The Asphalt Jungle
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| The Asphalt Jungle | |
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 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | John Huston |
| Produced by | Arthur Hornblow Jr. |
| Written by | W. R. Burnett Ben Maddow John Huston |
| Starring | Sterling Hayden Louis Calhern Jean Hagen James Whitmore Sam Jaffe Marilyn Monroe |
| Music by | Miklós Rózsa |
| Cinematography | Harold Rosson |
| Editing by | George Boemler |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | May 23, 1950 |
| Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Asphalt Jungle (1950) is a film noir directed by John Huston. Considered one of the classics of film noir and one of the first of the caper films, the film is based on the novel of the same name by W.R. Burnett and stars an ensemble cast including Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe, Louis Calhern, James Whitmore, and Marilyn Monroe.[1]
It tells the story of a group of men planning and executing a jewel robbery.
The film spawned a television series that ran in the summer of 1961 on ABC. The series, however, resembled the film in name only; with none of the film's characters appearing in the scripts and the plots devoted to the exploits of an NYPD major case squad. One of the series's most notable features was the theme song written by Duke Ellington. [1]
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[edit] Plot
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider (Jaffe), with funding from Emmerich (Calhern) a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together for a big heist.
The film was shot in Los Angeles and Cincinnati, but the name of the city is never mentioned, giving the impression of an "urban jungle," rather than of real location. Doc's gang consists of: Dix (Hayden), a hood with a gambling problem who sees the upcoming jewel heist as a means to finance his dream of buying back the horse farm that he lost during the Great Depression; a hunchbacked diner owner named Gus Minissi (Whitmore), who is hired on to be the driver for the heist; Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso), a professional safecracker, and a bookie (Marc Lawrence) acting as the go-between.
In a tense scene during the well-planned crime (an eleven minute sequence in the film), the criminals confidently carry out the jewel heist in a patient and calm manner. Ciavelli climbs down into a manhole, walks along a tunnel, pounds his way through a brick wall, climbs the basement stairs to the jewelry store, deactivates the door's alarm and lets the other thieves in, and then heads to the main safe. With care, he slides flat on his back under the electric-eye system, picks the gate's lock, drills holes into the safe's door, gingerly opens a corked bottle of nitroglycerin (called "the soup" by the characters), and sets off a charge on the jewelry store safe. The explosion sets off the alarms of several nearby businesses and brings the police to the scene quicker than expected. Another mishap occurs at the end of the caper when a security guard drops his gun as he's being hit by Dix, and the gun fires and wounds Ciavelli.
After finding out about the crime, a corrupt cop (Barry Kelley), angry that his "patsy" (Cobby) didn't let him in on the caper, beats the bookie into confessing and fingering the other criminals involved.
From this point on, the meticulously planned crime falls apart as the cops begin closing in on the gang one by one.
[edit] Cast
- Sterling Hayden as Dix Handley
- Louis Calhern as Alonzo D. Emmerich
- Jean Hagen as Doll Conovan
- James Whitmore as Gus Minissi
- Sam Jaffe as Doc Erwin Riedenschneider
- John McIntire as Police Commissioner Hardy
- Marc Lawrence as Cobby
- Barry Kelley as Lt. Ditrich
- Anthony Caruso as Louis Ciavelli
- Teresa Celli as Maria Ciavelli
- Marilyn Monroe as Angela Phinlay
- William "Wee Willie" Davis as Timmons
- Dorothy Tree as May Emmerich
- Brad Dexter as Bob Brannom
- John Maxwell as Dr. Swanson
[edit] Reaction
Film writer David M. Meyer notes, "The robbery is among the best-staged heists in noir. The simple visual treatment, the precise movements of the actors, and the absence of music on the sound track raise the tension to a boiling point." [2]
[edit] Awards
Wins
- Venice Film Festival: Volpi Cup, Best Actor, Sam Jaffe; 1950.
- National Board of Review: NBR Award, Best Director, John Huston; 1950.
- Edgar Allan Poe Awards: Edgar, Best Motion Picture, Ben Maddow; 1951.
Nominations
- Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion, John Huston; 1950.
- Academy Awards: Oscar, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Sam Jaffe; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Harold Rosson; Best Director, John Huston; Best Writing, Screenplay, Ben Maddow and John Huston; 1951.
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts: BAFTA Film Award, Best Film from any Source, USA; 1951.
- Directors Guild of America: DGA Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, John Huston; 1951.
- Golden Globes: Golden Globe, Best Cinematography - Black and White, Harold Rosson; Best Motion Picture Director, John Huston; Best Screenplay, John Huston and Ben Maddow; 1951.
- Writers Guild of America: WGA Screen Award; Best Written American Drama, Ben Maddow and John Huston; The Robert Meltzer Award (Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene), Ben Maddow and John Huston; 1951.
[edit] Adaptations
W.R. Burnett's novel The Asphalt Jungle was also the basis of the western film The Badlanders (1958) directed by Delmer Daves.
[edit] References
- ^ The Asphalt Jungle at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ David M. Meyer (1998). A Girl and a Gun: The Complete Guide to Film Noir on Video. Avon Books. ISBN 0-380-79067-X.
[edit] External links
- The Asphalt Jungle at the Internet Movie Database
- The Asphalt Jungle at Allmovie
- The Asphalt Jungle at the TCM Movie Database
- The Asphalt Jungle at Film Noir of the Week
- The Asphalt Jungle at Film Site by Tim Dirks
- The Asphalt Jungle at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Asphalt Jungle film clip at You Tube
- The Asphalt Jungle review at DVD Savant
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