Asphalt Jungle has a look and feel that epitomizes the genre. Grimy black and white, rarely does the sun make an appearance and all the principals are rotten to the core. Sure there's enough personality in the characters to make them affable and complex; but bad people doing bad things for bad reasons, for me, defines the essence of Noir. And this movie has it in spades.
Houston's morality study has shades of grey that help one to understand the motivations behind criminal acts. Morality isn't simply black and white, right and wrong. These are desperate, thrill seeking people who run with a plan in hopes of solving personal problems of survival or excess; but in the end they are all losers. By running against the grain of society's mores they encounter impediments we all face in life. Some of the fault lies with original intention and intensifies as they make weak decisions that add up to nil. Everyone loses this game.
Sterling Hayden makes a suberb dumb hooligan. Doc Redenschnider, the man with the plan, is crafty yet trapped by carnal vices. Emerick is the slimely lawyer you never want to meet. And Marilyn Monroe puts in quite a performance as his mistress. Even the cops are shaded in this tale. Lots of great supporting cast who portray characters from the underbelly of life.
Seems everybody is crippled by something. Broken. Here you get a taste of the why and how.
Houston's morality study has shades of grey that help one to understand the motivations behind criminal acts. Morality isn't simply black and white, right and wrong. These are desperate, thrill seeking people who run with a plan in hopes of solving personal problems of survival or excess; but in the end they are all losers. By running against the grain of society's mores they encounter impediments we all face in life. Some of the fault lies with original intention and intensifies as they make weak decisions that add up to nil. Everyone loses this game.
Sterling Hayden makes a suberb dumb hooligan. Doc Redenschnider, the man with the plan, is crafty yet trapped by carnal vices. Emerick is the slimely lawyer you never want to meet. And Marilyn Monroe puts in quite a performance as his mistress. Even the cops are shaded in this tale. Lots of great supporting cast who portray characters from the underbelly of life.
Seems everybody is crippled by something. Broken. Here you get a taste of the why and how.