The Asphalt Jungle

One of the defining heist films, John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle helped establish the blueprint for the “perfect crime” that inevitably falls apart. Rather than treating its criminals simply as villains, the film follows them as working men with different skills, ambitions, and weaknesses — a model that would influence decades of crime movies, from Rififi to Reservoir Dogs. The film also features an early performance by Marilyn Monroe, just two years before Niagara made her a major star.

Recently released from prison, Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden) concocts a plan to steal $1 million in jewels. Dix gathers a team of small-time crooks, including a safecracker and a lawyer, and the heist is a success until a stray bullet kills one of the men. As they scramble to pick up the pieces after the theft, the men let their greed get the best of them while entangling themselves in webs of deceit, treachery and murder. Starring Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, Marilyn Monroe, and Louis Calhern.