[en] A voltage-dependent current-phase relation for short microbridges, I/sub s/(V,phi) = I0(V) sin phi + I1(V) cos phi + I2(V), is calculated on the basis of time-dependent Ginzburg--Landau theory. Used in the current-controlled resistively shunted Josephson junction model such a current-phase relation enables us to explain a number of features in the I--V characteristics of thin-film microbridges. Experimentally, an estimate can be made of the upper frequency limit of the Josephson effect in thin-film microbridges