Review of The Asphalt Jungle (1950) by Adam S — 30 Jul 2011

You can say John Huston was already a master of the crime genre when he came out of the box with "The Maltese Falcon", but in many ways this is the film that finally solidified it. What's special about this cast of characters - expert thieves, two-bit hoods, shady money-men, corrupt cops, their molls - is that almost everyone is sympathetic (thanks to Huston's high minded adaptation of W.

R. Burnett's novel), their inevitable downfall that much more disturbing. Perfectly executed, with a brilliant cast of hardened character actors (and the truly gorgeous Marilyn Monroe in a bit part at the beginning of her career).