Movie director john huston talked to actress jean hagen during the filming of the final scene of the asphalt jungle in 1949. This is not to say that there were not precedents in terms of caper film. Burnett and stars an ensemble cast including sterling hayden, jean hagen, sam jaffe, louis calhern, james whitmore, and, in a minor but key role, marilyn monroe, an. I think the answer to both questions is a resounding no. Directed by john huston who, with ben maddow, adapted w. The asphalt jungle 1950 official trailer marilyn monroe, sterling hayden movie hd a major heist goes off as planned, until bad luck and. Volume 1 dvd 5pack asphalt jungle 1950 you have a lot of time to think when youre locked away seven years. Its about people who realize that following the program will never get them what they crave. The asphalt jungle is a brilliantly conceived and executed anatomy of a crime or, as director john huston and scripter ben maddow put it, a lefthanded form of human endeavor. Aug 29, 2014 asphalt jungle the 1950 great film noir by director john huston this one featuring actor sterling haydens best performance his character leads the group of specialists assembled for a heist he would later play a similar role in director stanley kubricks the killing 1956. None of the actors were big stars when it was made. Dix handley a country man who is forced to rob to escape from poverty. Directed by john huston, this noir heist film is strong and wellbalanced. Filmnoir a list of 39 titles created 3 weeks ago series to see tipped by others a list of 34 titles created 1 month ago.
The city became the visual definition of film noir in 1950 masterpiece the asphalt jungle. The realistic, documentarylike, urban crimeheist film advertised as a john huston production was one of the first films that completely. One of the most interesting leading men of film noir was tall, blonde sterling hayden, who conveyed the image of the definitive loner, a role he played as well in real life. By william hare the asphalt jungle and another criminal ensemble one of the longest running debates in film noir is over definition. A major heist goes off as planned, until bad luck and double crosses cause everything to unravel. Nov 08, 2016 the asphalt jungle is an unusual film noir in this instance. The film also starred sterling hayden, and parts of it were filmed on the ben eubank farm on briar hill road in lexington. The working mans heist in the asphalt jungle popmatters. So criminal mastermind doc conceives what he believes is the perfect heist. Asphalt jungle, the, american film noir caper, released in 1950, that was adapted from w. Jan 22, 2017 the proverbial noir tough guy with a moral compass, dix hopes to escape the filth of the city and return to the country life he lost. Indeed, the title the asphalt jungle conveys the edgy urban arena of these pictures. Film noir is the flip side of the allamerican success story.
The case pitted the countrys longstanding legal protection of authors rights against the legal standing of. W hile each has in common desperate characters putting all their chips on a criminal scheme that of course slowly blows up in their faces, the asphalt jungle is the most film noiry of the three for me. John huston takes a different approach than in most film noir, giving us a landscape that is open, with a real gritty urban feel to it unlike most film noir that is closed in and claustrophobic. Burnetts novel about an ambitious jewel robbery orchestrated by a gang of eccentric criminals. Immediately after being released from prison, doc riedenschneider played by sam jaffe teams with corrupt. To place the asphalt jungle more solidly into context, lets consider that huston had directed two other famous films that form a kind of trilogy with. Sterling hayden, louis calhern, sam jaffe, jean hagen, james whitmore, marc lawrence, marilyn monroe, barry kelley, anthony caruso, dorothy tree, brad dexter. Out of the past is a quintessential noir, but john hustons gritty 1950 caper the asphalt jungle would be considered a heist picture if the mood didnt dictate otherwise. Was there ever a film noir as dour and cynical as the asphalt jungle. The standard honor among thieves theme applies, but dishonor gives the film its special noir flavor. Lewiss gun crazy 1949 is one of the most supercharged and sexually perverse of noir films. Download the asphalt jungle yts yify movies torrents download. Muller considers hustons film to be the first of its kind to associate everyday people with criminal activity.
