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poster of The Asphalt Jungle
Rating: 7.5/10 by 473 users

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.

Directing:
  • John Huston
  • John Banse
  • Leslie H. Martinson
  • Jack Greenwood
  • Frank E. Myers
Writing:
  • Ben Maddow
  • John Huston
  • W.R. Burnett
Stars:
Release Date: Fri, May 12, 1950

Rating: 7.5/10 by 473 users

Alternative Title:
Quand la ville dort - FR
La jungla de asfalto - ES
Raubmord - AT
Giungla D'Asfalto - IT
Mientras la ciudad duerme - AR
아스팔트 정글 - KR

Country:
United States of America
Language:
Deutsch
English
Runtime: 01 hour 52 minutes
Budget: $1,232,000
Revenue: $0

Plot Keyword: based on novel or book, heist, film noir, on the run
Subtitle   Wallpaper   Watch Trailer    

Louis Calhern
Alonzo D. Emmerich
Sam Jaffe
Doc Erwin Riedenschneider
Jean Hagen
Doll Conovan
John McIntire
Police Commissioner Hardy
Barry Kelley
Lt. Ditrich
Anthony Caruso
Louis Ciavelli
Marilyn Monroe
Angela Phinlay
Teresa Celli
Maria Ciavelli
Dorothy Tree
May Emmerich
Brad Dexter
Bob Brannom
John Maxwell
Dr. Swanson
Mary Anderson
Police Broadcaster (voice) (uncredited)
Ray Bennett
Detective in Hardy's Office (uncredited)
David Bond
Father Sortine (uncredited)
Chet Brandenburg
Man at Line-Up (uncredited)
Benny Burt
Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Frank Cady
Night Clerk (uncredited)
Jean Carter
Woman (uncredited)
Mack Chandler
Gambler (uncredited)
David Clarke
Mr. Atkinson (Railroad Man) (uncredited)
John Cliff
Policeman (uncredited)
Harry Cody
Gambler (uncredited)
Gene Coogan
Reporter (uncredited)
Henry Corden
Karl Anton Smith (uncredited)
Chuck Courtney
Red (Boy in Diner) (uncredited)
John Crawford
Reporter (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn
Policeman (uncredited)
Gene Evans
Policeman at Ciavelli's Apartment (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty
Policeman (uncredited)
Alex Gerry
Maxwell (uncredited)
Sol Gorss
Policeman (uncredited)
Fred Graham
Truck Driver (uncredited)
Don Haggerty
Det. Andrews (uncredited)
Eloise Hardt
Vivian (uncredited)
Thomas Browne Henry
James X. Connery (uncredited)
Wesley Hopper
Policeman (uncredited)
George Lynn
Detective at Ciavelli's Apartment (uncredited)
Fred Marlow
Reporter (uncredited)
Strother Martin
William Doldy (uncredited)
Patricia Miller
Girl (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell
Secretary (uncredited)
Ralph Montgomery
Counterman (uncredited)
Alberto Morin
Eddie Donato (uncredited)
Kerry O'Day
Girl (uncredited)
Raymond Roe
Tallboy (uncredited)
Henry Rowland
Frank Schurz (Doc's Taxi Driver) (uncredited)
Tim Ryan
Jack (Police Clerk) (uncredited)
James Seay
Officer Janocek (uncredited)
Jack Shea
Policeman (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock
Gambler (uncredited)
J. Lewis Smith
Gambler (uncredited)
J.J. Smith
Police Broadcaster (voice) (uncredited)
Joseph Darr Smith
Reporter (uncredited)
Helene Stanley
Jeannie (Girl in Diner) (uncredited)
Ray Teal
Cop in Car Barn Slugged by Dix (uncredited)
Leah Wakefield
Girl (uncredited)
Harlan Warde
Reporter (uncredited)
Jack Warden
Man (uncredited)
William Washington
Suspect (uncredited)
Constance Weiler
Woman (uncredited)
Judith Wood
Woman (uncredited)
Victor Wood
Evans (uncredited)
Wilson Wood
Man (uncredited)
Jeff York
Policeman (uncredited)

John Chard

Experience has taught me never to trust a policeman. Just when you think one's all right, he turns legit. Out of MGM, The Asphalt Jungle is directed by John Huston and based on the novel of the same name by W.R. Burnett. It stars Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe, Louis Calhern, James Whitmore, Teresa Celli, and in a minor but important role, Marilyn Monroe. Miklós Rózsa scores the music and Harold Rosson photographs it in black & white. Plot sees Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider (Jaffe) leave prison and quickly assemble a gang to execute a long in gestation jewellery heist. However, with suspicion rife and fate waiting to take a hand, the carefully constructed caper starts to come apart at the seams. John Huston liked a tough movie, having given film noir in America a jump start with The Maltese Falcon in 1941, he also that same year adapted W.R. Burnett's novel High Sierra. Burnett also had on his CV crime classic stories Little Caesar & Scarface, so it's no surprise that Huston was drawn to The Asphalt Jungle. As it turned out, it was a match made in gritty urban heaven. The Asphalt Jungle was one of the first crime films to break with convention and tell the story from the actual side of the criminals. Where once it was the pursuing law officers or private detectives that were the heavy part of the plotting, now under Huston's crafty guidance we have a study in crime and a daring for us to empathise with a bunch of criminals, villains and anti-heroes. As a group the gang consists of very differing characters, and yet they have a common bond, for they each strive for a better life. Be it Hayden's luggish Dix, who dreams of buying back his father's horse ranch back in Kentucky, or Jaffe's Doc, who wants to retire to Mexico and surround himself with girls - it's greed and yearning that binds them all together - With alienation and bleakness, in true film noir traditions, featuring heavily as the plot (and gang) unravels. With gritty dialogue and atmospherically oozing a naturalistic feel, it's also no surprise to note that Huston's movie would go on to influence a ream of similar type films. Some good, some bad, but very few of them have been able to capture the suspense that is wrung out for the actual heist sequence in this. Fabulous in its authenticity, and with that out of the way, it then sets the decaying tone for the rest of the piece. Interesting to note that although we are now firmly in the lives of the "gang", including their respective women (Hagen, Monroe & Celli all shining in what is a very macho movie), we still know that the society outside of their circle is hardly nice either! This is stripped down brutalistic film noir. Merciless to its characters and thriving on ill fate, and closing with a finale that is as perfect as it gets, this is a top line entry in what is the most wonderful of film making styles. 9.5/10


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