The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 film noir directed by John Huston and starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire , Marc Lawrence, Barry Kelley , Anthony Caruso , Teresa Celli , and Marilyn Monroe.

The film was based on the novel of the same name by W.R. Burnett. It tells the story of a group of men planning and executing a jewel robbery and is considered one of the first of the caper films .

Plot

Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe), with funding from Emmerich (Louis Calhern) a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in Cincinnati for a big heist. Among those involved include Dix (Sterling Hayden), an hood who sees the upcoming jewel heist as a means to finance his dream of owning a horse farm. Diner owner, a hunchback named Gus Minissi (James Whitmore), is hired on to be the driver for the heist; professional safecracker Louis Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso); 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 solid door, gingerly opens a corked bottle of nitroglycerin, and sets off a charge on the jewelry store safe. Not all goes well as a security guard shoots Ciavelli during the successful caper.

After finding out about the crime, a corrupt cop (Barry Kelley), angry that his "patsy" (Lawrence) 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.

Awards

It was nominated for four Academy Awards, including two for Huston (nominated as director and as co-writer), one nomination for its cinematography, and a best actor in a supporting role nomination for Jaffe. 1951 Nominated BAFTA Film Award.

External link

• Review and detailed plot summary
• The Asphalt Jungle at Movie Tome