The Heat of the Jungle

I slept in this morning, mostly because I didn't sleep well last night. My sinuses decided to act up, making my nose stuffy and runny. I took an allergy pill and finally crashed around quarter of 3. I wasn't really up for doing much, so I just had breakfast and watched The Asphalt Jungle.

The Asphalt Jungle of the title is the red-light district of a mid-western city (Chicago?), which has seen many burglaries and much violence over the past few years. A little German man who was once a criminal mastermind breaks out of prison claiming he's devised the perfect heist, and rounds up several men who can help him with the job...all of whom have their own reasons for being involved with crime.

Make no mistake, this ain't Ocean's Eleven. There's no glamor to this gritty, well-acted tale of a heist gone wrong and the things men will do for money...and what their women will do to keep them. The cast is excellent; special kudos to Sterling Hayden and Jean Hagan as the "hoodlum" who acts as the group muscle and his supportive girlfriend, Louis Calhern as the lawyer who finds himself bankrolling the operation despite being bankrupt himself, and Marilyn Monroe (yes, that Marilyn) in a small role his "niece" whom he uses for an alibi. The moody black-and-white cinematography is also excellent, adding nicely to the dark, decayed atmosphere.

It was getting a little late after Jungle ended. I did have enough time to head to WaWa for milk and have a decent lunch before work. The scattered thunderstorms that were predicted for today have yet to occur. It was off-and-on sunny for most of the day, warm and humid. By the time I rode home from work, it had cooled off considerably and was much windier.

Work, BTW, was steady all night, with no major problems.