The Asphalt Jungle

1950 Directed by John Huston

The City Under the City

Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.

Sterling Hayden Louis Calhern Jean Hagen James Whitmore Sam Jaffe John McIntire Marc Lawrence Barry Kelley Anthony Caruso Teresa Celli Marilyn Monroe William 'Wee Willie' Davis Dorothy Tree Brad Dexter John Maxwell Pat Flaherty Strother Martin

Alternative Titles

Mientras la ciudad duerme, Raubmord, La jungla de asfalto, Quand la ville dort, Giungla D'Asfalto, 아스팔트 정글

crime drama

112 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★★★★ 3

Noir-November Challenge! Movie #7
A John Huston film disguised as a heist flick when its true strength is its character driven plot! Everything is seen from the point of view of the thugs or in this case hooligans!
You know it did its job well when I find myself openly rooting for the more sympathetic characters and shaking my clenched fist at the ones who truly had black hearts!
The ending was a real heartbreaker!
Review by Jonathan White ★★★★½ 5

I have to admit that I was a bit predisposed to like this movie, I might say even giddy. It stars Sterling Hayden, and he plays two of my favourite characters in two of my favourite films; The Killing, and Dr. Strangelove. While it could be argued, successfully, that he plays the same character every time, I don’t really care. I just love his no nonsense tough guy delivery. Probably even more than James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart.
The first thing that struck me was the absence of score. Beyond the opening, there is none. The second thing that struck me was the sumptuous cinematography. This is a master plying his trade. This is the best looking and photographed Noir…
Review by HKFanatic ★★★★★

A film noir with a genuinely literary sweep—all of the characters here are dimensional and given their due, thanks to a script that shows great attention to detail. The performances are uniformly excellent, but it must be said that a 24 year-old, fresh-faced Marilyn Monroe wrenches your attention away from anything else in frame during her limited screentime. That moment when her eyes slowly open from a cat nap and look up at Louis Calhern is a special effect unto itself.
Review by loureviews ★★★★ 3

John Huston's heist noir is grittier than his Maltese Falcon, with Louis Calhern as the respectable criminal who is messing around with a slinky Marilyn Monroe and living on the brink of bankruptcy.
There's a jewellery robbery, a crooked private detective, a cripple, a couple of seedy convicts, and a double cross. It's all standard fare for the genre bit it's so dirty you need to wash your hands when you've seen it.
Small pleasures - Sterling Hayden's thug playing the heavy with his team, playing it soft with his girl Jean Hagen; James Whitmore setting up meetings; Sam Jaffe as the dapper mastermind; Monroe's stretching; Calhern's fop playing cards when his butler calls.
In the jungle no one is…
Review by WraithApe ★★★★½

Fêted film noir from John Huston. One of the earliest to be based around a heist and as such a major influence on Kubrick's The Killing a few years down the line. In casting The Killing, Kubrick picked actors who impressed him from the noirs he liked, prompting him to bring back Sterling Hayden, who is the central protagonist in The Asphalt Jungle, for his own film.
In comparing the two, I think Huston, as one of the genre's originators and masters, still has the edge on the apprentice. The Asphalt Jungle, unencumbered with voiceovers or bombastic musical cues, is a sinewy, economical noir that eschews fancy camerawork for more static shots, where the action often occurs within the set…
Review by Cassandra ★★★★ 3

I love how Marilyn Monroe is on the poster when she has maybe five minutes of screen time. This was a pretty great noir that I eventually want to revisit. My experience with it was unfortunately plagued by a random anxiety attack so :)

Recent reviews

Review by Logan Joiner ★★★★

A general rule: the weirder Sterling Hayden’s character name, the better the movie.
Review by bobavallone ★★★★½

This is the story of a bunch of criminals who plan a heist. They plan to steal some valuable jewels. This plot covers the planning, execution and aftermath of the crime.
There is not a lot of action, it is mostly the characters interaction. It is well done for the time. Sam Jaffe's character of Doc is the most memorable. He was nominated for best supporting actor but did not win.
Sam Jaffe is featured in minor role before she got famous.
Review by SelasorJD ★★★★

La jungla de asfalto nos sitúa en la planificación y ejecución de un robo. Una de las películas pioneras en tratar la temática y, por tanto, una de las mayores influencias del género.
Son varios los puntos fuertes de esta gran película: una gran construcción de personajes que los dota, dentro del poco tiempo que dispone cada uno, del carisma suficiente para que interese al espectador y pueda empatizar con sus distintas motivaciones. Todo con una gran fotografía y la maravillosa Marilyn Monroe como invitada especial.
Mención especial para todo el robo que está muy bien dirigida, y para la escena final porque todos nos sentimos más a salvo en nuestro hogar.
Review by Robo ★★★

Marilyn only being in 10 minutes of the movie despite being on the poster — FALSE ADVERTISEMENT.
Review by Noah Joseph ★★★★

Sterling Hayden is the GOAT in another stellar noir story about a heist. What more do I need to say?
Review by DubbaDubba ★★★★

"I figured he couldn't lose. I put it all on his nose. He lost by a nose."
Review by The Belcourt Theatre Nashville

Noir Fest 3: FRI, FEB 7 | TUE, FEB 11 2020
DCP
Hot out of prison, career criminal Doc Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) has a penchant for ladies and longs for the thrill of a heist. Not one for reformation, he masterminds an elaborate robbery, securing the promise of financial backing from corrupt lawyer and married playboy, Emmerich (Louis Calhern). Doc recruits specialized criminals from the bowels of a familiar bookie joint, but still needs his “heavy”—and identifies a kindred spirit in wild card Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden). Former farm boy Dix isn’t the commitment type, but Doc’s enthusiasm inspires him to action. The team absorb Doc’s plan as if it were their path to salvation from a society as spiritually…
Review by Brian J Mulligan ★★★★½

(A-)
Review by UnionSquid ★★★½

There's not too much for me to say about this, but it's good. Fantastic directing and framing, with a pretty simple story that has been done millions of times (though this was 1950 so it was one of the earlier ones). It just felt like it was too long, and it didn't really know what character to focus on. Kubrick's The Killing, which is also about a robbery gone wrong with Sterling Hayden (he's great in both films), is definitely a much better film, but this is still very good.