The Asphalt Jungle

The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 film noir and heist film directed by John Huston.[4] Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern and Jean Hagen,[1] and features James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, and John McIntire. Marilyn Monroe also appears, in one of her earliest roles.

This article is about the 1950 film. For the 1961 television series, see The Asphalt Jungle (TV series).
The Asphalt Jungle
theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Huston
Produced byArthur Hornblow Jr.
Screenplay byBen Maddow
John Huston
Based onThe Asphalt Jungle
1949 novel
by W. R. Burnett
StarringSterling Hayden
Louis Calhern
Jean Hagen
Music byMiklós Rózsa
CinematographyHarold Rosson
Edited byGeorge Boemler
Production
company
Distributed byLoew's Inc.
Release date
  • June 1, 1950 (1950-06-01) (US)
[1]
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,232,000[2][3]

The film 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".

Plot

When criminal mastermind Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) is released from prison after seven years, he goes to see a bookie named Cobby (Marc Lawrence) in an unnamed Midwest river city (probably Cincinnati), who arranges a meeting with Alonzo Emmerich (Louis Calhern), a lawyer. Emmerich listens to Doc's plan to steal jewelry worth half a million dollars or more. Doc needs $50,000 to hire three men—a "box man" (safecracker), a driver, and a "hooligan"—to help him pull off the caper. Emmerich agrees to provide the money and assume the responsibility for disposing of the loot.

Doc hires Louie Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso), a professional safecracker. Ciavelli only trusts Gus Minissi (James Whitmore), a hunchbacked diner owner, as the getaway driver. The final member of the gang is Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden), a friend of Gus. Dix explains his goal to Doll Conovan (Jean Hagen), who is in love with him. His dream is to buy back the horse farm that his family lost.

During the crime (an 11-minute sequence in the film), the criminals carry out their work. Ciavelli hammers through a brick wall to get into the jewelry store, deactivates a door alarm to let in Doc and Dix, and opens the main safe using home-brewed nitroglycerine ("the soup"). Things begin to go drastically wrong. The concussion of the explosion disrupts the power grid causing all the alarms in the area to sound. On their way out, Dix slugs an arriving security guard, who drops his revolver, which discharges and wounds Ciavelli in the belly. The men get away unseen, but a police manhunt begins.

Ciavelli insists on being taken home by Gus. Dix and Doc take the loot to Emmerich, who is broke. He had sent a private detective named Bob Brannom (Brad Dexter) to collect sums owed to him, but Brannom returned with excuses. Emmerich then plots to double cross the others with Brannom's help. Emmerich suggests to Doc that he leave the jewelry with him, but Doc and Dix become suspicious. Brannom then pulls out his gun. Dix kills Brannom but is wounded himself. Doc tells Emmerich to contact the insurance companies and offer to return the valuables for 25% of their value.

Emmerich disposes of Brannom's body in the river, but the police find the corpse. When they question Emmerich, he lies about his whereabouts and calls his mistress, Angela Phinlay (Marilyn Monroe in her first important role), to set up an alibi.

Under pressure from Police Commissioner Hardy (John McIntire), a police lieutenant named Ditrich (Barry Kelley) (who had previously protected Cobby for money) beats the bookie into confessing everything in a vain attempt to save himself (he is later arrested for corruption).

With the confession, Hardy arrests Emmerich, persuading Angela to tell the truth. Emmerich is permitted to leave the room for a minute to phone his wife and commits suicide. Gus is picked up, then attacks Cobby at the jail. When the police break down Ciavelli's door, they find they have interrupted his funeral.

That leaves Doc and Dix, who separate. Doc asks a taxi driver to drive him to Cleveland. They stop at a roadside diner. Doc nearly gets away but is distracted by a pretty young woman. Because of the delay, Doc is recognized by two policemen and he is arrested. Doll gets Dix a car, and then insists on going along. When he passes out from loss of blood, Doll takes him to a doctor, who phones the police to report the gunshot wound. Dix regains consciousness during an IV infusion and escapes before they arrive. With Doll, he makes it to his Kentucky horse farm across the Ohio river from Cincinnati. He stumbles into the pasture, collapses, and dies.

