Everything about The Asphalt Jungle totally explained
The Asphalt Jungle (
1950) is a
film noir directed by
John Huston. Considered one of the classics of film noir and one of the first of the
caper films, the 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
Marilyn Monroe.
It tells the story of a group of men planning and executing a jewel robbery.
The film spawned a television series that ran in the summer of 1961 on
American Broadcasting Company. The series, however, resembled the film in name only; with none of the film's characters appearing in the scripts and the plots devoted to the exploits of an NYPD major case squad. One of the series's most notable features was the theme song written by
Duke Ellington.
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Plot
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider (Jaffe), with funding from Emmerich (Calhern) a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together for a big heist.
The film was shot in Los Angeles and Cincinnati, but the name of the city is never mentioned, giving the impression of an "urban jungle," rather than of real location. Doc's gang consists of: Dix (Hayden), a hood with a gambling problem who sees the upcoming jewel heist as a means to finance his dream of buying back the horse farm that he lost during the
Great Depression; a hunchbacked diner owner named Gus Minissi (Whitmore), who is hired on to be the driver for the heist; Louis Ciavelli (
Anthony Caruso), a professional safecracker, and a bookie (
Marc Lawrence) acting as the go-between.
In a tense scene during the well-planned crime (an eleven minute sequence in the film), the criminals confidently carry out the jewel heist in a patient and calm manner. Ciavelli climbs down into a manhole, walks along a tunnel, pounds his way through a brick wall, climbs the basement stairs to the jewelry store, deactivates the door's alarm and lets the other thieves in, and 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 jewelry store safe. The explosion sets off the alarms of several nearby businesses and brings the police to the scene quicker than expected. Another mishap occurs at the end of the caper when a security guard drops his gun as he's being hit by Dix, and the gun fires and wounds Ciavelli.
After finding out about the crime, a corrupt cop (
Barry Kelley), angry that his "patsy" (Cobby) 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 as the cops begin closing in on the gang one by one.
Cast
Reaction
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."
Awards
Wins
Venice Film Festival: Volpi Cup, Best Actor, Sam Jaffe; 1950.
National Board of Review: NBR Award, Best Director, John Huston; 1950.
Edgar Allan Poe Awards: Edgar, Best Motion Picture, Ben Maddow; 1951.
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.
Adaptations
W.R. Burnett's novel The Asphalt Jungle was also the basis of the western film The Badlanders (1958) directed by Delmer Daves.
Further Information
Get more info on 'The Asphalt Jungle'.
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