Six Bridges to Cross (1955) and the award-winning Digging Star Wars blog

Photo by award-winning blogger Chris Mich

September was a brutal month for me. But, in all the challenges, I received a ray of sunshine from Out of the Past blogger Raquel Stecher. I won her blog’s 2023 Summer Classic Film Reading Challenge. Those six book reviews you saw posted on Digging Star Wars this past summer earned one of six winning spots on her summertime cinematic podium. 

Raquel's write-up of participants and winners on her blog, Out of the Past.

What did I win? My choice of a Blu-Ray or DVD from Kino Lorber. 

What did I choose? Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema IV. More specifically, I chose the box set since it had Six Bridges to Cross (1955) – directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Tony Curtis (Some Like It Hot), Julie Adams (Creature from the Black Lagoon) and George Nader (Man Afraid). 

Why is Six Bridges to Cross so important? It was a “need to see” on my Henry Mancini list. Mancini wrote the opening theme song of Six Bridges that’s sung by none other than Sammy Davis Jr.

Having screened Six Bridges to Cross with my good friend and fellow Digging Star Wars writer Phil Congleton, I’ve seen 133 out of 162 films Henry Mancini has scored. Only 29 to go! 

You can read my 3-star review of Six Bridges to Cross on Letterboxd. 

Winning this contest really means a lot to me. This is the second year Digging Star Wars has participated in the Out of the Past Summer Reading Challenge. It’s a great deal of fun finding unique classic film books, reading them, and posting reviews here on the blog. Raquel does an excellent job encouraging participants. She visits their blogs and leaves comments. She highlights review excerpts from participating bloggers on her own social media platforms and blog. It’s a lot of fun. Thanks, Raquel.

Moreover, I really needed something to smile about during a really difficult month.

If you like to read any of the Digging Star Wars entries that won the 2023 Summer Reading Challenge, click on one of the links below:

1. BOOK REVIEW BY CHRIS MICH: AMERICAN SILENT FILM BY WILLIAM K. EVERSON
2. BOOK REVIEW BY CHRIS MICH: CITIZEN KANE – A FILMMAKER’S JOURNEY BY HARLAN LEBO
3. BOOK REVIEW BY CHRIS MICH: KATHRYN KALINAK'S FILM MUSIC – A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION
4. BOOK REVIEW BY CHRIS MICH: JEANINE BASINGER AND SAM WASSON’S HOLLYWOOD – THE ORAL HISTORY
5. BOOK REVIEW BY CHRIS MICH: BOBBY DARIN – THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF AN AMAZING LIFE BY AL DIORIO
6. BOOK REVIEW BY CHRIS MICH: ANIMATING CULTURE – HOLLYWOOD CARTOONS FROM THE SOUND ERA BY ERIC SMOODIN

Finally, I’d like to dedicate this entry to the memory of Rita Mich, 1940-2023. She was a wonderful, loving mother and sadly passed away the same day I won this challenge. 

Me and Mom at an Atlantic City film exhibition in 1983. 

Mom always supported my love of movies and provided impressive insights into the arts. For her love and wisdom, I am forever thankful. I miss her.