Cast

Production

The film was an adaptation by director John Huston and screenwriter Ben Maddow of the 1949 novel by W. R. Burnett. It was backed by the major film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where it was green-lighted by production chief Dore Schary, over the objections of studio head Louis B. Mayer. From the publication of Burnett's first novel, Little Caesar in 1929, Burnett had a strong track record of books that were adapted into films shortly after publication. Huston and Ben Maddow wrote the adaptation, which emphasized the crooks' story, which reducing the police procedural aspect.[1] Burnett was consulted as the shooting script was being written, and he approved the final version.[5] The studio allowed the production a relatively free hand.

Production on The Asphalt Jungle took place from October 21, 1949 to late December of that year. Location shooting took place in Lexington and Keenland, Kentucky and in Cincinnati, Ohio.[5]

In shooting the film, Huston was influenced by European neorealist films such as Open City (1945) and The Bicycle Thief (1948). He combined the naturalism of that genre with the stylized look of film noir and Hollywood crime films.[1] When the film was complete Louis B. Mayer said of it "It's trash. That Asphalt Pavement thing is full of nasty, ugly people doing nasty things. I wouldn't cross the street to see a picture like that."[1][5]

The Production Code Administration's main concerns with the script were the detailed depiction of the heist and the fact that the character of the corrupt lawyer Emmerich seemed to cheat justice by killing himself.[6] Neither the studio nor the censors interfered significantly with the script, however, and both the heist and the suicide featured in the final cut.[6] The suicide scene was, however, re-written: the original scene had Emmerich finishing a suicide note, while the revised scene has him not being able to write the note and being extremely agitated about the decision to kill himself.[5]

Huston's first choice for the role played by Marilyn Monroe was Lola Albright, who was not available.[5] Huston brought in Monroe for a screen test, and rehearsed for it with her in his office. He wasn't convinced that she was right for the part, and dismissed her, but changed his mind when he watched her leave the room. According to film noir authority Eddie Muller, Huston later said that Monroe was "one of the few actresses who could make an entrance by leaving the room." The role was a breakout for Monroe.[1]

Both Huston and star Sterling Hayden, a war hero, were members of the Committee for the First Amendment, which opposed the blacklisting of alleged communists active in the film industry during the Red Scare.[6]

Reception

Box office

According to MGM records the film made $1,077,000 in the US and Canada and $1,060,000 overseas resulting in a profit of only $40,000.[2][3]

Critical response

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 8.59/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Asphalt Jungle is an expertly told crime story with attention paid to the crime and characters in equal measure."[7]

The Criterion Collection critic Peter Heath Becker admired Huston's technique:

Through his experience as a painter, [Huston] learned to frame an image, and throughout the film, he uses one shot where other directors might have needed three. He dispenses with editing flourishes and over-dramatic lighting and opts instead for sustained, well-composed shots. By balancing elements in the foreground and background of his images, Huston frames events and responses at once, without cutting between them.[8]

A review in Photoplay stated:

This brutally frank story of crime and punishment in a Midwestern city was directed by two-time Academy Award winner, John Huston—son of the late Walter Huston. John's pictures are usually grim (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre), but always dramatic and exciting. This time he exposes the behind-the-scenes details of the robbery of a jewelry store... This picture is packed with stand-out performances... There's a beautiful blonde, too, name of Marilyn Monroe, who plays Calhern's girl friend, and makes the most of her footage.

The New York Times said of the film:

Louis Calhern as the big lawyer who tries to pull a double cross and muffs it is exceptionally fluid and adroit and Sterling Hayden is sure-fire as a brazen hoodlum who just wants to go back home. Likewise Sam Jaffe does wonders as a cool-headed mastermind, James Whitmore is taut as a small 'fixer' and John McIntire is crisp as a chief of police. But, then, everyone in the picture—which was produced incidentally, by M.G.M.—gives an unimpeachable performance. If only it all weren't so corrupt.[9]

