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38-673: The Carroll Street Bridge is a retractable bridge in New York City , crossing the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn . It carries a single wooden-decked lane for eastbound vehicular traffic and two sidewalks. Completed in 1889, it is operated by the New York City Department of Transportation , with an average of about one thousand crossings each weekday. It is the oldest of the four remaining retractable bridges in

76-546: A few of the Brothers surrounding the soda fountain door as Danni's father is led out in handcuffs. Dunn rushes in and finds that social workers are preparing to take Danni away. A shaken Dunn takes Danni in his arms. Weeping, she wants him to promise that he won't be sad over her departure. An angry Rooney develops another prank with the help of Caesar, Williams and Corbett to get back at the Brothers for having Danni taken away. The boys sneak onto school grounds at night and cut

114-418: A group of Brooklyn teenagers, with Jay Patterson , Wallace Shawn , John Heard , and Donald Sutherland as the teachers and administrators at the private Catholic school the boys attend in the 1960s. In 1965, Boston teenager Michael Dunn and his young sister Boo have been sent to Brooklyn to live with their Irish-Catholic grandparents following the deaths of their parents. Dunn is enrolled at St. Basil's,

152-409: A height limit of 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) and a weight limit of 10 short tons (8.9 long tons; 9.1 t). The roadway on either side is made of Belgian blocks . On average, as of 2019, one thousand vehicles cross the bridge each weekday. The movable portion of the span is painted bright blue and shaped like a trapezoid. Carriage truck frames, supported by wheels, are located underneath

190-412: A hub for industrial activity, with businesses specializing in lumber, coal, brick, stone, flour, and plaster. The canal was crossed by six bridges, including one at Carroll Street. When the first Carroll Street bridge closed in 1887, there was a discussion regarding the design of its replacement. Landowners wanted to build a retractable span that would allow the bridge to slide diagonally onto the shore, but

228-462: A lot of people that you're a genius but it doesn't mean very much. I was happy to be getting any firm assignment." Dinner said "I came into this very idealistically, wanting to discover eight brand new faces who could play 16 and 17 year olds. But it didn't work out that way." He spent four months looking for actors around the country, including Boston and Philadelphia, but ended up casting them all out of New York via their agents. "What happens here

266-405: A strict all-boys Catholic school . His grandmother is determined to see him fulfill his parents' dream of him joining the priesthood. Dunn befriends Caesar, an overweight, bespectacled student who enjoys reading and excels academically. Caesar helps Dunn catch up with the rest of the class, but because of their association, foul-mouthed bully and school troublemaker Ed Rooney pranks Dunn outside of

304-488: A teenaged girl who runs the soda fountain across from the school and cares for her mentally infirm father. Danni's fountain shop is raided numerous times by the Brothers, who wish to catch St. Basil's students misbehaving. The raids leave the shop in shambles. After one raid, Dunn helps Danni clean things up, sparking a romance. At the sacrament of confession , Caesar enters the confessional, but Father Abruzzi becomes preoccupied with another student's misbehavior. Rooney enters

342-600: Is a variant type called a retractile bridge . This bridge is oriented northwest–southeast, with the northwest-bound lanes of traffic retracting diagonally to the north, and the southeast-bound lanes retracting diagonally to the west. Some retractable bridges are also floating bridges , such as the Hood Canal Bridge . Two other floating bridges in Washington state used to have retractable spans but were replaced with new floating bridges without retractable spans:

380-656: Is that you stumble on kids with some stage experience who also seem natural as New York kids. What happens in Los Angeles is that even the good ones come off like Valley kids." Mary Stuart Masterson was cast after Dinner saw a tape she had made at the Sundance Institute , where Masterson had spent two summers in an acting company. Masterson was cast while the film began production, and she would rehearse on weekends with Dinner and McCarthy. Filming took nine weeks. The Church of St. Michael (built 1921) and

418-709: The Borden Avenue Bridge in Queens . A recent example can be found at Queen Alexandra Dock in Cardiff , Wales , where the bridge is jacked upwards before being rolled on wheels. Helix Bridge at Paddington Basin in London is a more unusual example of the type, consisting of a glass shell supported in a helical steel frame, which rotates as it retracts. The Summer Street Bridge over Fort Point Channel in Boston

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456-541: The Cannes Film Festival , figuring it was "bread cast upon the water". Dinner became attached to direct Catholic Boys . On the plane to Cannes, Dinner met Maurice Singer, chief of the new theatrical film division of Home Box Office . By the time the plane landed in Europe, Singer had agreed to finance Catholic Boys . Tri-Star came on to distribute. Dinner said "When you're a new director you hear from

494-736: The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (replaced in 2016) and Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge (replaced after it accidentally sank in 1990). This design is popular in Guyana , which has the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Berbice Bridge . Historical examples of designs for retractable bridges include those by Leonardo da Vinci and Agostino Ramelli . In the Netherlands , especially in

