Review of The Asphalt Jungle (1950) by Rhanda D — 02 Mar 2009
John Huston's gritty caper drama revolves around a wide cast of characters, and we're given glimpses into each of their lives, making it a movie that's more a commentary on the human conditions of vice, drive and baseness that just also happens to have at its heart a tense crime of the century.
The film's somewhat adaptive film noir styling is striking and suitable, if a bit heavy-handed at times. Standout performances include those from Sterling Hayden, playing horse-obsessed Kentucky native Dix Handley and Sam Jaffe as the recently-prison-released criminal mastermind Dr.
Erwin Riedenschneider. A very young Marilyn Monroe is also featured in one of her earliest credited roles. A benchmark for the genre, "The Asphalt Jungle" remains a nerve-wracking treatise on the "left-hand side of human endeavor.
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This review of The Asphalt Jungle (1950) was written by Rhanda D on 02 Mar 2009.
The Asphalt Jungle has generally received very positive reviews.
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