The Asphalt Jungle

2025-09-28T10:37:03Z

2601:602:680:D40:B5F8:D989:150F:D6A3:

{{short description|1950 film by John Huston}}
{{about|the 1950 film|the 1961 television series|The Asphalt Jungle (TV series)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Asphalt Jungle
| image = The Asphalt Jungle (1950 poster).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[John Huston]]
| producer = [[Arthur Hornblow Jr.]]
| screenplay = [[Ben Maddow]]<br />John Huston
| based_on = {{based on|''The Asphalt Jungle''<br>(1949 novel)|[[W. R. Burnett]]}}
| starring = {{ubl|
* [[Sterling Hayden]]
* [[Louis Calhern]]
* [[Jean Hagen]]
* [[James Whitmore]]
* [[Sam Jaffe]]
* [[John McIntire]]
}}
| music = [[Miklós Rózsa]]
| cinematography = [[Harold Rosson]]
| editing = [[George Boemler]]
| studio = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
| distributor = [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loew's Inc.]]
| released = {{Film date|1950|5|12|US|ref1=<ref name=intro />}}
| runtime = 112 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $1.2 million<ref name="Mannix">{{Citation | title = The Eddie Mannix Ledger | publisher = Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study | place = Los Angeles}}.</ref><ref name="scott">Scott Eyman, ''Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer'', Robson, 2005 p 427</ref>
| gross = $2.1 million
}}
'''''The Asphalt Jungle''''' is a 1950 American [[heist film|heist]] [[film noir]] directed by [[John Huston]], from a screenplay co-written with [[Ben Maddow]]. It stars [[Sterling Hayden]], [[Louis Calhern]], [[Jean Hagen]], [[James Whitmore]], [[Sam Jaffe]], [[John McIntire]] and [[Marilyn Monroe]] in one of her earliest roles.<ref>{{cite book |last=Silver |first=Alain |title=Film Noir: The Encyclopedia |year=2010 |isbn=978-0715638804 |page=30|publisher=Overlook Duckworth }}</ref> Based on the 1949 novel by [[W. R. Burnett]], it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city.

Produced and distributed by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], the film was released on May 12, 1950. It was nominated for four [[Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] and [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]], and Huston won a [[National Board of Review Award for Best Director|National Board of Review Award]] for his direction. At the [[1950 Venice Film Festival]], Huston was nominated for the [[Golden Lion]] and Sam Jaffe won the [[Volpi Cup for Best Actor|Best Actor Award]].

Retrospective reviews of the film have been highly positive, with several critics describing it as one of the most influential works in the [[crime film]] genre,<ref name="nnat" /> and one of Huston's best films.<ref name="afi" /> The film spawned a [[The Asphalt Jungle (TV series)|television series of the same name]] that aired on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in 1961.

In 2008, ''The Asphalt Jungle'' was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=2020-09-16|website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Cinematic Classics, Legendary Stars, Comedic Legends and Novice Filmmakers Showcase the 2008 Film Registry|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-08-237/2008-entries-to-national-film-registry-announced/2008-12-30/|access-date=2020-09-16|website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

==Plot==
When criminal mastermind Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider is released from prison, he visits a [[bookie]] named Cobby in an unnamed [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] river city. Doc needs $50,000 to hire three men—a [[Safe-cracking|safecracker]], a driver and a [[hooligan]]—to commit a huge jewel robbery. Cobby arranges a meeting between Doc and Alonzo Emmerich, a high-society lawyer and known [[fixer (person)|fixer]]. Doc tells Emmerich that the theft will yield half a million dollars or more. Emmerich agrees to front the money and find a [[fence (criminal)|fence]]. After they leave, Emmerich finds his young girlfriend Angela asleep on the couch. Private detective Bob Brannom visits Emmerich to collect some debts, but Emmerich is broke and convinces Brannom to help him double-cross the others, proposing a scheme for him to abscond with the gems.

Doc secures Louie Ciavelli as the safecracker. Ciavelli only trusts Gus Minissi, a [[kyphosis|hunchbacked]] diner owner, to be the [[crime scene getaway|getaway driver]]. Last hired is Dix Handley, who tells Doll Conovan, who is in love with him, of his dream to buy the horse farm that his family had lost after a terrible year. To access the jewelry store, Ciavelli hammers through a brick wall, deactivates an alarm to admit Doc and Dix, and uses [[nitroglycerine]] to open the safe. However, the explosion triggers several burglar alarms, and Dix slugs a security guard. The guard drops his revolver, which fires, striking Ciavelli in the abdomen. The men escape and a police manhunt begins.

