The Asphalt Jungle (TV series)

Last updated
The Asphalt Jungle
The Asphalt Jungle title card.JPG
Genre Police procedural
Starring
Composer Duke Ellington
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Producers
Running time60 minutes
Production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseApril 2 (1961-04-02) 
June 25, 1961 (1961-06-25)

The Asphalt Jungle is a 1961 American police procedural television series starring Jack Warden, Arch Johnson, and Bill Smith about a squad of detectives targeting organized crime in the Midwestern United States. Inspired by the 1950 film The Asphalt Jungle , it aired from April 2 to June 25, 1961, on ABC, followed by repeats until September 24, 1961. [1] [2]

Contents

The Asphalt Jungle's pilot episode was re-edited and lengthened to create the 1961 theatrical film The Lawbreakers . [3]

Synopsis

The police department's Metropolitan Squad specializes in fighting organized crime in an unnamed Midwestern city. The squad's members are elite detectives led by Captain Gus Honochek and Sergeant 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. [1] [2]

Cast

The cast of The Asphalt Jungle: Left to right, Arch Johnson as Captain Gus Honochek, Jack Warden as Deputy Police Commissioner Matthew Gower, and Bill Smith as Sergeant Danny Keller The Asphalt Jungle TV cast.jpg
The cast of The Asphalt Jungle: Left to right, Arch Johnson as Captain Gus Honochek, Jack Warden as Deputy Police Commissioner Matthew Gower, and Bill Smith as Sergeant Danny Keller

Production

Arch Johnson in The Asphalt Jungle (1961) Arch Johnson 1961.JPG
Arch Johnson in The Asphalt Jungle (1961)

The Asphalt Jungle was a gritty crime drama inspired by the 1950 film The Asphalt Jungle, which in turn was based on the 1949 novel The Asphalt Jungle by W. R. Burnett. The television series, however, had nothing in common with the novel or film other than its title [1] [4] 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 directed the episodes. Burnett received a writing credit for each of the 13 episodes, and the other writers credited were George Bellak, Alvin Boretz, Steve Gethers, Abram S. Ginnes, John Huston, Ben Maddow, Paul Monash, E. Jack Neuman, Joseph Petracca, Adrian Spies, Peter Stone, Leon Tokatyan, Carey Wilber, and James Yaffe. Duke Ellington composed the show's music. The television series was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television production and was filmed in black-and-white.[ citation needed ]

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, Odney's Orte character was dropped, replaced by Smith's 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. [3] 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. [2] It had mediocre ratings and was cancelled after the broadcast of its 13th episode on June 25, 1961.[ citation needed ] It aired on Sunday at 9:30 pm throughout its run. [2]

ABC aired reruns of The Asphalt Jungle in its regular time slot from July 2 to September 24, 1961. [1] [2]

Episodes

Sources [3] [5]

