Rent The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
3.8 of 5 from 177 ratings
1h 47min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
You have a lot of time to think when you're locked away seven years. So criminal mastermind Doc (Sam Jaffe) conceives what he believes is the perfect heist. As in 'The Maltese Falcon' and 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre', director John Huston explores the feverish grab for the big score and how it unravels in 'The Asphalt Jungle', a renowned tale of dishonour among thieves whose cast includes Sam Jaffe as Doc and Sterling Hayden as Doc's unflappable gundel. Louis Calhern portrays Emmerich, the shady lawyer for whom "crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavour". And rising star Marilyn Monroe grabs everyone's attention as the doxie who briefly provides Emmerich with the most gorgeous alibi ever to reach the screen. - Actors:
- Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, Marc Lawrence, Barry Kelley, Anthony Caruso, Teresa Celli, Marilyn Monroe, William 'Wee Willie' Davis, Dorothy Tree, Brad Dexter, John Maxwell, Mary Anderson, Ray Bennett, David Bond, Chet Brandenburg, Benny Burt
- Directors:
- John Huston
- Producers:
- Arthur Hornblow Jr., John Huston
- Writers:
- Ben Maddow, John Huston, W.R. Burnett
- Others:
- Harold Rosson
- Aka:
- The Asphalt Jungle (The City Under the City)
- Studio:
- Warner
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Award Winners, Cinema Paradiso's 2024 Centenary Club: Part 2, Films to Watch If You Like..., Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Marilyn Monroe, Heist Movies: A 20-Year Stretch, Heist Movies: Masterminds and Mavericks, inema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 2, Instant Expert's Guide to John Huston, Lions on the Lido, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, Top 10 Films Turned Into TV Series, Top Films, What to Watch If You Like: Misfits
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Not released
- Run Time:
- 110 minutes
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Reviews (2) of The Asphalt Jungle
Heist Noir (spoiler). - The Asphalt Jungle review by Steve
John Huston's faithful adaptation of the WR Burnett novel is the common ancestor of all heist films. It wrote the rules of the genre and invented the three act structure of the caper story: the development of a plan and assembly of a gang; the enaction of the actual robbery; and a conclusion where it all falls apart due to the tragic flaws of both the logistics and the protagonists.
Sam Jaffe (Doc) works up an idea for a jewel raid worth a million dollars and interviews for a safecracker, a heavy (Sterling Hayden as Dix) and a getaway driver. He seeks finance from a lawyer (Louis Calhern) who is financially ruined and intends to steal the haul himself. Great to see a very young Marilyn Monroe as his sleepy-eyed, gold digging moll.
The heist mimics a legitimate business. As the crooked lawyer says, 'crime is just a left handed form of human endeavour'. Dix is a dumb, monosyllabic stick up man but the only one with any values (though rugged), a sense of duty (though distorted) and any loyalty at all. Jean Hagen plays his moll, the sort of bad luck dame who is always crying her fake eyelashes down a river of mascara.
Dix dreams of being back on the farm in Kentucky. But it's futile. As Doc says, 'we all work for our vice', and it's this that destroys each man. For Dix it is the horses. Doc is undone by his sexual fetish. It's a landmark film, full of imaginative flourishes and convincing jargon. It is a work of realism, but the pessimistic fatalism is ultra noir.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
great classic movie - The Asphalt Jungle review by CP Customer
take yourself back to the good old days. sat night popcorn cola and a great movie.lots of great action and with great actors and the gorgeous marily monroe. keeps you on the edge of your seat and as they say the old ones are the best ones.
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.