Ciavelli insists that Gus take him home. Ciavelli's wife Maria wants him taken to the hospital, but Gus sends for a trusted but illicit doctor. Doc and Dix arrive at Emmerich's place, but are aware of Emmerich's attempt to stall them. Realizing this, Brannom draws a gun but is killed by Dix, who receives a flesh wound in his side. Doc scolds Emmerich for his foolish plan and tells him to offer the money to the jeweler's insurance company for 25% of its value to avoid suspicion.

Emmerich dumps Brannom's body in the river. The police find the list of debtors on Emmerich's letterhead on the corpse. When they question him, Emmerich claims that he spent the night with his mistress, Angela Phinlay. Corrupt police lieutenant Ditrich—on Cobby's payroll and fearing scrutiny by Police Commissioner Hardy—vainly attempts to save himself from ensnarement by beating Cobby into a confession. Commissioner Hardy arrests Emmerich at Angela's home and threatens her with jail for providing Emmerich with an alibi. When the police allow Emmerich to leave the room to phone his wife, he shoots himself dead.

After Gus is arrested, he attacks Cobby in the jail. The police go to Ciavelli’s to arrest him, but when they forcibly enter, they find his funeral in progress. In Doll's apartment, Doc offers Dix some of the stones, but he refuses. Doll secures a car for Dix and insists on accompanying him. Doc persuades a taxi driver to drive him to [[Cleveland]], hours away. They stop at a roadside diner, where Doc becomes entranced by a pretty young woman dancing to the [[jukebox]]. Because of the delay, Doc is recognized by two policemen, who arrest him after finding the stolen jewels hidden in his overcoat. Suffering from blood loss, Dix faints at the wheel. He is taken to a doctor, who phones the local police to report a gunshot wound. Dix regains consciousness and escapes.

At a press conference, Hardy notes that three of the seven suspects have died, three others have been arrested and the one on the loose is a hardened killer. Back at the wheel, the rolling green fields of [[Bluegrass region|Bluegrass country]] pass as Dix speaks deliriously. Arriving at his childhood pasture, he collapses. Doll runs for help, while horses gather around him.

==Cast==
{{castlist|
* [[Sterling Hayden]] as Dix Handley
* [[Louis Calhern]] as Alonzo D. Emmerich
* [[Jean Hagen]] as "Doll" Conovan
* [[James Whitmore]] as Gus Minissi
* [[Sam Jaffe]] as "Doc" Erwin Riedenschneider
* [[John McIntire]] as Police Commissioner Hardy
* [[Marc Lawrence]] as Cobby
* [[Barry Kelley]] as Lt. Ditrich
* [[Anthony Caruso (actor)|Anthony Caruso]] as Louis Ciavelli
* [[Teresa Celli]] as Maria Ciavelli
* [[Marilyn Monroe]] as Angela Phinlay
* [[Wee Willie Davis|William "Wee Willie" Davis]] as Timmons
* [[Dorothy Tree]] as May Emmerich
* [[Brad Dexter]] as Bob Brannom
* [[John Maxwell (actor)|John Maxwell]] as Dr. Swanson
* Alex Gerry as Maxwell
* [[Tom Browne Henry]] as James X. Connery
* [[Don Haggerty]] as Detective Andrews
* [[James Seay]] as Detective Janocek
* [[Henry Rowland (actor)|Henry Rowland]] as Franz Schurz
* [[Helene Stanley]] as Jeannie
* [[David Clarke (actor)|David Clarke]] as Mr. Atkinson
* Raymond Roe as Tallboy
* [[Chuck Courtney (actor)|Chuck Courtney]] as Red
* [[Strother Martin]] as Karl Anton Smith
* [[Henry Corden]] as William Golden
}}
:Source:<ref name=afi />

==Production==
The film was an adaptation by director [[John Huston]] and screenwriter [[Ben Maddow]] of the 1949 novel by crime writer [[W. R. Burnett]]. It was backed by the major film studio [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], where it was greenlighted by production chief [[Dore Schary]] over the objections of studio head [[Louis B. Mayer]]. From the publication of Burnett's first novel ''Little Caesar'' in 1929, he had written numerous books that were adapted into films shortly after publication. Huston and Maddow wrote the adaptation, which emphasized the crooks' story and reduced the [[police procedural]] aspect.<ref name=intro>[[Eddie Muller|Muller Eddie]] (June 2, 2019) Intro to the [[Turner Classic Movies]] ''Noir Alley'' presentation of the film</ref> Burnett was consulted as the shooting script was being written, and he approved the final version.<ref name=afi /> The studio allowed the production a relatively free hand.