Awards and honors
Year Organization Award category Recipients and nominees Result
1950 Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup for Best Actor Sam Jaffe Won
Golden Lion for Best Film The Asphalt Jungle Nominated
National Board of Review Best Director John Huston Won
Directors Guild of America Award Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film John Huston Nominated
1951 Edgar Allan Poe Awards Best Motion Picture Screenplay Ben Maddow and John Huston Won
Academy Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Sam Jaffe Nominated
Best Cinematography - Black-and-white Harold Rosson Nominated
Best Director John Huston Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Ben Maddow and John Huston Nominated
British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Film from any Source The Asphalt Jungle Nominated
Golden Globe Award Best Cinematography Harold Rosson Nominated
Best Director John Huston Nominated
Best Screenplay Ben Maddow and John Huston Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award Best Written Drama Ben Maddow and John Huston Nominated
The Robert Meltzer Award (Best Written Film Concerning Problems with the American Scene) Ben Maddow and John Huston Nominated

Legacy

The Asphalt Jungle was one of the most influential crime films of the 1950s.[10] According to the AFI Film Catalog, "is widely regarded by film critics as one of John Huston's best."[5]

The film spawned a television series, The Asphalt Jungle, starring Jack Warden, Arch Johnson, and William Smith, billed as "Bill Smith", which ran for thirteen episodes in the spring and summer of 1961 on ABC. The series, though, resembled the film in name only, except for one episode, "The Professor," which was constructed as a sequel to the feature. Aside from this one-shot, however, 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 New York Police Department. One of the most notable features of the series is the theme song, written by Duke Ellington.[11]

Burnett's novel The Asphalt Jungle was the basis of M-G-M's western film The Badlanders (1958) directed by Delmer Daves, as well as Cairo starring George Sanders, followed by the blaxploitation film Cool Breeze (1972), directed by Barry Pollack.[5]

The Asphalt Jungle instigated the crime thriller subgenre of caper films.[6] The 1955 French film Rififi, which critics such as Leonard Maltin have labeled as the best heist film ever, drew much inspiration from The Asphalt Jungle.[10]

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".

Colorization dispute

The movie was the subject of a film colorization lawsuit and controversy in France. Turner Entertainment entered into an agreement with the French television channel, La Cinq, to broadcast the colorized movie. John Huston's heirs objected, filing a lawsuit against broadcasting this version. In November 23, 1988, The Asphalt Jungle was prohibited from being broadcast in France. On July 6, 1989, La Cinq won on appeal, broadcasting the film on August 6, 1989, the day after the anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe. Finally in Turner Entertainment Co. v. Huston, on May 28, 1991, the Court of Cassation cancelled the judgment delivered on July 6, 1989, stating that colorizing the movie transformed the original artwork enough to potentially transgress the author's moral rights. Huston's heirs had sought to block the broadcast of the colorized version.[12][13]

References
  1. Muller Eddie (June 2, 2019) Intro to the Turner Classic Movies Noir Alley presentation of the film
  2. The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  3. Scott Eyman, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, Robson, 2005 p 427
  4. Silver, Alain (2010). Film Noir: The Encyclopedia. p. 30. ISBN 978-0715638804.
  5. The Asphalt Jungle at the American Film Institute Catalog
  6. Naremore, James (2008). More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 128–129. ISBN 978-0-520-25402-2.
  7. The Asphalt Jungle at Rotten Tomatoes. Last accessed: February 11, 2010.
  8. The Asphalt Jungle Criterion Collection (February 1, 1988) accessed Sept. 13, 2016
  9. Meyer, David N. (1998). A Girl and a Gun: The Complete Guide to Film Noir on Video. Avon Books. ISBN 0-380-79067-X.
  10. Schwartz, Ronald (2001). "The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Badlanders (1958), Cairo (1963), and Cool Breeze (1972)". Noir, Now and Then. Westport: Greenwood Press. p. 85. ISBN 0-313-30893-4.
  11. The Asphalt Jungle at The Classic TV Archive. Last accessed: July 2, 2008.
  12. Taradji, Nima (1998). "Colorization and 'Moral Rights' of the Artist". taradji.com. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  13. "Turner Entertainment Co. v. Huston, CA Versailles, civ. ch., December 19, 1994, translated in Ent. L. Rep., Mar. 1995, at 3" (PDF). peteryu.com. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
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