On this day in movie history - The Asphalt Jungle (1950 movie & books):

The Asphalt Jungle

directed by John Huston,

written by Ben Maddow and John Huston,

based on the novel by W. R. Burnett,

was released in the United States on May 12, 1950.
Music by Miklós Rózsa.

Cast:

Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, Marc Lawrence, Barry Kelley, Anthony Caruso, Teresa Celli, Marilyn Monroe, William Davis, Dorothy Tree, Brad Dexter, John Maxwell, Mary Anderson, Ray Bennett, David Bond, Chet Brandenburg, Benny Burt, Harry G. Butcher, Frank Cady, Jean Carter, Mack Chandler, David Clarke, John Cliff, Harry Cody, Gene Coogan, Henry Corden, Chuck Courtney, John Crawford, Ralph Dunn, Gene Evans, Pat Flaherty, Alex Gerry, Sol Gorss, Fred Graham, William Haade, Don Haggerty, Eloise Hardt, Thomas Browne Henry, Wesley Hopper, George Lynn, Ethel Lyons, Fred Marlow, Strother Martin, Patricia Miller, Howard M. Mitchell, Ralph Montgomery, Alberto Morin, Kerry O'Day, Raymond Roe, Henry Rowland, Tim Ryan, James Seay, Jack Shea, Charles Sherlock, J. Lewis Smith, J.J. Smith, Joseph Darr Smith, Helene Stanley, Jack Stoney, Ray Teal, Leah Wakefield, Harlan Warde, Jack Warden, William Washington, Constance Weiler, Judith Wood, Victor Wood, Wilson Wood, Jeff York.

Recommended reading:

The Asphalt Jungle

By W. R. Burnett.

Filmed as The Asphalt Jungle (1950), directed by John Huston.

Published by Prion Books Ltd

First published 1949.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1853753467

ISBN-13: 978-1853753466

Description:

So successful in evoking [the city's] aura that the reader breathes the air of menace that emanates from its implacable personality and shivers at the unmistakeable evidence that blind chance plays a considerable part in determining the course of every life within the city's confines. – New York Times.

The Asphalt Jungle is a gripping tale of the planning and execution of a jewellery store heist in a dark and corrupt Midwestern metropolis. Set amid a seedy urban wasteland of crooks, killers and con-artists, the various members of the gang are steadily undone by personal obsessions, double-crossing and cruel fate.

First published in 1949, W.R. Burnett's hardboiled classic was made into the definitive heist movie by John Huston in 1950, starring Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe and Marilyn Monroe. Its screenplay, co-written by Huston was nominated for an Oscar.

A master and pioneer of the gangster genre, W.R. Burnett is the author of over thirty novels - including Little Caesar and High Sierra - and sixty screenplays. He was twice nominated for Academy Awards.

The Asphalt Jungle: A Screenplay

By Ben Maddow & John Huston.

Screenplay Library.

Published by Southern Illinois University Press.

Published 1980.

First Edition.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0809309467

ISBN-13: 978-0809309467

Description:

Dore Schary, then head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, bought The Asphalt Jungle while it was still in manu­script in an effort to match the success Warner Brothers had enjoyed with Burnett’s Little Caesar and High Sierra. The choice of Ben Maddow and John Huston as screenwriters assured the artistic success of the screenplay, for few writer/directors could have matched Huston’s ability to develop these characters cinematically.

It was a case of strength building upon strength. Burnett’s fully developed characters were transformed by Maddow and Huston into a screenplay of impressive immediacy. Indeed, the portrayal of the criminals in splendid performances from Louis Calhern, Sam Jaffe, Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore, and Jean Hagen, led Bosley Crowther to lament, “If only it all weren’t so corrupt!” But the characters of Burnett, Maddow and Huston, don’t permit us to romanticize about them or their activities. We share their professional pride in a robbery well planned and are silent accomplices to their mutual treachery.

Born on this day – Sam Jaffe:

Sam Jaffe

Actor

Musician

March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984

Credits:

On the Line (1984); Nothing Lasts Forever (1984); The Love Boat (1983); Foul Play (1981); Battle Beyond the Stars (1980); Gideon's Trumpet (1980); Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1980); Flying High (1978); Kojak (1977); The Bionic Woman (1976); The Sad and Lonely Sundays (1976); Medical Story (1975); Harry O (1975); Columbo (1975); S.W.A.T. (1975); The Best of Times (1974); The Streets of San Francisco (1974); Mooch (1974); QB VII (1974); The Snoop Sisters (1973); Saga of Sonora (1973); Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1972); Love, American Style / Love and the Wishing Star (1972); Circle of Fear (1972); Alias Smith and Jones (1971–1972); The Tell-Tale Heart (1971); Enemies (1971); Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971); Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster? (1971); The Old Man Who Cried Wolf (1970); Quarantined (1970); Nanny and the Professor (1970); The Dunwich Horror (1970); Night Gallery / Escape Route (1969); The Great Bank Robbery (1969); Guns for San Sebastian (1968); Tarzan (1967); A Guide for the Married Man (1967); Batman (1966); Bonanza (1966); Daniel Boone (1965); Ben Casey (1961–1965); The Donna Reed Show (1964); The Defenders (1962); Cain's Hundred (1961); The Law and Mr. Jones (1960–1961); Naked City (1961); The Robert Herridge Theater (1961); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960–1961); The Untouchables (1961); The Islanders (1961); Shirley Temple's Storybook (1961); The Westerner (1960); Play of the Week (1960); Playhouse 90 (1959–1960); Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1959); Ben-Hur (1959); The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958); The Spies (1957); Main Street to Broadway (1953); The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951); I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1951); Under the Gun (1951); The Asphalt Jungle (1950); The Big Story (1949); Rope of Sand (1949); The Accused (1949); Gentleman's Agreement (1947); 13 Rue Madeleine (1947); Stage Door Canteen (1943); Gunga Din (1939); Lost Horizon (1937); We Live Again (1934); The Scarlet Empress (1934); A Cheap Vacation (1916).

On this day in movie history - Under the Gun (1951):

Under the Gun

directed by Ted Tetzlaff,

written by George Zuckerman,

based on a story by Daniel B. Ullman,

was released in the United States on January 26, 1951.
Music by Milton Rosen.

Cast:

Richard Conte, Audrey Totter, John McIntire, Sam Jaffe, Shepperd Strudwick, Gregg Martell, Phillip Pine, Donald Randolph, Royal Dano, Richard Taber, Dabbs Greer.