{"id":35175,"date":"2015-11-20T11:56:02","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T18:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35175"},"modified":"2022-02-01T00:17:46","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T07:17:46","slug":"asphalt-jungle-the-1950","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35175","title":{"rendered":"Asphalt Jungle, The (1950)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;If you want fresh air, don&#8217;t look for it in this town!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-35176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Poster.jpg 333w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA criminal mastermind (Sam Jaffe) enlists the help of a bookie (Marc Lawrence) in pulling together a crew for a major heist, including a no-nonsense driver (James Whitmore); a safecracker (Louis Ciavelli) with a wife (Teresa Celli) and baby; a &#8220;hooligan&#8221; (Sterling Hayden) whose would-be girlfriend (Jean Hagen) longs for more commitment; and a supposedly-wealthy financier (Louis Hayward) with a bed-ridden wife (Dorothy Tree), a sexy young mistress (Marilyn Monroe), and an ambitious private investigator (Brad Dexter). But things quickly go wrong during the heist, as loyalties shift, a crooked cop (Barry Kelley) is put under pressure, and the team must decide how to escape detection.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Corruption<\/li>\n<li>Heists<\/li>\n<li>James Whitmore Films<\/li>\n<li>Jean Hagen Films<\/li>\n<li>John Huston Films<\/li>\n<li>John McIntire Films<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Louis Calhern Films<\/li>\n<li>Marilyn Monroe Films<\/li>\n<li>Sam Jaffe Films<\/li>\n<li>Sterling Hayden Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary is surprisingly unenthusiastic about this &#8220;seminal heist film&#8221; by writer-director John Huston, co-scripted by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmreference.com\/Writers-and-Production-Artists-Lo-Me\/Maddow-Ben.html\">Ben Maddow<\/a> and based on a pulp novel by W.R. Burnett. He argues that the film&#8217;s &#8220;reputation&#8230; has diminished somewhat&#8221;, and that &#8220;because Huston strove for realism, he deglamorized the characters&#8221; to the point where &#8220;we find [them] and their story interesting but don&#8217;t feel empathy for any of them&#8221;. He writes (I disagree) that &#8220;the success of the heist is of paramount importance only to the most respectable participant, Calhern, the piece&#8217;s villain &#8212; so we don&#8217;t particularly care if the heist fails as we do in a film like <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=11375\"><em>The Killing<\/em><\/a>, where all the thieves (whom we have sympathy for) desperately need money to have a chance for a happy life&#8221;. Peary writes that &#8220;we care only for the women who suffer because of their men&#8217;s foolish endeavors&#8221;, but I once again disagree and actually feel the opposite. Finally, he notes that while the &#8220;picture builds a convincing case for there being pervasive corruption on every level of society, including the police&#8221;, this is spoiled when, &#8220;in the worst scene, police chief John McIntire lectures the press about how 99% of cops are honest&#8221;. Peary does at least concede that the acting in the film is &#8220;uniformly excellent&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>While Stanley Kubrick&#8217;s <em>The Killing<\/em> (1956) is certainly a masterpiece in its own right, <em>The Asphalt Jungle<\/em> remains a different brand of classic. The male characters in <em>&#8230;Jungle<\/em> represent a nuanced gamut of archetypes, all striving to assert or maintain their masculinity through various means: efficiency at work while providing for one&#8217;s family (Ciavelli); unwavering loyalty (Whitmore); raw ambition (Dexter); faux machismo (Lawrence); desire for an idyllic return to the country (Hayden); calm, cool business savvy along with prurient if shielded lust (Jaffe); sociopathic corruption (Kelley); and virility, financial prowess, and public esteem (Hayward). All these characters, naturally, find themselves challenged in unique ways, as their ability to prove themselves and\/or achieve their goals steadily dwindles. Crime most certainly doesn&#8217;t pay for anyone in this crew. Nobody but the women (and a few &#8220;good&#8221; men) are left standing by the end of this bleakest of heist flicks, which remains a consistently gripping, atmospheric, well-acted, tightly scripted <em>noir<\/em>. It&#8217;s definitely must-see viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A truly fine ensemble cast<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hayden.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hayden.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hayden.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hayden-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hayden-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Jaffe.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Jaffe.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35184\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Jaffe.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Jaffe-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Jaffe-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Whitmore.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Whitmore.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Whitmore.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Whitmore-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Whitmore-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Ciavelli.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Ciavelli.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Ciavelli.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Ciavelli-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Ciavelli-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Lawrence.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Lawrence.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Lawrence.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Lawrence-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Lawrence-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hagen.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hagen.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hagen.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hagen-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Hagen-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Huston&#8217;s direction<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction2-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Direction2-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Harold Rossen&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography3.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography3-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography3-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography2-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography2-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Cinematography-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The exciting heist sequence<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Heist.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Heist.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-35183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Heist.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Heist-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Asphalt-Jungle-Heist-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ben Maddow and Huston&#8217;s script:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Crime is simply a left-handed form of human endeavor.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a genuine noir classic by a master director. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0042208\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1950\/06\/09\/archives\/the-screen-three-new-films-on-local-scene-british-movie-rocking.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1274jung.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/asph.html\">Greatest Films Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/26\/the-asphalt-jungle#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/the-asphalt-jungle-2006\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;If you want fresh air, don&#8217;t look for it in this town!&#8221; Synopsis: A criminal mastermind (Sam Jaffe) enlists the help of a bookie (Marc Lawrence) in pulling together a crew for a major heist, including a no-nonsense driver (James Whitmore); a safecracker (Louis Ciavelli) with a wife (Teresa Celli) and baby; a &#8220;hooligan&#8221; (Sterling Hayden) whose would-be girlfriend (Jean Hagen) longs for more commitment; and a supposedly-wealthy financier (Louis Hayward) with a bed-ridden wife (Dorothy Tree), a sexy young&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35175\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35175"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80840,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35175\/revisions\/80840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}