Maddow said: "[A] lot of the power [of the film] was due to the fact that these were New York actors who all knew one another and were trying to outdo one another—and who were stimulants to one another. There was nobody who had a name of any consequence... Most of Huston's talent came in the choice of casting, which most directors will tell you anyway, in moments of frankness. It could have been quite a banal film if badly cast. Imagine [[Van Johnson]] or somebody else in the leading part! But it was not an important film, so it was easier to cast."<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Ben Maddow: The Invisible Man|first=Pat|last= McGilligan|editor-first=Pat|editor-last=McGilligan|title=Backstory 2: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1940s and 1950s|publisher= University of California Press|year=1991|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft0z09n7m0&chunk.id=d0e8732&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e8732&brand=ucpress|page=176}}</ref>

Production for ''The Asphalt Jungle'' took place from October 21, 1949 to late December of that year. Location shooting took place in [[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]] and [[Keeneland]], Kentucky and in [[Cincinnati]], Ohio.<ref name=afi>{{AFI film|26211}}</ref>

In shooting the film, Huston was influenced by European [[Neorealism (art)|neorealist]] films such as ''[[Rome, Open City|Open City]]'' (1945) and ''[[Bicycle Thieves]]'' (1948). He combined the naturalism of neorealism with the stylized look of [[film noir]] and Hollywood crime films.<ref name=intro /> When the film was complete, Mayer said: "It's trash. That ''Asphalt Pavement'' thing is full of nasty, ugly people doing nasty things. I wouldn't cross the street to see a picture like that."<ref name=intro /><ref name=afi />

The [[Production Code Administration]]'s main concerns with the script were the detailed depiction of the heist and the fact that the character of the corrupt lawyer Alonzo Emmerich ([[Louis Calhern]]) seemed to cheat justice by killing himself.<ref name=naremore/> Neither the studio nor the censors interfered significantly with the script, however, and both the heist and the suicide were included in the final cut,<ref name=naremore/> although the suicide scene was rewritten. The original scene had Emmerich finishing a suicide note, but in the revised scene, he stalls after writing an endearing salutation to his wife May ([[Dorothy Tree]]), crumples the note and become extremely agitated about the decision to kill himself before an abrupt cutaway to an offscreen shot being heard.<ref name=afi />

Huston's first choice for the breakout role of Angela Phinlay played by [[Marilyn Monroe]] was [[Lola Albright]], who was unavailable.<ref name=afi /> Huston invited Monroe to a [[screen test]] and rehearsed for it with her in his office. He did not feel that she was right for the part and dismissed her, but changed his mind when he watched her leave the room. According to film noir authority [[Eddie Muller]], Huston later said that Monroe was "one of the few actresses who could make an entrance by leaving the room."<ref name=intro />

==Reception==

===Box office===
According to MGM records, the film earned $1,077,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,060,000 overseas, resulting in a profit of only $40,000.<ref name="Mannix"/><ref name="scott"/>

===Critical response===
A contemporary review in ''[[Photoplay]]'' stated:
{{blockquote|This brutally frank story of crime and punishment in a Midwestern city was directed by two-time [[Academy Award]] winner, John Huston—son of the late [[Walter Huston]]. John's pictures are usually grim (''[[The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (film)|The Treasure of the Sierra Madre]]''), but always dramatic and exciting. This time he exposes the behind-the-scenes details of the robbery of a jewelry store... This picture is packed with stand-out performances... There's a beautiful blonde, too, name of Marilyn Monroe, who plays Calhern's girl friend, and makes the most of her footage.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}}}

The [[Brooklyn Eagle]]'s review was highly complimentary: "It's a smash picture....[[Sterling Hayden]], Louis Calhern, [[Sam Jaffe]] and [[Marc Lawrence]] are four standout members of the cast...which has an entirely brilliant lineup of players....It goes off like clockwork, in a series of tense scenes that have the audience clutching their chair arms."<ref>Corby, Jane."Screenings." Brooklyn Eagle, 21 June 1950, 12.</ref>

At the time of its release ''[[The New York Times]]'' said of the film:

{{blockquote|Louis Calhern as the big lawyer who tries to pull a double cross and muffs it is exceptionally fluid and adroit and Sterling Hayden is sure-fire as a brazen hoodlum who just wants to go back home. Likewise Sam Jaffe does wonders as a cool-headed mastermind, [[James Whitmore]] is taut as a small 'fixer' and [[John McIntire]] is crisp as a chief of police. But, then, everyone in the picture—which was produced incidentally, by M.G.M.—gives an unimpeachable performance. If only it all weren't so corrupt.<ref name=meyer/>}}

