The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

Most heist films are fun. They feature cool-as-a-cucumber criminals who always outsmart the (usually) bumbling law enforcement.

But it wasn't always this way.

The Asphalt Jungle, a 1950 film directed by John Huston, is a heist film with a noir sensibility. It's a brutal film where crime is far from sexy: it's downright deadly. 

So buckle up, everyone, we're headed on a tour of the asphalt jungle, and it's going to get dangerous.

I. What is It?

A daring jewel heist goes off largely as planned. It's only afterwards when human cowardice, greed, and incompetence unravels the whole thing.

II. Heist, Meet Noir

This is a film with a caper at its center. The jewel heist is fun, interesting, and fairly clever. What makes this film stand out, however, is the noir trappings of the script. The dialogue is boiled harder than an egg. Each crew member has a nickname corresponding to their job (Sterling Hayden's Dix is a "Hooligan" and so on), and there's plenty of other colorful verbiage: in one instance, a cop says, "He had a hole through his pump... he'd been shot," to describe a dead body found in the river.

In a modern heist movie, the fun is watching the crew get away with it. In this movie, there's a tragic tension as each crew member meets their demise: suicide, succumbing to wounds, and being taken in by the law. These are dark men who live by the sword, and, mostly, die by it.

III. Looks Great

I'm always pleasantly surprised when I watch an older film that still feels fresh. Huston's direction has a no-nonsene attitude, and Harold Rosson's photography is cleverly constructed, and painterly. The characters are layered across the frame in interesting ways, and Huston knows how to use light and shadow to make the proceedings sinister, or taut with tension. I especially enjoyed the way Huston kept the camera square on Sterling Hayden's face as he drives the car back to his boyhood farm, muttering about keeping "that black mare," only to let the camera pull way out as Hayden stumbles across the field, and collapses, dead. There is a precision with which Huston portrays figures on screen, big and small. Sometimes they take center focus, and we can see the emotion and stakes etched across eyebrows and twisted in snarling mouths. Other times he shows his characters being swallowed by the scenery, just another bug eaten alive by the world.

IV. Wonderfully Acted

Sterling Hayden is great. I've been a fan since I saw his iconic performance in Dr. Strangelove (1964). Here, his Dix is a mad dog: Hayden's imposing stature and cruel snarl make him a presence every time he enters the frame. He has a cruel man's eyes, but plays an authentic softness when he shares scenes with Jean Hagen.

Sam Jaffe plays the mastermind, "Doc" Riedenschneider. He keeps his cool, always, sticks to the plan, and pointedly refuses to carry a firearm. He's also the only one who survives. Maybe it's because he's old enough to know that he'll never actually leave the life behind. When the cops finally do corner him, he goes willingly. He does his best to wriggle out of it, but he's been got, and he accepts it. This is in sharp contrast to Louis Calhern's Emmerich, a rich man who plays at crime. His greed gets the best of him, and he tries to double cross the crew, only for that plan to blow up in his face. And when the fuzz finally do close the noose, he exits to another room, and calmly shoots himself.

What I appreciated the most was that each character was given their due, even the hump-backed bartender. None of these characters are mustache-twirling cartoon villains: their motivations are clear, the world they live in is brutal, and each feels like a living, breathing person.

This film is dark dark dark. It never once allows the criminal world it depicts to feel like a life any sane person would strive for. Crooked cops are always got. Criminals always pay. And prison cells never want for occupants.

VIII. Should You Watch It?

This is a classic noir/heist hybrid, and there's no wonder why it is spoken of reverently. I liked it a lot, and think that it is a film that feels fresh, despite its age. Give it a gander.

Miscellany

- Huston met Hayden at various anti-HUAC protests, and was adamant that Hayden star in this picture. MGM was wary, worried that Hayden wouldn't be able to carry the film, or prove a box office draw.
- Sam Jaffe got his only Oscar nomination for this film. It scored noms for Best Supporting Actor (Jaffe), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Director. It didn't win any.
- Marilyn Monroe nearly wasn't cast. Her first audition was apparently very timid, but MGM executives talked Huston into giving her another shot. The second time he was impressed, and offered her the role.
- The score for this film is only six minutes long. The only time music is played is at the beginning and the end of the film.
- It is said that the French heist film, Rififi (1955), was heavily inspired by this film.
- In 2008, this film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.