In the Steven Spielberg movie Bridge Of Spies, Brooklyn lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks) is thrust into the center of the Cold War when he is given a mission to negotiate the release of Francis Gary Powers, a pilot whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union.
The story is based on the book of the same name written in 2010. Another account of the same incident was published in 1964 under the title Strangers on a Bridge: The Case of Colonel Abel and Francis Gary Powers, written by Donovan.
Rudolf Abel lived and operated in Brooklyn and had an office in the Ovington Artists building on Cadman Plaza West in Brooklyn Heights. He did dead drops of stolen documents in Prospect Park. His arrest and history were discussed by Truman Capote, another Heights resident at the time, in his book “A House in the Heights”.
The movie Bridge Of Spies is the fourth time that Tom Hanks has been directed on the big screen by Steven Spielberg. They previously collaborated on Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002) and The Terminal (2004).