In 1988 the [[Criterion Collection]] critic Peter Heath Becker admired Huston's technique:

{{blockquote|Through his experience as a painter, [Huston] learned to frame an image, and throughout the film, he uses one shot where other directors might have needed three. He dispenses with editing flourishes and over-dramatic lighting and opts instead for sustained, well-composed shots. By balancing elements in the foreground and background of his images, Huston frames events and responses at once, without cutting between them.<ref>[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/827-the-asphalt-jungle The Asphalt Jungle] Criterion Collection (February 1, 1988) accessed Sept. 13, 2016</ref>}}

[[Eddie Muller]] noted that the film "gave an injection of realism to the postwar crime picture. Instead of the snarling miscreants seen in hundreds of gangster shoot-'em-ups, ''The Asphalt Jungle'' offered an underworld of struggling laborers, alienated loners, even honorable family men—in addition to garden-variety leeches and shysters. These were neorealist thieves, after bigger scores than bicycles."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Muller |first1=Eddie |title=Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir |date=2021 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-0-7624-9896-3}}</ref>

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|98| |40|consensus=''The Asphalt Jungle'' is an expertly told crime story with attention paid to the crime and characters in equal measure.|ref=yes|access-date=August 4, 2025}}

{{MC film|85|15|ref=yes|access-date=August 4, 2025}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-asphalt-jungle/ |title=Asphalt Jungke|website= |access-date=August 4, 2025}}</ref>

=== Awards and nominations ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:95%;"
! scope="col" style="width:150px;" | Institution
! scope="col" style="width:05px;" | Year
! scope="col" style="width:160px;" | Category
! scope="col" style="width:150px;" | Nominee(s)
! scope="col" style="width:10px;" | Result
|-
| rowspan="4" scope="row" |[[23rd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
! rowspan="4" |1951
|[[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
|[[John Huston]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
|[[Ben Maddow]], John Huston
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]
|[[Sam Jaffe]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography – Black-and-white]]
|[[Harold Rosson]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[4th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
!1951
| colspan="2" |[[BAFTA Award for Best Film#1950s|Best Film from any Source]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[3rd Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Award]]
!1950
|[[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film]]
|John Huston
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Edgar Awards|Edgar Allan Poe Awards]]
! scope="row" | 1951
|[[List of Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay winners|Best Motion Picture Screenplay]]
|Ben Maddow, John Huston
|{{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3" |[[Golden Globe Award]]
! rowspan="3" |1951
|[[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| John Huston
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Golden Globe Award#Categories|Best Cinematography]]
|Harold Rosson
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
|Ben Maddow, John Huston
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[National Board of Review Awards 1950|National Board of Review]]
!1950
|[[National Board of Review Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
|John Huston
|{{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[11th Venice International Film Festival|Venice Film Festival]]
! rowspan="2" |1950
| colspan="2" |[[Golden Lion]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Volpi Cup for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Sam Jaffe
|{{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2" scope="row" |[[3rd Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Award]]
! rowspan="2" |1951
|[[Writers Guild of America Award#Award Categories|Best Written Drama]]
| rowspan="2" | Ben Maddow, John Huston
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Film Concerning American Scene]]
|{{nom}}
|}

== Television series ==
The film spawned a television series [[The Asphalt Jungle (TV series)|of the same name]] starring [[Jack Warden]], [[Arch Johnson]] and [[William Smith (actor)|William Smith]], which ran for 13 episodes in the spring and summer of 1961 on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. The series resembled the film in name only, except for one episode, "The Professor", which was constructed as a sequel to the feature film. None of the characters in the film appeared in the television scripts, and the plots were devoted to the exploits of the major case squad of the [[New York Police Department]]. One of the most notable features of the series is the theme song, written by [[Duke Ellington]].<ref name="ctva" />

==Legacy==
Over time ''The Asphalt Jungle'' has become to be regarded as one of the more influential crime films of the 1950s.<ref name=nnat/> According to the [[AFI Catalog of Feature Films|AFI Film Catalog]], the film "is widely regarded by film critics as one of John Huston's best."<ref name=afi />

Burnett's novel ''The Asphalt Jungle'' was the basis of M-G-M's western film ''[[The Badlanders]]'' (1958) directed by [[Delmer Daves]], as well as ''[[Cairo (1963 film)|Cairo]]'' (1963) starring [[George Sanders]], followed by the [[blaxploitation]] film ''[[Cool Breeze (film)|Cool Breeze]]'' (1972), directed by Barry Pollack.<ref name=afi />

