The Asphalt JungleEverybody has an urge that drives them to risk life and liberty in pursuit of it; the doomed ones are controlled by it and not the other way around. The Asphalt Jungle is a gritty caper movie about a group of criminals who steal a million dollars worth of jewels. Tough guy Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden) is brought on as the token "hooligan" by the mastermind of the heist, "Doc" Erwin Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe). Recently released from prison, Doc entices the slick but spineless lawyer, Alonzo D. Emmerich (Louis Calhern) to finance the operation and then fence the jewels. Before long, all of their schemes unravel faster than a cheap cardigan.
|
|
The Asphalt Jungle gets its name from a comment made to the press by crusading Police Commissioner Hardy (John McIntire)--were the police not present to fight crime, the "jungle" would win. Hardy is at the end of his rope, aware of the corruption in his department as well as the rampant amount of violent crime in his city; the record-setting heist engineered by Riedenschneider becomes the last straw. To Hardy, criminals cannot be treated with kid gloves, and he decries men like Dix as a "hooligan without feeling or mercy". The Asphalt Jungle doesn't dispute that men like Dix and his accomplices are career criminals and dangerous folk, but offers that most of them are also people with "normal" lives and dreams, with admirable traits that get dismissed on the basis of their disreputable careers. Dix is an intimidating thug who glares at a robbery victim to terrify him into not picking him from a lineup; but he is also the kind of guy who will open his door to someone like "Doll" Conovan (Jean Hagen) after she is kicked out of her apartment and needs a place to stay. Another crook would take advantage of the vulnerable young woman, crying so bad that her fake eyelashes are starting to come off, but Dix not only lets her stay with no strings attached, he even gives her some pocket money to help her get by, even though he's been knocking over liquor stores for extra dough himself--quite the paradox for a "hooligan". Dix confesses this to Doll after she hears him talking in his sleep, telling her that he wishes he could make enough money to go back home to Kentucky and buy back the horse farm where his family once called home. Unfortunately, Dix is short-sighted and prone to gambling--a deadly combination--and his efforts to bet his way to riches only end up getting him into worse and worse debt with his nervous bookie, Cobby (Marc Lawrence). Dix allies himself with a secret clique of other hardened crooks, each with their own "day job". His pal, Gus (James Whitmore), runs a diner by day, and stows Dix's revolver when the heat is on; when Dix needs money, he turns to Gus, who in turn goes to a "box man" (safe cracker) named Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso), a family man with a newborn child. All of these men are skilled criminals in their own right, and make for appealing accomplices for Riedenschneider; they are just as enticed by the prospect of what should be relatively easy money as Dix. Doc is motivated by more primal urges, however; he is a man who enjoys his "pleasures", like ogling pretty girls and smoking fancy cigars. They are all cool professionals; when the blast of nitroglycerin triggers the alarms in adjacent stores, they keep their heads and continue to pluck each precious purloined stone from its resting place.
When Riedenschneider comes to Cobby looking to finance his operation, Cobby turns to Emmerich--advocate to the underworld--who offers to try to get more return on the jewels by using fences within his own circles; but this is just a ploy to nab all of the jewels for himself, as he shares with his personal private detective, Bob Brannom (Brad Dexter). It is a desperate--even stupid--plan, emerging from a mind that doesn't really think like a criminal. Emmerich is savvy at lying, but with each lie, he takes out a metaphorical loan on the truth, getting deeper and deeper into ethical bankruptcy. Emmerich is a fascinating villain primarily because he doesn't come across as villainous, but weak and helpless to his own vices. Riedenschneider comments that "one way or another, we all work for our vice", meaning that these vices are an inescapable part of who we are, but requires control. Riedenschneider never takes a drink when offered, citing that he kicked the habit after spending seven years in prison. Cobby, who is always sweating and nervous with fear, confesses that he drinks too much, and becomes increasingly tense and scared in each encounter with the corrupt cop, Lieutenant Ditrich (Barry Kelley), who often shakes him down. Emmerich tells Brannom that he "must" claim all of the take from the heist for himself because he is broke, and can't figure out where all of his money went. Brannom replies by pointing out the most obvious of his indulgences--a sexy mistress Emmerich has been keeping in his private cottage by the name of Angela Phinlay (Marilyn Monroe). Emmerich lives a luxurious lifestyle, and despite Angela being a part of it, Emmerich has likely always been bad with money. Riedenschneider suspects Emmerich of double crossing them, even if Emmerich--ever the consummate attorney--is professional and engenders trust with his slick and confidant attitude. When the facade falls away, he is revealed to be a scared, old man who is more petrified by being outed as a fraud than anything else. Most of the conflict in The Asphalt Jungle comes from Emmerich trying to weasel his way out of one dilemma, only to make another one worse, only realizing the error of his ways when it is too late. When he philosophizes with his wife, May (Dorothy Tree), about why people become criminals, he dryly comments that "crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavor".
