The Asphalt Jungle (1950)'s comments

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peterskb45

I honestly found this overall average (compared to some of the other heist/noirs of this era) but great to see early Sterling Hayden and Marilyn monroe performances.

8 months ago

Despite posters overselling Marilyn, she's hardly in John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle. She wasn't a star yet (and honestly, isn't very good in it), and even gets to use her own voice. Rather, this is a Noir about a heist, focusing on the characters (before, during and after) more than the mechanics of the crime. Who can be trusted and who will betray the group? Getting to know the principals ahead of time gives us insight into how it will play out, and builds tension in the process. Though the early 50s notion that crime simply CANNOT pay makes the third act a series of inevitabilities and spawns the movie's one bad scene - a cringy pro-police op ed that seems to imply people in 1950 weren't sure this policing idea would catch on. The absolute highlight is Sam Jaffe as the wise mastermind of the theft, extremely likeable, interesting and naturalistic. By contrast, the purposefully unlikeable thug (and main character) played by Sterling Hayden is melodramatic and theatrical. Solid and watchable, but it does sometimes feel creaky.

8 months 2 weeks ago