"Doc" (played by Sam Jaffe), fresh out of prison, provides the plan for stealing some jewels. "Cobby" (played by Marc Lawrence), a bookie, and Alonzo Emmerich (played by Louis Calhern), a successful attorney, invest in the plan. With that financial backing, Doc hires his crew: safecracker Louis Ciavelli (played by Anthony Caruso), driver Gus (played by James Whitmore) and hooligan Dix Handley (played by Sterling Hayden). "The Asphalt Jungle", based on W.R. Burnett's book, helped set the mold for numerous imitations and variations on the heist theme.
This forerunner commendably doesn't waste time showing us how grand the burglary is, or how brilliant the masterminds and craftsmen behind it are--modesty I wish some copycats would have learned. This movie is best in the burglary sequence (I especially liked watching them slide under the detection of the sensory alarm) and the proceeding outcomes of the characters. Director John Huston and cinematographer Harold Rosson show added discernment by using noir style, for which they got Oscar nominations.
Jaffe's genial performance, as a German with a penchant for young girls, landed him an Oscar nod, too. The ensemble cast includes the nubile Marilyn Monroe in an early bit part. I liked the addition of contrasting cops: Ditrich who's on the take (played by Barry Kelley) and the harsh commissioner Hardy (played by John McIntire). I couldn't accept, however, Doll (played by Jean Hagen) as being just a neurotic hopelessly in love with Dix. The character should have been further developed, or removed, as she wasn't vital to the story (failure in adaptation, I suspect).
The performance, or character, that impinged the most was Calhern's morose turn; because there was no attempt to pass his character off as something he wasn't. This is where the movie falls to a common error of crime genre; for example, Hayden's character is made into a sort of honorable thug--more intelligent than the stereotype would suggest--as displayed in IMDb comments, some viewers still thought the character was a dolt. He's similar to Russell Crowe's character in "L.A. Confidential". Crowe pulled it off; nobody did here.
This forerunner commendably doesn't waste time showing us how grand the burglary is, or how brilliant the masterminds and craftsmen behind it are--modesty I wish some copycats would have learned. This movie is best in the burglary sequence (I especially liked watching them slide under the detection of the sensory alarm) and the proceeding outcomes of the characters. Director John Huston and cinematographer Harold Rosson show added discernment by using noir style, for which they got Oscar nominations.
Jaffe's genial performance, as a German with a penchant for young girls, landed him an Oscar nod, too. The ensemble cast includes the nubile Marilyn Monroe in an early bit part. I liked the addition of contrasting cops: Ditrich who's on the take (played by Barry Kelley) and the harsh commissioner Hardy (played by John McIntire). I couldn't accept, however, Doll (played by Jean Hagen) as being just a neurotic hopelessly in love with Dix. The character should have been further developed, or removed, as she wasn't vital to the story (failure in adaptation, I suspect).
The performance, or character, that impinged the most was Calhern's morose turn; because there was no attempt to pass his character off as something he wasn't. This is where the movie falls to a common error of crime genre; for example, Hayden's character is made into a sort of honorable thug--more intelligent than the stereotype would suggest--as displayed in IMDb comments, some viewers still thought the character was a dolt. He's similar to Russell Crowe's character in "L.A. Confidential". Crowe pulled it off; nobody did here.