The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Ben Maddow (screenplay) and
John Huston (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 May 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

The City Under the City

Plot:

A major heist goes off as planned, until bad luck and double crosses cause everything to unravel.

Plot Keywords:

Aftermath | Heist Gone Wrong | Jewelry Heist | Caper | Hooligan

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Sterling Hayden	...	Dix Handley
Louis Calhern	...	Alonzo D. Emmerich
Jean Hagen	...	Doll Conovan
James Whitmore	...	Gus Minissi
Sam Jaffe	...	Doc Erwin Riedenschneider
John McIntire	...	Police Commissioner Hardy
Marc Lawrence	...	Cobby
Barry Kelley	...	Lt. Ditrich
Anthony Caruso	...	Louis Ciavelli
Teresa Celli	...	Maria Ciavelli
Marilyn Monroe	...	Angela Phinlay
William 'Wee Willie' Davis	...	Timmons (as William Davis)
Dorothy Tree	...	May Emmerich
Brad Dexter	...	Bob Brannom
John Maxwell	...	Dr. Swanson

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating) | Hungary:14 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1950) | USA:Approved (PCA #14357) | West Germany:16 | UK:PG (re-rating) (1992) | UK:A (original rating) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

John Huston originally intended the role of Angela Phinlay for Lola Albright.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The safe the gang robs has an electronic-eye-alarm along the wall which must be avoided or else the alarm would sound off. Everyone avoids this alarm in the scene except for Dix, who is clearly standing in its way when the gang converses whether they should stay to finish the job or leave prematurely.

Quotes:

Dix Handley: Don't bone me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Killer contro killers (1985)

One of the very best heist films ever

In one of John Huston's best told stories as a director, Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden) gets involved with a group of jewel thieves in on a deal to score half a million dollars in the Midwest. But things get complicated, as they usually do, but in some unexpected ways. This is a crime story that has 'film-noir' written all over it, with stark, striking cinematography (some great close-ups of Hayden in a few key moments), slick, bare-bones direction from Huston, and the best cast of character actors one could hope to see- Hayden is terrific as Handley, a kind of archetype for the tough guy in many hard-boiled crime stories; Jaffee and Calhern are perfect as the Doc Riedenschneider, quirky but smart mastermind behind the caper, and the scheming rich man Emmerich fronting the money for the caper. Marilyn Monroe, in her first scenes in any movie, is a highlight as well as the sort of ditsy dame of the story. The climax is a knockout, and the robbery scenes themselves are quite tense, but the details leading up to the robbery and the aftermath are the best parts.