532-443: The girders . When the bridge is retracting, these frames run along three timber-supported steel rails that run diagonally on the western bank of the canal to the south of the span, which opens up a 36-foot-wide (11 m) channel for ships to pass. The frames are moved by a series of pulleys . Originally, the span was retracted using a steam engine, but today it is powered by an electric motor. Swinging gates on either side close off

570-450: The (now closed) St. Michael's Parish School were used as the fictional St. Basil's Church and St. Basil's School , run by the factual Order of St. Basil . Filming used external and internal shots of this church and school, and around the neighborhood. An auditorium scene was filmed using students from Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx . John Heard later claimed an incident on

608-565: The Carroll Street Bridge. At the time, there was a steady decline in the use of the Gowanus Canal, and the city did not have sufficient funds to operate the bridge. The span was only being used by 2,600 cars a day, but had to open twice a day on average. Initially scheduled to be closed on May 28, 1971, the span's closure was later delayed to June 25, and the control station was boarded up. Following protests from residents,

646-486: The United States and is an official city landmark. The Carroll Street Bridge is composed of a 107-foot-long (33 m) span supported by a pair of riveted steel plate girders . The span is 17.5 feet (5.3 meters) wide and contains one eastbound lane of vehicular traffic and one walkway to either side. It carries the street of the same name within the neighborhood of Gowanus, Brooklyn . The posted restrictions are

684-411: The altercation, with an order that he be transferred to another assignment where he will not work with children. The five boys walk out of the school downtrodden, but then joyfully realize that they will not have to attend school for two weeks. The story was originally written in 1978 as a masters thesis by Charles Purpura, a student at NYU , who had attended Catholic boys' schools. An NYU teacher showed

722-425: The city decided to reopen the Carroll Street Bridge the following month. In 1974, the bridge was closed again for emergency repairs after a mechanical failure left the span in the open position. Another incident in 1985 or 1986 caused the Carroll Street Bridge to be stuck in the open position for several years. During this time, the bridge was used as a filming location for the 1985 movie Heaven Help Us . The bridge

760-450: The city of Brooklyn resisted, since this would entail acquiring additional land. Ultimately, the city of Brooklyn chose the landowners' plan. This design was chosen since the canal was narrower at Carroll Street, and a more conventional bascule bridge design might prevent some boats from passing. The new Carroll Street Bridge was designed by chief engineer Robert Van Buren and engineer-in-charge George Ingram. Charles O. H. Fritzche designed

798-534: The cowering Caesar to the floor, beating him with the strap. Dunn angrily shoves Constance to the floor and then flees, with Constance and the other boys following him. The chase ends in the auditorium during the assembly. Constance backhands Dunn and calls him a bastard. Dunn then retaliates by delivering an uppercut to Constance, knocking him to the floor and causing pandemonium as the student body rises to its feet and cheers. Thadeus suspends all five boys for two weeks. He then presents Constance, who he claims started

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836-519: The end of 2020. To stabilize the bridge during the Gowanus Canal cleanup project, engineers drilled pipe piles during the early 2020s. The bridge was closed indefinitely in June 2021, after damage was discovered during the Gowanus Canal cleanup project; the damage was limited to the foundations, rather than the superstructure and deck, so the LPC did not need to oversee the repairs. As of February 2024, it

874-507: The film led to him being unofficially blacklisted for a time. One afternoon when I was sitting there talking to another actor. I think it was Jay Patterson or somebody. I'm a Catholic, and I still hang around with guys I went to high school with... I leaned over and I said, “I don't understand: Why in the world would they get a Jew to direct a Catholic boys movie?” And the director—Michael Dinner... —was sitting right behind me. [Laughs.] And then it turned out that I'm part Jewish! My grandfather

912-447: The head off the statue of St. Basil. During a school assembly the next day, Rooney presents Dunn with a duffel bag containing the missing head. Brother Constance sees the bag and accosts the boys into the gym, where Constance hits Corbett and Williams with a leather strap in an attempt to extract a confession for the vandalism. Caesar presents Constance with a doctor's note, presumably to exempt him from corporal punishment . Constance drags

950-502: The motors while Cooper, Hewitt & Company constructed the steel superstructure. The bridge opened in 1889 at a cost of $ 29,600. After the Carroll Street Bridge was completed, very few modifications were made to it. The steam motors were supplanted by electric motors in 1908, while the rails and wheels were replaced in 1915 and the handrails were replaced in 1948. In 1971 the New York City government decided to permanently close

988-691: The other being the Borden Avenue Bridge in Queens . The city formerly had as many as five retractable bridges, but three of these bridges, in Brooklyn, Staten Island , and the Bronx , were removed in the mid-20th century. In the 1860s, a developer named Edwin Litchfield straightened and expanded the Gowanus Creek into a canal. This resulted in the surrounding swamp being dried up, making it desirable for development. The Gowanus Canal soon became

