The Asphalt Jungle is showing at the historic Capitol Theatre in York, Pennsylvania (part of the Appell Centre for the Performing Arts) on Sunday, November 16 at 3:00 pm. It’s one of three classic 1950 movies turning 75 this year in a November Noir series, hosted by local film afficionado Rich Santel – preceded last week by Sunset Boulevard, and with In a Lonely Place following on November 23.
“A minor classic of film noir and one of the earliest heist capers … This tale of a jewel theft gone wrong is notable for its gritty procedural detail and an emphasis on the inner lives of the small time crooks, expertly played by Sterling Hayden and Sam Jaffe. It also features a brief but star-making appearance by the young Marilyn Monroe.
The story is a familiar one, perhaps because it has been copied so many times since … The heist itself is quickly dealt with; the meat of the film concerns the relentless double-crossing that follows.
As usual with director John Huston, greed and a yearning for the unattainable brings each character to his downfall. Doc wants to retire to Mexico and ogle the girls. His fence and bankroller (a brilliantly self loathing performance from Louis Calhern) wants to run away with his mistress (Monroe).
The key to all their aspirations is a bag of gems which, much like the eponymous statue in Huston’s The Maltese Falcon, prove to be unusable. Shot with an eye for the grimy beauty of the underworld and utterly merciless to its characters, The Asphalt Jungle is a biting, bitter espresso of a movie.” – BBC
And further afield, TCM writer Hannah Jack is hosting a Deep Focus virtual seminar on The Asphalt Jungle at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, November 19, for patrons of Renew Theatres venues including the County Theatre in Doylestown, PA; the Hiway Theatre in Jenkintown, PA; the Ambler Theatre; and the Garden Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.
The Marilyn Report 