silasmrner Sorry, but this is as good as noir gets. Gritty, beautifully shot on location. Crisp and dead level-written dialogue. Not a dead spot in the fast moving story. And Huston's direction underlines this classic.

atlasmb This is a caper film and one of the best examples of film noir. The black and white photography is stylish and atmospheric, the music is dramatic and sensitive to the visuals, the acting is terrific.Of course it helps to have a cast that includes Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe and Marilyn Monroe. Their characters populate the city's "jungle"--the dark underside where each denizen has his vice. The film suggests that its inhabitants are infected with an urban disease, being too far from the land. This is the antithesis of "Spencer's Mountain", for example, where goodness wins out, because their lives are grounded in the soil."The Asphalt Jungle" is one of the best examples of film noir and has significantly influenced many films that followed. Like "The Maltese Falcon", it explores the dreams of those who are always looking for the big score. The final scene is nearly perfect in its symbolism and execution. This is a film that can be watched many times and enjoyed for its literate writing.

kapelusznik18 ****SPOILERS**** Just released from prison after serving a seven year stretch for breaking and entering, without permission, into a Midwest bank that he and his fellow gangsters, a word he hates to be called, knocked off criminal master-mind Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider, Sam Jaffe,is back in business planning to rob just for starters a city jewelry store's safe of a cool $500,000.00 in hot ice. Being the brains of this operation "Doc" needs three more associates to help him pull this caper off a driver the hunchback feline lover Gus, James Whitmore, a top notch safe cracker caring family man Louis Ciavelli, Anthony Caruso, and cool and level headed hit-man the sick & degenerate gambler Dix Handley, played by the not so "Sterling" Sterling Hayden, to pull this all off. And not end up getting caught by the police with his pants pulled way down!The hitch to "Doc's" perfect crime in that he needs $50,000.00 in expense money to pull it all off and that's where mob lawyer or mouth-piece the "Right & and not so Honorable" shyster Alonzo D. Emmerich,Louis Calhern, comes in. Alonzo is not only to provide the 50 G' s but also with his mob connections fence the jewels for as much as half of their value! There's just one big problem in all this in that "Doc" and his fellow crooks have completely overlooked. Alonzo is flat broke, on women & horses, and doesn't have the cash- Much less a pot to pi** in- to get this "Perfect Crime" off the ground or on its feet. This becomes evident to "Doc" and the boys-Dix Gus & Ciavelli-after the job was pulled with Ciavelli in critical condition by being shot by a security guard during the break in. With a sweaty Alonzo planning to double-cross "Doc" and the boys with the help of fellow two timing hood Bob Brannom,Brad Dexter, his plans backfires with an into tuned on to what's going on Dix blasts Brannom into the world beyond with Dix getting hit from a stray bullet from Bannom's gun as well.***SPOILERS*** It doesn't take long for the police to find Bannom's body, that Alonzo dumped into the Ohio River, and trace him back to Alonzo's pad where he spent his last hour on earth before he was iced by Dix. A now panic stricken Alonzo using his personal squeeze the clueless in what's going on Algela Phinlay, Marilyn Monroe,whom he's also her sugar daddy or Uncle Don to serve as an alibi for him in being far far away from the murder scene. Angela soon breaks down-in her facing time behind bars-and spills the beans on Uncle Don who, in seeing the light or 2 to 5 years behind bars, then excuses himself and goes into his office and , before anyone can stop him, blows his brains out!As for "Doc" he takes it on the lamb with a $100.00 cab ride to Cleveland, to attend the Republican National Convention no less, but stops at a diner to cool his heels and play the a couple of songs on the jukebox and is caught by a couple of state troopers who were tipped off that he'd be there. With Gus arrested in a police road block it's only the badly wounded Dix who's now on the loose or lamb but with him on the point of bleeding to death he doesn't have that long to go anyway. With Dix ending up driven by his girlfriend "Doll" Conovan, Jean Hagen, to his home in Kentucky blue grass country where he lives just long enough to see both the horses as well as get a whiff of the sweet and pungent smell the horse manure that he used to pitch for a living that he loved so much.

hall895 Marilyn Monroe lights up the screen in The Asphalt Jungle. Unfortunately she's only on the screen for around five minutes. And the rest of the film disappoints. It's a simple heist film. We see the plotting of the caper, we see the caper take place, we see the aftermath. None of this is particularly interesting. The caper is meticulously planned. All that planning doesn't make for much entertainment, you really wish the film would hurry itself along to some action. Then the action comes and just as quickly goes. The execution of the caper has its moments, there is some tension and drama. But afterwards the drama drains away as we just wait for each conspirator to meet his fate. The caper was not executed perfectly, there were some problems. And even more problems await our burglars. Their little caper seems to have fallen apart. And the movie falls apart too.For a heist film there is very little excitement to be had here. The whole thing is very dry. Sterling Hayden plays Dix, the member of the gang the film ends up focusing on most of all. And Hayden is dry as dry can be, there is no personality or life in the role. In playing Doc, who masterminds the heist, Sam Jaffe is a little more interesting. But he, like everyone else in the film, is encumbered with some rather lousy dialogue. Everything is clipped and clunky and highly unnatural. The third key player is Louis Calhern, playing a lawyer who agrees to finance the caper even though he is actually completely broke. This of course ends up causing all kinds of complications. At least this character brings Monroe into the picture, playing his young mistress. Monroe adds a little spark into the proceedings but it's not nearly enough to salvage the film. The whole last half of the film plods along with a sense of inevitability to it. It turns into a 1950s morality play, look at what happens to dastardly criminals. The one detective we meet in the film is totally corrupt. But that doesn't stop the police commissioner from late on in the film launching into a ridiculously preachy speech about how wonderful the police are. By this point in the film you might be stifling yawns. The film really drags as it heads for the finish. The Asphalt Jungle is a highly regarded film but honestly it is hard to see why. There is very little entertainment on offer in this incredibly overrated film.