1026-511: The priest's booth and hears Caesar's confession, giving him the penance of befriending Rooney and making sure he gets passing grades. As a result, Caesar tutors and befriends Rooney. The relationship between Dunn and Danni further develops, culminating in a kiss under the boardwalk at the beach . One day, during one of the Brothers' routine raids, Danni takes a stand and locks them out. The Brothers leave, but later contact social services . A few days later, Dunn and his friends see police cars and

1064-546: The province of North Holland , a vlotbrug is a design of retractable bridge across a canal in which the roadway floats and can be retracted under fixed structures on the canal banks. Heaven Help Us Heaven Help Us (also known as Catholic Boys ) is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Michael Dinner . It stars Andrew McCarthy , Mary Stuart Masterson , Kevin Dillon , Malcolm Danare , Patrick Dempsey , in his film debut, and Stephen Geoffreys as

1102-429: The script, then titled Catholic Boys , to producer Dan Wigutow, who tried unsuccessfully to interest production companies in it. Purpura dropped out of NYU and was fired from his job at a lithography shop for union organizing. He was denied unemployment benefits because his nighttime screenwriting was considered potentially lucrative employment, so he filed for bankruptcy, borrowed money and headed for India. The script

1140-810: The soda fountain across the street from school. After Rooney pulls a prank on Caesar, teacher Brother Constance attempts to get Dunn to identify the prankster by striking Dunn's open palms with a paddle. Fed up with Dunn's refusal to rat out the perpetrator, Constance shoves him to the floor. Dunn lunges towards Rooney and the pair are separated. Dunn and Rooney are sent to the office of the headmaster, Brother Thadeus. Rooney, impressed by Dunn's refusal to snitch, attempts to patch things up between them, but Dunn wants nothing to do with him. After school, Rooney tells Dunn that if they do not become friends, he will have to continue in his harassment in order to save face. Reluctantly, Dunn befriends Rooney and his friends, sex obsessed Williams and naive Corbett. Dunn also befriends Danni,

1178-506: The span whenever the Carroll Street Bridge is in the open position. An operator's house is located on the bridge's western end along the southern sidewalk. The booth is normally unmanned, but a bridge attendant can travel to the operator's house within two hours in case the bridge needs to be opened. The Carroll Street Bridge is one of four remaining retractable bridges in the United States , and one of two remaining in New York City,

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1216-591: The title was changed to Heaven Help Us . In European territories and in Australia, the film was released theatrically under its original title. To make the film more upbeat, there were changes made to a plot involving a disenchanted teacher, and the addition of a spoken epilogue. The film received mixed reviews and was not a commercial success. In a review that awarded the film two and ½ stars, Roger Ebert expressed that while he found some scenes were funny and contain “moments of real insight and memory,” he found

1254-424: The tone to be inconsistent. Janet Maslin of The New York Times was more positive, writing the filmmakers “have an unusually good feeling for the time, the place, the characters as kids and the adults they later turned into”. McCarthy later called the film "a very lovely movie that twelve people saw" and described it as "my favorite and/or the best movie I did in that whole era of those movies." The marketing

1292-421: Was Jewish. I mean, it may have sounded like I was being anti-Semitic, but I was really just sort of being... Catholic boys are kind of vain. They think of themselves as being unique, so why would we want to be directed by a Jewish person? But I probably didn't work again after that for two years or something. The film was originally shot as Catholic Boys, but due to HBO and Tri-Star's fears of alienating viewers,

1330-543: Was believed to have misled audiences about the film, indicating it was more of a typical teen film. "I'm a first-time director, and all I can do is stamp my foot, so to speak," said Michael Dinner. "Besides, in terms of offending anyone, I'm more worried about Elvis fans." (The film contains an unflattering excerpt from Blue Hawaii .) FilmInk called the film "part of Andrew McCarthy's ‘soulful teens’ trilogy (along with Pretty in Pink and Class )." Heaven Help Us holds

1368-512: Was designated an official New York City landmark in 1987, with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) calling it "rare and unusual". The restored bridge was reopened on September 24, 1989. It was subsequently repaired again in 2011. After being damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Carroll Street Bridge was repaired the following year. The bridge was closed to traffic at

1406-599: Was read by producer Mark Carliner, who wanted to finance further work on it. Wigutow had to contact Purpura in India via telegram. The writer began doing further drafts. Carliner then met Michael Dinner , a former recording artist who had just made a film at the American Film Institute , a version of Nathaniel West 's Miss Lonelyhearts which had aired on American Playhouse . Carliner gave Dinner $ 10,000 to enable him to travel with Miss Lonelyhearts to

1444-586: Was unknown when the bridge will reopen to traffic. Retractable bridge Retractable bridges date back to medieval times. Due to the large dedicated area required for this type of bridge, this design is not common. A retractable design may be considered when the maximum horizontal clearance is required (for example, over a canal). Two remaining examples exist in New York City: the Carroll Street Bridge (built 1889) in Brooklyn , and

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