lines--- spends a fair amount of time with Frank Arcaro (Harry Bellaver) in a totally unrelated subplot. Frank has a HELL of a time pursuing and arresting a local hood, and Horace McMahon hounds the poor guy MERCILESSLY, a routine that ultimately grows a bit annoying. And, in case anyone is keeping score, this show actually features TWO SEPARATE ATTACKS with a WATER HOSE--though in very different circumstances.

It's a charming and enjoyable episode, made all the more rewarding by the opportunity to see Mr. James Barton in a major role, very near the end of his fascinating career. LR

This is the New haven railroad bridge spanning.the Hutchinson River. In the background facing east is the Pelham Parkway bridge leading to New Rochelle and City Island. Being familiar with the railroad bridge in the 1970's it was still operational. I hink the closure was strictly a plot addition. The NH rr is now part of Amtrak and passenger service no longer runs along this track. I believe Dobbins' house is now gone swallowed up by the giant CO-Op City complex built adjacent to the bridge. Sad to see how his pastoral section of NYC was paved over. I used to water ski and fish under this bridge.

Probably this series' best episode!!! The opening scene, where Dets. Flint and Arcaro drive past a then-vanishing 1956(?)Nash Ambassador Sedan, on their way to the police station,, is classic, and COULD have served as the opening for EVERY NC episode. Fred Clark ("The Double Life Of Henry Phyfe"), who died a few years later, was also great. Could the events depicted in this episode, with the railroad company, REALLY HAPPEN? Why hasn't this episode been posted for viewing on You Tube, etc.--yet? This show was way ahead of its, time, in showcasing apparent "class conflicts"--between workers, bosses, landlords, big businesses, etc.