After many years in prison, doc sam jaffe, a seemingly overthehill and retired i. A minor classic of film noir and one of the earliest heist capers, the asphalt jungle gets a welcome rerelease this week to coincide with the nfts john huston retrospective. In the classic film noir the asphalt jungle 1950, a team of criminals carries out a jewel heist only to face devastating punishment when their plans spiral out of control. If youre already into film noir, then you know everything you need to know about. Eddie muller on the asphalt jungle 24m 10s allows film noir historian eddie muller, decked out in movie wiseguy garb, to make his case for the asphalt jungle as the starting point of a new genre. In july 1989, john hustons heirs made an unsuccessful attempt to prevent a colorized version of the film being broadcast on french television, but they lost their case in french court. Dec, 2016 yet even if the asphalt jungle was seen in its own day as a model of nailbiting suspense, it comes across now as a most chekhovian film noir, steeped in a mood of regret even before the action begins and proceeding almost gently on its inevitable downward course. Film noir in this blog i would like to write about the noir movies of the 30s, 40s and 50s. Lieutenant ditrich barry kelley is chewed out by police commissioner. Burnett and stars an ensemble cast including sterling hayden, jean hagen, sam jaffe, louis calhern, james whitmore, and, in a. The asphalt jungle is pretty much the definition of the film noir caper film, and it can be felt in pretty much every caper film made since then. When the intelligent criminal erwin doc riedenschneider is released from prison, he seeks a fifty thousanddollar investment from the bookmaker cobby to recruit a small gang of specialists for a milliondollar heist of jewels from a jewelry. John huston directed three films that show up on virtually all best film noir lists. The caper film is based on the novel of the same name by w.
The asphalt jungle 1950, john huston the asphalt jungle 1950 source. The plot of the asphalt jungle is built around a jewel heist, one last job that will make them all rich enough to quit the game forever. The czar of film noir introduces the opening film of noir city seattle 2017. Whereas kubricks film is interested in all the steps of the heist and its eventual unraveling, huston makes the asphalt jungle a much more fatalistic and moralistic tale. I saw asphalt jungle on tv late at night when i was at home from college in the 1960s. Burnetts novel the naturalistic thriller plays out in a nameless, crimeravaged city. An uncommonly naturalistic view of a seamy underworld, the asphalt jungle painstakingly depicts the calm professionalism and toughness of its gangster heroes while evincing a remarkable depth of compassion for their alltoohuman fragility, and it showcases a master filmmaker at the height of his powers. So they cross the line, commit a crime and reap the consequences. The asphalt jungle criterion collection full frame, special. The asphalt jungle 1950 unlike the laconic heroes in westerns, film noirs protagonists have no qualms about airing their inner thoughts and overarching philosophies. The photography of this postwar noir movie is dark and full of shadows a metaphor for the hidden faces of evil and fascism. The asphalt jungle is a brilliantly conceived and executed anatomy. The proverbial noir tough guy with a moral compass, dix hopes to escape the filth of the city and return to the country life he lost.
The caveat, however, is that whats said must always echo a worldweariness so sprawling and universal that no aspect of. The asphalt jungle 1950 is a naturalistic film noir crime film classic resembling numerous bfilms of the early 1950s from alist director john huston. The asphalt jungle epitomizes not only film noir, in a number of ways, but also the subgenre of the caper film. The dark urban world of the asphalt jungle is one of the essential destinations in film noir, but be warned. The asphalt jungle is an unusual film noir in this instance. The crimeinfested midwest city of the asphalt jungle seems to wear on everyone as the representation of the urban scene seldom ventures far from the film s title. Directed by john huston, the asphalt jungle is considered by many to be the defining film of the crime oeuvre. If youre already into film noir, then you know everything you need to know about the asphalt jungle. The asphalt jungle criterion collection full frame. Or, theyre tales about seemingly innocent people tortured by paranoia and buttkicked by fate. Noirsville the film noir its noirsville, a visually oriented blog celebrating the vast and varied sources of inspiration, all of the resulting output, and all of the creative reflections back, of a particular styletool of film making used in certain filmplot sequences or for a films entirety that conveyed claustrophobia, alienation. He would appear after the asphalt jungle in stanley kubricks breakthrough film, the 1956 noir triumph the killing, which used a similar story structure to that of hustons success.