Directed by John Huston, and adapted from the novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, The Asphalt Jungle is the kind of hard-boiled film noir picture that propelled Huston's career, like The Maltese Falcon. It is filled with tough characters dwelling in the moral gray of good versus evil, despite their affiliation as "cops" or "robbers". Biting dialogue pours forth with ease from the mouths of these ne'er-do-wells, like the exchange between Gus and a taxi driver giving him lip in his own diner. The caper is tightly planned, but disintegrates because of the scheming of an insider--foreshadowing another heist picture starring Sterling Hayden made years later: The Killing. The Asphalt Jungle marks an early appearance of Marilyn Monroe; despite the minor role, her silver screen charisma is already radiating brightly--so much so, that she ended up prominently featured on the promotional marketing for the movie. The city in The Asphalt Jungle is a kind of purgatorial prison; the wail of police sirens always heralds trouble for its denizens, like the jaws of judgment threatening to clamp down--even Louis's wife, Maria (Teresa Celli), comments that they sound like a "soul in hell". Escaping the city represents the ultimate goal for virtually everyone in The Asphalt Jungle. Evading capture, Riedenschneider handsomely pays his fellow German emigrant cabbie to drive him all the way to Cleveland, and not to stop for gas until they are "out of the city". Dix is emblematic of the corrupting power of the city; he is a man who was probably not a criminal before his unfortunate decision to bet all of his savings on a "sure bet" that wasn't. His motivations are comparatively "pure"--he wants to reclaim his birthright in the form of a plot of land as far from the city as possible. This city has taken so much from him--both his money and his scruples--that even even losing his life would be a small price to pay to get out from under it.
Recommended for: Fans of a gripping crime drama that contemplates the reasons why criminals are compelled by their vices and the destructive effects it has on others. The Asphalt Jungle has little in the way of a musical score, urging the audience to pay extra attention to the dialogue and idiosyncratic habits of these complex characters.
When Riedenschneider comes to Cobby looking to finance his operation, Cobby turns to Emmerich--advocate to the underworld--who offers to try to get more return on the jewels by using fences within his own circles; but this is just a ploy to nab all of the jewels for himself, as he shares with his personal private detective, Bob Brannom (Brad Dexter). It is a desperate--even stupid--plan, emerging from a mind that doesn't really think like a criminal. Emmerich is savvy at lying, but with each lie, he takes out a metaphorical loan on the truth, getting deeper and deeper into ethical bankruptcy. Emmerich is a fascinating villain primarily because he doesn't come across as villainous, but weak and helpless to his own vices. Riedenschneider comments that "one way or another, we all work for our vice", meaning that these vices are an inescapable part of who we are, but requires control. Riedenschneider never takes a drink when offered, citing that he kicked the habit after spending seven years in prison. Cobby, who is always sweating and nervous with fear, confesses that he drinks too much, and becomes increasingly tense and scared in each encounter with the corrupt cop, Lieutenant Ditrich (Barry Kelley), who often shakes him down. Emmerich tells Brannom that he "must" claim all of the take from the heist for himself because he is broke, and can't figure out where all of his money went. Brannom replies by pointing out the most obvious of his indulgences--a sexy mistress Emmerich has been keeping in his private cottage by the name of Angela Phinlay (Marilyn Monroe). Emmerich lives a luxurious lifestyle, and despite Angela being a part of it, Emmerich has likely always been bad with money. Riedenschneider suspects Emmerich of double crossing them, even if Emmerich--ever the consummate attorney--is professional and engenders trust with his slick and confidant attitude. When the facade falls away, he is revealed to be a scared, old man who is more petrified by being outed as a fraud than anything else. Most of the conflict in The Asphalt Jungle comes from Emmerich trying to weasel his way out of one dilemma, only to make another one worse, only realizing the error of his ways when it is too late. When he philosophizes with his wife, May (Dorothy Tree), about why people become criminals, he dryly comments that "crime is only a left-handed form of human endeavor".
Directed by John Huston, and adapted from the novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, The Asphalt Jungle is the kind of hard-boiled film noir picture that propelled Huston's career, like The Maltese Falcon. It is filled with tough characters dwelling in the moral gray of good versus evil, despite their affiliation as "cops" or "robbers". Biting dialogue pours forth with ease from the mouths of these ne'er-do-wells, like the exchange between Gus and a taxi driver giving him lip in his own diner. The caper is tightly planned, but disintegrates because of the scheming of an insider--foreshadowing another heist picture starring Sterling Hayden made years later: The Killing. The Asphalt Jungle marks an early appearance of Marilyn Monroe; despite the minor role, her silver screen charisma is already radiating brightly--so much so, that she ended up prominently featured on the promotional marketing for the movie. The city in The Asphalt Jungle is a kind of purgatorial prison; the wail of police sirens always heralds trouble for its denizens, like the jaws of judgment threatening to clamp down--even Louis's wife, Maria (Teresa Celli), comments that they sound like a "soul in hell". Escaping the city represents the ultimate goal for virtually everyone in The Asphalt Jungle. Evading capture, Riedenschneider handsomely pays his fellow German emigrant cabbie to drive him all the way to Cleveland, and not to stop for gas until they are "out of the city". Dix is emblematic of the corrupting power of the city; he is a man who was probably not a criminal before his unfortunate decision to bet all of his savings on a "sure bet" that wasn't. His motivations are comparatively "pure"--he wants to reclaim his birthright in the form of a plot of land as far from the city as possible. This city has taken so much from him--both his money and his scruples--that even even losing his life would be a small price to pay to get out from under it.
Recommended for: Fans of a gripping crime drama that contemplates the reasons why criminals are compelled by their vices and the destructive effects it has on others. The Asphalt Jungle has little in the way of a musical score, urging the audience to pay extra attention to the dialogue and idiosyncratic habits of these complex characters.