Dave’s Review of "The Asphalt Jungle"

This movie caught me by surprise! I didn’t know anything about this movie when I rented it. Just looking at the cover I thought "this movie is going to be boring". I was thoroughly wrong. Just goes to show you can’t judge a movie by its cover. I really enjoyed how the characters played out in this movie. They weren’t just thug criminals doing a heist; you felt a connection with all of them. I felt a little sorry for them because they couldn’t catch a break. These characters are not much different than us; they just made bad choices. My favorite character was "Dix Handley" (a name like this is already 2 strikes against you) played by Sterling Hayden. All he wants to do is clear his debt and go back on his horse ranch that his dad lost. I thought John Huston did a good job in making you like the characters. I also liked Marylin Monroe’s character, the dumb blonde that calls Louis Calhern’s character "uncle". What’s up with that? He was obviously cheating on his sick wife. Marylin must have been interested in his prestige and the money she thought he had. (Maybe she was practicing for her big role as JFK’s mistress).

This movie reminded me a lot of "Ocean’s 11" with the whole hiring of experts in each criminal field to get the heist done. Huston has everything go wrong showing that crime doesn’t pay.

I would rate this movie **** a classic.

Dave