The Asphalt Jungle (Part 1) - Jewels, Family, and Vice

Up until now, the only noir films I've seen were Rififi and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, if you could call it a noir. The latter film had the ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation, only this 'ordinary person' was a cartoon rabbit framed for murdering the man who owns Toon Town. I'll go into it another time; let's look at Asphalt Jungle, a noir film about a jewel heist and what happens afterwards.

Like other noir films, you have the black-and-white cinematography, the criminals who could've been contenders, and the big bosses who always pull a fast one. However, there are no femme fatales. Even though it's implicated Doll might be in the world's oldest profession, she is a sensitive, sweet young thing. To be honest, she doesn't look that bad without her eyelashes. Even though I'm hetrosexual, I've always been fascinated by feminine and masculine beauty, and this is no exception. Mr. Bennett is a little harsh on Doll in that aspect, but at least he recognizes her for her pesonality. In fact, we actually have a backstory for Dix and a motivation for Louis. One grew up on a farm that raised horses, another is a family man with a one-year-old son. Typically, a noir film just goes straight into the plot and only makes its characters archetypes: the hero is a drunken reprobate, the villain is a big-shot gangster or businessman, and the woman's a femme fatale. We have the middle characterization, but not the last one. Not by a longshot.

Of course, one can't talk about noir films without the Hayes Code and the Legion of Deceny, what I think is the biggest violation of free speech. I'm sure they intended the best, but no one goes to the movies so some organization can expunge some beliefs. There's also a matter of hypocrisy; if a woman can get killed for having sex out of wedlock, why not men too? And also, there's a matter that plagued cinema since the dawn of time: which should we worry about more - sex, or violence? I'm personally for subtlety and putting things in when they are necessary, so if there's sex, let there be sex. However, torture porn gets lower MPAA ratings than movies with love scenes. Also, criminals always had to die or get punished by the end of the film. Louis is about to bite the dust, Dix is wounded, and Mr. Brannon is dead. All Louis did was get involved; he probably needed the extra money to support his family, and he seemed a little weak to me. He looks like Fred Flinstone, but he has Barney Rubble's temperament. Maybe the powers that be are a little too harsh on him. At least the directors try to dance around it.

Speaking of death, how does one hide a corpse, anyway? I'd personally recommend burning it to a crisp in a giant oven, or, if you have a man-eating plant, feeding him in small pieces. That'd leave blood all over the linoleum, but at least it won't be there anymore. Drowning could cause problems too, since the body could easily wash ashore and some passerby could've called the police. Maybe Lon panicked, but that's just my take.

In a next journal, I'll look at the rest of the film as well as some quotes, but for now, let's keep our eyes wide open, but not too open or else you'll wet yourself whenever you hear Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.