Bridges are finding their way into the premises of war movies all the time.

We haven't even done half of the bridge movies on our list.

They're important in war because they become focal points.

Strategically critical bridges make a nice easy microcosm

of the larger conflict and become crucibles

for the soldiers asked to take or defend them. Private Ryan was defending a bridge in our first episode.

Colonel Nicholson went nuts and built a great bridge for the Japanese. Wars are just

lousy with bridge stories.

Today's film is from 1969, and it's right in the sweet spot as far as friendly fire movies are concerned.

It's George Segal, Ben Gazera, and a bunch of salty American troops pushing

into the fatherland and trying to cross the Rhine while Robert Vaughn and the rest of the Germans

tried to stop them.

The Third Reich is on its heels and in that phase of the war where they really don't have the

resources they need to keep up the fight properly, but also if anyone makes any comments

about that it's considered to be

somewhere between highly indecorous and treasonous and yet they're dug in and

dedicated and make life a real challenge for the Americans.

So in a way, the film forms a metaphorical bridge.

It's the meat in the middle point

as the Americans on their upward push into certain victory cross the Germans on their

downstroke to inevitable defeat.

We spend a lot of time on both sides of the river and it's fascinating to compare

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