''The Asphalt Jungle'' further developed the crime thriller subgenre of [[caper film]]s.<ref name=naremore/> The 1955 French film ''[[Rififi]]'', which critics such as [[Leonard Maltin]] have labeled as the best heist film ever, drew much inspiration from ''The Asphalt Jungle'', although [[Jules Dassin]] contended in later years that he did not see the film until after he made ''Rififi''.<ref name=nnat/><ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/16/movies/film-a-noir-classic-makes-it-back-from-the-blacklist.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|work=[[The New York Times]]|date= July 16, 2000|title=FILM; A Noir Classic Makes It Back From the Blacklist |first=Michael |last=Sragow}}</ref>

In 2008, ''The Asphalt Jungle'' was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

==Colorization dispute==
The film was the subject of a [[film colorization|colorization]] lawsuit and controversy in France. [[Turner Entertainment]] entered into an agreement with the French television channel [[La Cinq]], to broadcast the film in artificially colorized form. John Huston's heirs objected and filed a lawsuit. On November 23, 1988, ''The Asphalt Jungle'' was prohibited from being broadcast in France. On July 6, 1989, La Cinq won on appeal, broadcasting the film on August 6, 1989. Finally in ''Turner Entertainment Co. v. Huston,'' on May 28, 1991, the [[Court of Cassation (France)|Court of Cassation]] canceled the July 6 judgment, stating that colorizing the film transformed the original artwork enough to potentially transgress the author's moral rights.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.taradji.com/color.html |title=Moral Rights, Colorizations & The Romantic |first=Nima |last=Taradji |work=taradji.com |year=1998 |access-date=13 March 2023 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064506/http://www.taradji.com/color.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peteryu.com/intip_msu/turner.pdf|title=Turner Entertainment Co. v. Huston, CA Versailles, civ. ch., December 19, 1994, translated in Ent. L. Rep., Mar. 1995, at 3|work=peteryu.com|access-date=August 13, 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=meyer>{{cite book | first=David N. |last=Meyer | title=A Girl and a Gun: The Complete Guide to Film Noir on Video | publisher =Avon Books | year=1998 | isbn=0-380-79067-X }}</ref>

<ref name=ctva>[http://ctva.biz/US/Crime/AsphaltJungle.htm ''The Asphalt Jungle''] at The Classic TV Archive. Last accessed: July 2, 2008.</ref>
<ref name=naremore>{{cite book | last = Naremore | first = James | title = More Than Night: Film Noir in Its Contexts | url = https://archive.org/details/morethannightfil00nare_775 | url-access = limited | publisher = University of California Press | location = Berkeley | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-520-25402-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/morethannightfil00nare_775/page/n146 128]–129}}</ref>
<ref name=nnat>{{cite book | last = Schwartz | first = Ronald | title = Noir, Now and Then | publisher = Greenwood Press | location = Westport | year = 2001 | isbn = 0-313-30893-4 | chapter = ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), ''The Badlanders'' (1958), ''Cairo'' (1963), and ''Cool Breeze'' (1972) | page = [https://archive.org/details/noirnowthenfilmn00schw/page/85 85] | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/noirnowthenfilmn00schw | url = https://archive.org/details/noirnowthenfilmn00schw/page/85 }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category|The Asphalt Jungle (film)}}
* {{AFI film|26211}}
* {{IMDb title|0042208}}
* {{TCMDb title|26}} (includes detailed film synopsis and film clip)
* {{rotten-tomatoes|asphalt_jungle}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130331051437/http://www.noiroftheweek.com/2007/11/john-houston-part-2-asphalt-jungle.html ''The Asphalt Jungle'']}} at Film Noir of the Week by film historian William Hare
* [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4348-the-asphalt-jungle-a-left-handed-form-of-human-endeavor ''The Asphalt Jungle: “A Left-Handed Form of Human Endeavor”''] an essay by [[Geoffrey O’Brien]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]
* {{YouTube|dtD99oR42xA|''The Asphalt Jungle'' film trailer}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC ''The Asphalt Jungle''] essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pp. 437–438

{{John Huston}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asphalt Jungle, The}}
[[Category:1950 films]]
[[Category:1950 crime films]]
[[Category:1950s heist films]]
[[Category:American crime thriller films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:American heist films]]
[[Category:Edgar Award–winning works]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:Film noir]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films set in Ohio]]
[[Category:Films shot in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Films shot in Ohio]]
[[Category:Films based on crime novels]]
[[Category:Films based on works by W. R. Burnett]]
[[Category:Films directed by John Huston]]
[[Category:Films scored by Miklós Rózsa]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by John Huston]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:1950s American films]]
[[Category:English-language crime films]]

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The Asphalt Jungle