UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              Washington, DC 20549


                                    FORM 8-K


                                 CURRENT REPORT


     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 23, 1999



                            BRIDGEPORT MACHINES, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



                                                             
           DELAWARE                    000-25102                06-1169678
(State or other jurisdiction    (Commission File Number)      (IRS Employer
     of incorporation)                                      Identification No.)


  500 Lindley Street, Bridgeport, CT                      06606
(Address of principal executive offices)               (Zip Code)



       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (203) 367-3651


                                 Not Applicable
              (Former name or address if changed since last report)


ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS

         On March 23, 1999  Bridgeport  Machines,  Inc.  issued a news  release,
attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated  herein by reference.  The news
release was in response to a letter received from High Technology Holding Corp.,
a copy of which was filed by  Bridgeport  Machines,  Inc. on March 17, 1999 with
the Securities and Exchange  Commission as part of a Bridgeport  Machines,  Inc.
current report on Form 8-K.


ITEM 7.  EXHIBITS

Exhibit
Number

99.1     News release issued by Bridgeport Machines, Inc. on March 23, 1999



                                   SIGNATURES




         Pursuant to the  requirements  of the  Securities  and  Exchange Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed by the undersigned
hereunto duly authorized.



                                       BRIDGEPORT MACHINES, INC.
                                       -------------------------
                                             (Registrant)



March 23, 1999                         /s/ Walter C. Lazarcheck
        (Date)                         -------------------------
                                       Walter C. Lazarcheck
                                       Vice President & Chief Financial Officer



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number

99.1     News release issued by Bridgeport Machines, Inc. on March 23, 1999




NEWS RELEASE


                            FOR:             BRIDGEPORT MACHINES, INC.

                            APPROVED BY:     Dan L. Griffith
                                             President & Chief Executive Officer
                                             Walter C. Lazarcheck
                                             Chief Financial Officer
                                             (203) 367-3651
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



               BRIDGEPORT MACHINES REVIEWS STOCKHOLDER SUGGESTION

         BRIDGEPORT, Conn., March 23, 1999 -- Bridgeport Machines, Inc. (Nasdaq:
BPTM) today  announced that its Board of Directors has reviewed High  Technology
Holding Corp.'s ("HTH")  suggestion that the Company should tender for up to 50%
of its own issued and  outstanding  common stock and finance that tender through
significant  additional  borrowings  by the  Company.  The  Company's  Board  of
Directors,  which  reviewed the suggested  actions with its  investment  banker,
Lehman  Brothers  Inc.,  has  decided  not  to  implement  the  suggested  stock
repurchase  because  the Board does not believe  such an action  would be in the
best interest of the Company and its  stockholders.  HTH's letter to the Company
presenting  HTH's  suggestion is an exhibit to the Company's  current  report on
Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 17, 1999.

         HTH is a privately owned Delaware  corporation  which has reported that
it owns in excess of ten  percent  (10%) of the  issued and  outstanding  common
stock of Bridgeport Machines, Inc.

         Bridgeport  Machines,  Inc., founded in 1939, is a leading manufacturer
of manual and computer numerically  controlled (CNC) metal cutting machine tools
in the United  States and  United  Kingdom.  The  Company  primarily  focuses on
standardized,  general-purpose  machine tools for small-to-medium  sized machine
shops  throughout the United States and in 60 countries  worldwide.  The Company
also  manufactures  and sells  surface  grinders  under the Harig brand name and
sells manual and CNC lathes under the ROMI, EZ-PATH and Power Path brand names.

         Safe  harbor for  forward-looking  statements:  Except  for  historical
information   contained   herein,   certain   statements  in  this  release  are
forward-looking  statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions
of the  Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform  Act of 1995.  Forward-  looking
statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the
Company's actual results in future periods to differ  materially from forecasted
results.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially  include,
but are not limited to, the following:  economic and other  business  conditions
that may affect  demand in the U.S.  and European  markets;  the mix of products
sold and the profit margins thereon;  order cancellations or reduced bookings by
customers or distributors;  changes in currency  exchange rates; and discounting
necessitated  by price  competition.  Those and other risks are described in the
Company's  filings with the  Securities and Exchange  Commission  (SEC) over the
last 12 months,  copies of which are  available  from the SEC or may be obtained
upon request from the Company.