(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)
Loading …Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents The Asphalt Jungle movie review a 1950 film starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern and directed by John Huston A major heist goes off as planned, until bad luck and double crosses cause everything to unravel. ‘Doc’ Riedenschneider, legendary crime ‘brain’ just out of prison, has a brilliant plan for a million-dollar burglary. To pull it off, he recruits safecracker Louis, driver Gus, financial backer Emmerich, and strong-arm man Dix Handley. At first the plan goes like clockwork, but little accidents accumulate and each partner proves to have his own fatal weakness. In the background is a pervasive, grimy urban malaise. The dark urban world of The Asphalt Jungle is one of the essential destinations in film noir, but be warned: despite tough guy Sterling Hayden’s dreams of bucolic escape, there is no way out. John Huston directed this superbly calibrated crime classic, which displays his usual wry appreciation of fringies and down-and-outers. This time the task for Huston’s eccentric ensemble is a jewel robbery, which–this being a Huston film–can’t possibly work out as well as its plan. The cast includes Sam Jaffee, indelible as a criminal mastermind, and the pre-stardom Marilyn Monroe. Hayden plays the kind of mug he would revisit in Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing, which is an informal homage to this film. And the film’s look is definitive: both artful and gritty, it creates a noir landscape that traps its people just as surely as the tar pits trapped the dinosaurs. No wonder they call it noir. –Robert Horton
Comment by mirasreviews
# January 1, 2007,
“The Asphalt Jungle”, based on the novel by W. R. Burnett, was director John Huston’s farewell to film noir style. His first film noir, 1941’s “The Maltese Falcon”, also adapted from a novel, was arguably the first film in the noir style, making Huston an essential contributor to the movement. “The Asphalt Jungle”’s apt subtitle, “The City Under the City”, pretty well describes what the film is about: the criminal underworld. “The Asphalt Jungle” explores the planning, execution, and aftermath of a great jewel heist by a diverse band of criminals. Doc Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) is a caper mastermind who has just been released from prison. Eager to execute a grand jewel heist, Doc immediately visits a bookmaker named Cobby (Marc Lawrence), whom he hopes can connect him to a financier for the project. Cobby introduces Doc to a crooked and apparently wealthy lawyer, Mr. Lon Emmerich (Louis Calhern), who jumps at the opportunity to finance the heist. They hire a boxman, or safecracker, Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso), a driver, Gus (James Whitmore), and a hooligan, Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden) to pull the job. Things might go well if Emmerich were not actually broke and planning to double-cross his partners.
John Huston says in his introduction to the film, “You may not admire these people, but I think they’ll fascinate you.” In truth, the criminals of “The Asphalt Jungle” are more sympathetic than it’s law enforcement agents, who number a corrupt bully and a self-righteous crusader. As Emmerich says in the film, “Crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavor.” These characters have aspirations, hopes, and troubles similar to their law-abiding counterparts. And they are foiled by their obsessions. The underworld is a mirror image of the respectable world.
Louis Calhern and Sterling Hayden give memorable, complex performances as Emmerich, a corrupt lawyer whose extravagance and foolishness do everyone in, and as Dix, the farm boy turned stick-up man whose gambling stands in the way of his dreams. Marilyn Monroe has a small role as Emmerich’s mistress, Angela. “The Asphalt Jungle” is great classic film noir with intriguing crooks and impressive character acting all around. The film was nominated for 4 Academy Awards in 1951, including best director, cinematography, and screenplay. W. R. Burnett’s novel has since been adapted 3 more times (in 1958 as “The Badlanders”, in 1963 as “Cairo”, and in 1972 as “Cool Breeze”), but John Huston’s “The Asphalt Jungle” is still the gold standard.
The DVD (Warner Home Video 2004 release): There is a 45-second introduction to the film by director John Huston, filmed around 1950. The sound quality is very poor, but you can make out what he’s saying if you listen carefully. There is an audio commentary by film historian and USC School of Film and Television professor Drew Casper, with excerpts from an archival interview with actor James Whitmore. Dr. Casper is more a film historian than a noir specialist. He places the film in context by discussing the history of MGM studios in the decade preceding “The Asphalt Jungle”. He talks about John Huston’s directing style and the film’s structure. Judging by this and other commentary that I’ve heard, Casper tends to think more in terms of genre than style. So he’s looking at “The Asphalt Jungle” as a caper film more than a noir film. We don’t get scene-by-scene or shot-by-shot analysis. Whitmore’s interview is interjected where appropriate. He relates anecdotes about getting the job, director John Huston, and the film’s cast. There is also a theatrical trailer (2 1/2 minutes). Subtitles for the film are available in English, French, and Spanish. Dubbing is available in French.