Both the film s plot and its aesthetics were immediately and widely copied. Burnett and stars an ensemble cast including sterling hayden, jean hagen, sam jaffe, louis calhern, james whitmore, and, in a minor but key role, marilyn monroe, an unknown at the time who was pictured but not mentioned on the posters. Asphalt jungle, the film by huston 1950 britannica. The asphalt jungle also benefits from great direction. The asphalt jungle 1950 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Its noirsville, a visually oriented blog celebrating the vast and varied sources of inspiration, all of the resulting output, and all of the creative reflections back, of a particular styletool of film making used in certain film plot sequences or for a films entirety that conveyed claustrophobia, alienation, obsession, and events spiraling out of control, that came to fruition in the. The asphalt jungle is a 1950 film noir directed by john huston. It certainly paved the way for all the heist films that came after it and even more recent onesi. But in almost every other respect it is quite conventional. The asphalt jungle is a 1950 film noir and heist film directed by john huston.
Asphalt jungle the 1950 great film noir by director john huston this one featuring actor sterling haydens best performance his character leads the group of specialists assembled for a heist he would later play a similar role. The film stars sterling hayden, louis calhern and jean hagen, 1 and features james whitmore, sam jaffe, and john mcintire. Director john hustons 1950 masterpiece is a vision of grime and human depravity. The asphalt junglefrom left to right louis calhern, sterling hayden, jean hagen, and sam jaffe in. John huston directed this superbly calibrated crime classic, which displays his usual wry appreciation of fringies and downandouters. Classic movie blog the asphalt jungle classic noir directed by the great john huston. With the asphalt jungle my first john huston film there is a dark tonal vibe that fits the noir genre really well. Only one year earlier, universal released a great example with criss cross, directed by robert siodmak.
Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a midwestern city. The asphalt jungle criterion collection, dvd, full frame, special edition, restored, 2 pack, suspensefilm noir, 715515190718. The film stars sterling hayden, louis calhern, jean hagen, james whitmore, sam jaffe, and john mcintire, and also features marilyn monroe in one of. Filming the asphalt jungle, 1949 kentucky photo archive.
Apr 15, 2020 classic movie blog the asphalt jungle classic noir directed by the great john huston. It is a heist film gone terribly wrong, with some sympathetic characters who cant catch a break because fate keeps getting in their way. The asphalt jungle 1950 the asphalt jungle mgm, 1950 directed by john huston, based on the novel by w. Dec 21, 2016 whereas kubricks film is interested in all the steps of the heist and its eventual unraveling, huston makes the asphalt jungle a much more fatalistic and moralistic tale.
Sep 11, 2009 was there ever a film noir as dour and cynical as the asphalt jungle. John hustons the asphalt jungle 1950 is not only one of the best film noirs ever made but is without a doubt one of the greatest heist films of all time. There will never be unanimity over what represents noir and what does not. That film is john hustons masterly 1950 account of a heist, with sterling hayden the disenchanted, noirish hero. Index subtitle the asphalt jungle english subtitles. More information about the asphalt jungle 1950 on imdb. The asphalt jungle passed 1h 52min crime, drama, filmnoir 1 june 1950 usa a major heist goes off as planned, until bad luck and double crosses cause everything to unravel. The opening scenes highlight the urban decay illustrate that rotten heart at the central of the films unspecified city. Crime, filmnoir, drama language english, german director john huston cast sterling hayden, louis calhern, jean hagen. The heist film finds its genesis in john hustons the asphalt jungle, a topnotch and unglamorous depiction of criminal life in the city. Burnetts novel the naturalistic thriller plays out in a nameless, crimeravaged city, whose police force makes life increasingly. John hustons the asphalt jungle1950 is not only one of the best film noirs ever made but is without a doubt one of the greatest heist films of all time. Suggest me movie is a free webbased film recommendation service.
It hooked me on old movies, especially 40s50s film noir, and on john hustons work. After many years in prison, doc sam jaffe, a seemingly over the hill and retired i. He would appear after the asphalt jungle in stanley kubrick s breakthrough film, the 1956 noir triumph the killing, which used a similar story structure to that of hustons success. Was there ever an antihero as hardboiled as sterling haydens dix handley. Feb 18, 2017 the czar of film noir introduces the opening film of noir city seattle 2017. The asphalt jungle 1950 official trailer marilyn monroe, sterling.