Marilyn’s ‘Asphalt Jungle’ a TCM Essential

Marilyn’s 1950 breakthrough in The Asphalt Jungle is featured in Jeremy Arnold’s new book for Turner Classic Movies (TCM), The Essentials Vol. 2: 52 More Must-See Movies and Why They Matter. (All About Eve and Some Like It Hot were covered in the previous volume – see here.)

“Louis Calhern was never better, and he also enjoyed the distinction of acting in the first significant scenes in the career of Marilyn Monroe, who plays his mistress, Angela. Monroe is dressed and lit beautifully, but for the first time she does not come off simply as set decoration. John Huston uses her sexuality in an intelligent manner that contributes to the story, and the result is an effective performance that made Hollywood take notice. Monroe revered Huston, who would direct her again in her final completed film, The Misfits (1961.)”