The Asphalt Jungle

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The Asphalt Jungle

Theatrical lobby card
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

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) is an Academy Award nominated film noir directed by John Huston. The caper 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, in a minor but key role, Marilyn Monroe, an unknown at the time who was pictured but not mentioned on the posters.[1]

The film tells the story of a group of men planning and executing a jewel robbery. It was nominated for four Academy Awards.

In 2008, The Asphalt Jungle was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Contents

[edit] Plot

The criminal mastermind Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider is out of prison. Doc has a keen eye for detail, not to mention an eye for a pretty girl. He has been planning a “caper” -- a jewel heist, outlined by a fellow inmate when they were “behind the walls” for the previous seven years.

In an unnamed Midwest city, Doc goes to the betting parlor of a mid-level bookie called "Cobby." He requests to be put in touch with Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer. It is his understanding that Emmerich is the kind of man who can be approached with such operations and has the money to finance them.

Emmerich attentively listens. Doc says he will need $50,000 to hire a team of men to carry out the burglary. Emmerich agrees on the condition that he (not one or more “fences”) should receive the jewels directly, pay off Doc, then be responsible for the disposal of the gems. Emmerich would therefore need to come up with an immediate $500,000 in cash to pay off Doc.

Doc's hand-picked gang consists of Dix Handley, a hooligan from Kentucky who will provide the necessary muscle; Gus Minissi, a hunchbacked diner owner who is hired as the getaway driver, and Louie Ciavelli, a professional safecracker. Cobby will act as the go-between.

Dix explains his ultimate goal to Doll Conovan, who is clearly in love with him. He sees the heist as a means to finance his dream of buying back the horse farm that his family lost during the Great Depression.

During the meticulously planned crime (an 11-minute sequence in the film), the criminals confidently carry out their work in a calm manner. Ciavelli pounds through a brick wall, breaks into the jewelry store, deactivates the door's alarm and lets in the other thieves, 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 safe.

Unfortunately for the crooks, the explosion sets off the alarms of several nearby businesses and brings the police to the scene more quickly than expected. A second unexpected mishap occurs when a security guard drops his gun after being struck by Dix, causing the gun to discharge and wound Ciavelli.

The men get away and a police manhunt begins. Under increasing pressure from his commanding officer, a corrupt cop named Ditrich beats Cobby into confessing and fingering the other crooks involved.

Emmerich, meanwhile, double-crosses Doc and the thieves. He is broke and needs the money, not only for himself but to satisfy the expensive tastes of his young, gorgeous mistress, Angela Phinlay, who calls him "Uncle Lon."

A tough private detective named Bob Brannom is willing to back Emmerich's betrayal for a 50-50 split. Doc had heard Emmerich was having financial difficulties and foresaw this possibility, which is why he brought Dix to the payoff. Dix is able to kill Brannom, but not without being seriously wounded himself.

The cops put the squeeze on the gang. Cobby is jailed and so is Gus, who can't wait to get his hands on the snitch. Ciavelli dies at home from his gunshot wound. Doc and Dix are on the run.

Emmerich is in his hideaway with his mistress, who is making big plans. The police arrive and force Angela, his alibi, to recant her previous story and tell the truth. Emmerich is caught red-handed. He asks for a moment to make a phone call, pulls a gun from his desk and shoots himself.

That leaves only Doc and Dix, who go their separate ways. Doc asks a taxi driver to drive him out of the city. Dix, in desperate need of medical attention, takes off in his own car with Doll going along.

At a roadhouse having a bite to eat, Doc gives jukebox money to a pretty girl and lingers to watch her dance. The delay costs him dearly when two police officers enter the diner, recognize Doc and take him into custody.

Dix's car makes it all the way to the gates of his beloved Kentucky horse farm. But he stumbles into the pasture, collapses and dies on the green grass of home.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Critical reception

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]

French director Jean-Pierre Melville has cited this film as his favorite movie of all-time and a massive influence on his body of work.

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on twenty-five reviews.[3]

[edit] Adaptations

The film spawned a television series The Asphalt Jungle starring Jack Warden that ran in the summer of 1961 on ABC. The series, however, resembled the film in name only. None of the characters in the film appeared in the television scripts, and the plots were devoted to the exploits of the major case squad of the NYPD. One of the most notable features of the series was the theme song written by Duke Ellington.[4]

W.R. Burnett's novel The Asphalt Jungle was also the basis of the western film The Badlanders (1958) directed by Delmer Daves.

It cannot go without comment that the 1955 French film Rififi, which critics have labeled as the best heist film ever, contains many striking similarities to The Asphalt Jungle, which was made five years earlier.

[edit] Awards

Wins

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] References

  1. ^ The Asphalt Jungle at the Internet Movie Database.
  2. ^ David M. Meyer (1998). A Girl and a Gun: The Complete Guide to Film Noir on Video. Avon Books. ISBN 0-380-79067-X. 
  3. ^ The Asphalt Jungle at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: November 21, 2009.
  4. ^ The Asphalt Jungle at The Classic TV Archive. Last accessed: July 2, 2008.

[edit] External links

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