The story of a traditional family living in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri, during the 1930s and 1940s. The Bridges grapple with changing mores and expectations. Mr. Bridge (Paul Newman), is a lawyer who resists his children's rebellion against the Conservatism values he holds dear. Mrs. Bridge (Joanne Woodward), labors to maintain a Pollyanna principle view of the world against her husband's emotional distance and her children's eagerness to adopt a world view more modern than her own.