''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1961 American

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eit ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

starring

Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...

Arch Johnson Archibald Winchester "Arch" Johnson (March 14, 1922 – October 9, 1997) was an American actor who appeared on Broadway and in more than 100 television programs. Early years Archibald Winchester Johnson was born in Minnesota in 1922. He served ...

, and Bill Smith about a squad of detectives targeting

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. Inspired by the 1950 film ''

The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American film noir heist film directed by John Huston. Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden and L ...

'', it aired from April 2 to June 25, 1961, on ABC.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 64.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 63. ''The Asphalt Jungle''s pilot episode was re-edited and lengthened to create the 1961 theatrical film '' The Lawbreakers''.The Classic TV Archive The asphalt Jungle
/ref>IMDb The Lawbreakers (1961)
/ref>Library of Congress The Asphalt Jungle
/ref>

Synopsis

The police department's Metropolitan Squad specializes in fighting organized crime in an unnamed

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

city. The squads members are elite detectives led by

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Gus Honochek and

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

Danny Keller. They report to Deputy Police Commissioner Matthew Gower. Many of their assignments involve going undercover, and Gower himself joins Honochek, Keller, and their squad in undercover work when the situation calls for it.

Cast

as Deputy Police Commissioner Matthew Gower *

as Captain Gus Honochek * Bill Smith as Sergeant Danny Keller

Production

''The Asphalt Jungle'' was a gritty

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

inspired by the 1950 film ''The Asphalt Jungle'', which in turn was based on the 1949 novel ''The Asphalt Jungle'' by

W. R. Burnett William Riley Burnett (November 25, 1899 April 25, 1982) was an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for the crime novel ''Little Caesar'', the film adaptation of which is considered the first of the classic American gangster ...

. The television series, however, had nothing in common with the novel or film other than its title – with the partial exception of the episode "The Professor," the plot of which reflects elements of the film. Arthur Lewis, Mel Epstein, and Jaime del Valle produced episodes of the series, and Herman Hoffman, Gerald Mayer, and

Joseph M. Newman Joseph M. Newman (August 17, 1909 – January 23, 2006) was an American film director most famous for his 1955 film ''This Island Earth''. His credits include episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'' and ''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour''. He was nomin ...

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

the episodes. Burnett received a writing credit for each of the 13 episodes, and the other writers credited were

George Bellak George Bellak (April 9, 1919 – October 22, 2002) was an American television writer who was active from the 1950s to the 1980s. He wrote episodes for ''Justice'', (1954), ''Playhouse 90'' (1957-1959), '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1961), '' N.Y.P.D.'' ...

, Alvin Boretz, Steve Gethers, Abram S. Ginnes,

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

Ben Maddow Ben Maddow (born David Wolff, August 7, 1909 in Passaic, New Jersey – October 9, 1992 in Los Angeles, California) was an American screenwriter and documentarian from the 1930s through the 1970s. Educated at Columbia University, Maddow began ...

Paul Monash Paul Monash (June 14, 1917 – January 14, 2003) was an American television and film producer and screenwriter. Life and career Paul Monash was born in Harlem, New York, in 1917, and grew up in The Bronx. His mother, Rhoda Melrose, acted in si ...

E. Jack Neuman Ernest Jack Neuman (February 27, 1921 – January 15, 1998) was an Edgar and Peabody award-winning American writer and producer. Early years Neuman was born in Toledo, Ohio. He moved to Denver, Colorado, as a child and graduated from Regis ...

, Joseph Petracca,

Adrian Spies Adrian Spies (April 17, 1920 – October 2, 1998) was an American screenwriter, active from the 1940s through to the 1980s. He won an Edgar Award for an episode of ''Studio One in Hollywood'' and was nominated for an Emmy Award for an episod ...

, Peter Stone, Leon Tokatyan,

Carey Wilber Carey Wilber (June 26, 1916 – May 2, 1998) was an American journalist and television writer born in Buffalo, New York. He began his career in the live days of television, and wrote for a variety of programs over the next three decades, including ' ...

, and James Yaffe.

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

composed the shows music. The television series was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television production and was filmed in

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

. MGM Television filmed the pilot episode of ''The Asphalt Jungle'', entitled "The Lady and the Lawyer", in 1960. It did not include Bill Smith or his Sergeant Danny Keller character; instead, the detective featured alongside Gower and Honochek was Sergeant Frank Orte, portrayed by Douglas Odney. For the rest of the series, Odneys Orte character was dropped, replaced by Smiths Keller character. ABC broadcast "The Lady and the Lawyer" on April 9, 1961, as the second episode of the series with the standard opening credits including Smith, although he does not appear in the episode, and Odney as Frank Orte credited in the closing credits. After the cancellation of ''The Asphalt Jungle'', "The Lady and the Lawyer" was re-edited and expanded to create the 79-minute 1961 theatrical film ''The Lawbreakers''. Like "The Lady and the Lawyer," ''The Lawbreakers'' does not include Smith or his Keller character, so he is not credited in the film. David White, who portrays Police Commissioner James Deane in ''The Lawbreakers'', also is credited for the role in the closing credits of "The Lady and the Lawyer", although neither he nor his Deane character appear in the television episode. At the end of ''The Lawbreakers'', Gower, a captain at the beginning of the film, is promoted to commissioner, not merely deputy commissioner.

Broadcast history

''The Asphalt Jungle'' premiered on ABC on April 2, 1961.IMDb The Asphalt Jungle Episode List
/ref> It had mediocre ratings and was cancelled after the broadcast of its 13th episode on June 25, 1961. It aired on Sunday at 9:30 pm throughout its run. ABC aired reruns of ''The Asphalt Jungle'' in its regular time slot from July 2 to September 24, 1961.

Episodes

Sourcestvguide.com The Asphalt Jungle Episodes
/ref>

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asphalt Jungle 1961 American television series debuts 1961 American television series endings 1960s American crime drama television series 1960s American police procedural television series American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows Television series by MGM Television Television shows set in the Midwestern United States