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When a criminal mastermind, a bookie and a lawyer join forces, assembling a crack team to pull off a lucrative jewellery heist, the expectation is that the robbery be awarded the most screen time. John Huston's "The Asphalt Jungle" places more emphasis on preparation and downfall as much as it does the actual caper, and it is a decision that pays off splendidly. Depicting the minutiae of the plan from the perspective of the criminals and compounding naturalism and expressionism to achieve the distinctive aesthetic and correlative content of film noir, "The Asphalt Jungle" is an anatomy of crime that never glamorises its subject. Nothing is over-dramatic or extraneous, every shot meticulously designed, expertly framed and diffidently lit in a sustained manner, matching its unassuming Midwest backdrop. One such member of the new criminal enterprise, Sterling Hayden's hulking hoodlum with penchant for horses, is galvanised and haunted by the loss of his childhood home, a ranch representing innocence and simplicity. It is this pulverising toxicity of pathos, ulterior motives and individual vices that inevitably leads to the criminal collective's rapid ruination. Huston's gang of deviants are world-weary and invariably inspire empathy for their tragic flaws dooming them to fail, but that isn't to say they are entirely humanised. Louis Calhern's duplicitous lawyer is broke from funding the lavish lifestyles of his bed-ridden wife and young mistress, inducing his desire to fleece the loot for himself, a plot that generates police suspicion, murder and suicide. He is not the only loose cog in the machine, though, as the initial plan was not exactly foolproof to begin with, and as Huston showcases in the robbery scene, all 11 minutes of it, that even criminal masterminds cannot account for every contingency. If the heist had gone ahead without a hitch, it would have fallen apart in the aftermath; not being able to spend any of the money immediately, and paranoia sets in amongst the weaker, less experienced members, causing dissension and betrayal.
Huston presents the audience with a set of criminals who are deeply flawed and far less capable of pulling off a heist than we anticipate them to be, and that is to its advantage since we identify with its characters and their infallibility. Later films concentrating on heists were too implausible, suggesting that cons could be trusted. Huston's film does not sanitise or expurgate any of its disagreeable content, and such unsavoury actions are shown in all their unpleasant glory. It is conversely grim and mesmerising. An enduring classic of the crime genre that is inherently watchable in spite of its pessimistic tone and bleak ending.
