Retrospective: The Asphalt Jungle (Patreon)

Interesting in retrospect to look at posters for this that prominently feature Marilyn Monroe, who only has about 47 seconds of screentime. Monroe makes her relatively small part sing, turning a complacent squeeze into a giddy and tormented accomplice. You can see glimpses of her future brilliant performances in Some Like It Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes here.

But Monroe seems to overshadow The Asphalt Garden, which is a solid heist movie from John Huston. Huston does well with this story of this crew of struggling criminals from different quadrants of society who conceive a heist, execute it, and subsequently crumble as their plans fall apart. Huston's America is one where hoodlums struggle to survive by any dishonest means necessary. This movie is a far cry from the highs of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but so is anything. A worthy minor classic of film noir.