The Asphalt Jungle is a brilliantly conceived and executed anatomy of a crime -- or, as director John Huston and scripter Ben Maddow put it, a left-handed form of human endeavor. Recently paroled master criminal Erwin Doc Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe), with funding from crooked attorney Emmerich (Louis Calhern), gathers several .. Read more
| Starring | Marilyn Monroe, Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Sam Jaffe |
|---|---|
| Director | John Huston |
| Genres | Drama |
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The Asphalt Jungle is a brilliantly conceived and executed anatomy of a crime -- or, as director John Huston and scripter Ben Maddow put it, a left-handed form of human endeavor. Recently paroled master criminal Erwin Doc Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe), with funding from crooked attorney Emmerich (Louis Calhern), gathers several crooks together in Cincinnati for a Big Caper. Among those involved are Dix (Sterling Hayden), an impoverished hood who sees the upcoming jewel heist as a means to finance his dream of owning a horse farm. Hunch-backed cafe owner (James Whitmore) is hired on to be the driver for the heist; professional safecracker Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso) assembles the tools of his trade; and a bookie (Marc Lawrence) acts as Emmerich's go-between. The robbery is pulled off successfully, but an alert night watchman shoots Ciavelli. Corrupt cop (Barry Kelley), angry that his patsy (Lawrence) 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 with the inevitability of a Greek tragedy. Way down on the cast list is Marilyn Monroe in her star-making bit as Emmerich's sexy niece; whenever The Asphalt Jungle would be reissued, Monroe would figure prominently in the print ads as one of the stars. The Asphalt Jungle was based on a novel by the prolific W.R. Burnett, who also wrote Little Caesar and Saint Johnson (the fictionalized life story of Wyatt Earp).~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
| Starring | Marilyn Monroe, Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Sam Jaffe, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, John McIntire, Marc Lawrence, Barry Kelley |
|---|---|
| Director | John Huston |
| Studio | WARNER HOME VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 52 mins |
| Certificate |  |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | Production year: 1950 To Rent: DVD: 01 Feb 2006 |
Probably the very first film to show a 'caper' from the criminals' viewpoint (a genre which has since been done to death several times over), this is a clever character study rather than a thriller, extremely well executed and indeed generally irreproacha
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How it should be done
Must have made a real impact when it first came out and could still serve as a model for todays gangster movies.
It's good to see something with ... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
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Asphalt Jungle
This was an enjoyable good old-fashioned thriller.
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The Asphalt Jungle
Along with Kubrick's The Killing, this is surely the greatest heist movie ever. Razor sharp black and white camera work,an intelligent literate script,and ... read more »
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the asphalt jungle
very good well worth watching an old favourite
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