The free film series "The Screening Room: Classics, Crowd-Pleasers, Cult Favorites and Neglected Gems" enters the month of March with a 60th-anniversary revival of one of Hollywood’s most admired and influential crime dramas.
The tense and intelligent caper thriller "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950) – directed by John Huston ("The Maltese Falcon," "Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "The African Queen") – will be screened at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 9, at the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, 350 N. Wood Ave., downtown Florence.
Based on the novel by W.R. Burnett, "The Asphalt Jungle" centers on a legendary criminal mastermind (played by veteran character actor Sam Jaffe) who develops a seemingly foolproof plan for a million-dollar jewelry heist. The scheme works like a charm – until a strange run bad luck and double crosses threatens to unravel his intricate and meticulous plans.
In addition to Jaffe, "The Asphalt Jungle" stars Sterling Hayden, James Whitmore, Louis Calhern, John McIntire and Marc Lawrence, with Marilyn Monroe cast in a stunning, star-making supporting role as Calhern’s mistress.
Set in “The City Under the City,” Huston’s mature film-noir thriller earned Oscar nominations for Best Director (Huston), Best Supporting Actor (Jaffe), Best Screenplay (Huston and Ben Maddow) and Best Cinematography (Harold Rosson).
"The Screening Room" is sponsored by the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library and Pillar of Fire. The series is organized and hosted by film historian and Pillar of Fire founder Terry Pace, who teaches English at UNA.
All "Screening Room" programs are free and open to the public. For details, call the library at (256) 764-6564 or Pillar of Fire at (256) 366-4512, or e-mail pillaroffire@bellsouth.net.
“Experience has taught me never to trust a policeman. Just when you think one’s right, he turns legit.” – Doc Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) in John Huston’s "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950)
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