MAGNET contributing writer Jud Cost is sharing some of the wealth of classic films he’s been lucky enough to see over the past 40 years. Trolling the backwaters of cinema, he has worked up a list of more than 500 titles—from the silent era through the ’90s—that you may have missed. A new selection, all currently available on DVD, appears every week.
The Asphalt Jungle (1950, 112 minutes)
A 1950 Ford police cruiser tails a suspect in an armed robbery of a seedy, warehouse-district hotel. Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden) ducks behind a cement pillar as the cop car drives by. He enters a weather-beaten cafe advertising “American Food” and, saying nothing, hands a revolver to the proprietor who quickly shoves it inside the cash register’s till. The cops arrive a minute later and threaten to search the joint. “You’ll need a warrant,” says the owner (James Whitmore). Thwarted without a weapon, the police take Handley in for vagrancy to see if they can make a positive identification.
At a police lineup of only three suspects, Lt. Ditrick (Barry Kelley) points at Handley and barks at the timid man seated next to him. “C’mon, is that him!?” “I’m not sure. He wore a hat,” says the hotel clerk nervously. Even with their hats on, no ID is made by the fidgety clerk. And to add to the lieutenant’s bad day, he’s summoned to the office of the police commissioner.
Silver-haired Commissioner Hardy (John McIntire) demands to know why Ditrick hasn’t made more of a dent in his precinct’s crime rate. “I close ’em down, but they only open up again,” pleads Ditrick. “You don’t close ’em down hard enough!” bellows the commissioner. “Rip out the phones! Smash up the furniture!” Ditrick replies weakly, “People like to bet on the horses, and just because the law says … ” I don’t want your opinion of the law!” interrupts Hardy.
“Is that all, sir?” asks Ditrick after an awkward silence. “No, that’s not all. Where is Erwin Riedenschneider? You don’t know, do ya?” asks the commissioner, smiling like a man with indigestion. “No sir, but we ought to get word from our stoolies pretty soon,” says the lieutenant. The commissioner rambles on, “He left state prison yesterday at 12-noon and arrived in this city at 3:17. All you had to do was stay with him for 24 hours, and if he didn’t register, lock him up. Now, one of the most dangerous criminals alive is at large in this city!”
A cabbie drops off a well-dressed man in the bad part of town. “I wouldn’t go parading around this neighborhood with a suitcase,” he warns. “Some of these punks might clip ya just to get a clean shirt.” The fare presses the door buzzer. “Yeah?” says a bulky man. “Just say Doc is here.” “You better be on the legit,” warns the guard. “All right, make it fast,” says a jittery man in a pencil mustache summoned from inside. “Maybe you’ve heard of me, the Professor or Herr Doktor?” suggests the new arrival (Sam Jaffe). Fear flutters in the other man’s eyes. “You mean you’re … Riedenschneider?” he asks. “Why didn’t you say so? Come on in, doc,” he bubbles, extending a hand.