Season #Episode #TitlePlot notesOriginal air date
11"The Burglary Ring"Keller works with Lieutenant Jim Jensen of the burglary squad to apprehend an efficient five-man burglary ring run by a former British Army officer a self-styled colonel who plans his crimes meticulously, times and drills his four hand-picked accomplices thoroughly, and makes their thefts look like inside jobs. As the case unfolds, Jensen proves to be dedicated, but incompetent, and Gower must decide whether to retire him. James Westerfield, John Harmon, Eric Berry, Warren Kemmerling, Frank Ferguson, Terry Becker, William Keene, Warren Parker, Joe Turkel, Linda Watkins, Paul Genge, John Duke, George Kennedy, and Will J. White guest-star.April 2, 1961
12"The Lady and the Lawyer"City employee Sam Henry is murdered, and Allen Bardeman, an attorney who enjoys fast living with his secretary, Angela Walsh, becomes the prime suspect in the killing when Gower's investigation reveals that Henry was involved in organized crime with Bardeman. Despite being credited (as "Bill Smith") in the title sequence, William Smith does not appear in this episode and is not listed in the closing credits. Vera Miles, Robert Douglas, Ken Lynch, Douglas Odney, Robert H. Harris, Robert Bailey, and Mary Lawrence guest-star. This episode was the pilot for the series, and later was edited and expanded to create the 79-minute 1961 theatrical film The Lawbreakers . David White, credited as portraying Police Commissioner James Deane in the episode, does not appear in "The Lady and the Lawyer", but does portray Deane in The Lawbreakers.April 9, 1961
13"The Friendly Gesture"Evidence suggests that Honochek's friend Lou Gordon is connected with a crime ring that steals traveler's checks, but Honochek finds this hard to believe, and risks his job to try to exonerate Gordon. Milton Selzer, Maxine Stuart, and George Kennedy guest-star.April 16, 1961
14"The Gomez Affair"After a policeman is killed in a gun battle with small-time criminal Joey Minor, who is wounded in the exchange of fire, Gower's search for Minor leads to a local hospital, where someone has stolen medical supplies and Minor's ex-girlfriend Teresa Gomez works as a nurse. Gower and his men come up with a plan to use Gomez to catch Minor. Everett Sloane, Ellen Madison, Paul Carr, and Emile Meyer guest-star.April 23, 1961
15"The Sniper"After police surround a "lover's lane" area in which a sniper has wounded six young girls, a man named Lonnie Peterson comes to Gower and Honochek bearing a rifle and claiming to be the culprit, but they suspect that Peterson is lying about his involvement. Leo Penn, Michael Parks, Suzi Carnell, and Virginia Christine guest-star.April 30, 1961
16"The Last Way Out"Gower and Honochek discover two women who are Richie Ashmond's former romantic partners the head of a bookmaking syndicate whom the police previously have investigated without success and who know a lot about his life. John Ireland and Arthur Batanides guest-star.May 7, 1961
17"The McMasters Story"After two men shoot reformed criminal and former gangster David McMasters to death, organized crime is assumed to be responsible, but Gower discovers that McMasters left a large inheritance to his daughter Norma and begins to suspect that she may be involved in his murder. Edward Binns, Erin O'Brien, Abraham Sofaer, and Malcolm Atterbury guest-star.May 14, 1961
18"The Nine-Twenty Hero"After Detective Bill Dyer single-handedly wins a gun battle with four armed criminals and is cited for heroism, he suddenly goes berserk and shoots a fellow police officer. Skip Homeier, Beverly Garland, and Steve Brodie guest-star.May 21, 1961
19"The Professor"Crime boss Doc Stehlmeyer gets out of prison and plans a million-dollar jewelry theft, but his plans begin to fall apart almost immediately. Philip Carey, Frank Overton, and Milton Selzer guest-star.May 28, 1961
110"The Fighter"Two loan sharks named Luther and Garfield promise to cancel former prizefighter Allie Jonay's debt if he will help them in a robbery. Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Norma Crane, and Joseph Elic guest-star.June 4, 1961
111"The Kidnapping"After kidnappers demand that Roy Bradley pay an enormous ransom for the return of his son Wayne, Gower searches for the boy, and Bradley is forced to borrow money from his friend, Alex Meriden. Gower and his men capture three of the four kidnappers and free the boy, but the ransom money is missing. Paul Stewart, Alexander Scourby, Adam Williams, Jena Engstrom, and James Bonnet guest-star.June 11, 1961
112"The Dark Night"Gower learns that mobsters plan to kill gangland financier Victor Vanda, whom Gower hopes to bring to justice alive so that he can identify and incriminate his colleagues in organized crime. He offers to protect Vanda in exchange for his testimony. Gower's men go undercover at a costume ball to keep Vanda safe from assassins. Joyce Meadows, Fritz Weaver, Iphigenie Castiglioni, Val Avery, Morgan Woodward, Jerry Wayne, Than Wyenn, Felix Deebank, and Kate Riordan guest-star.June 18, 1961
113"The Scott Machine"When Warren W. Scott, a Nazi and admirer of Adolf Hitler, visits New York City to attend a large rally and attracts both supporters and protesters, Gower and his men, much to their distaste, are assigned to protect him from violent acts by his opponents. Robert Vaughn, Leora Dana, Carl Don, Frank Maxwell, John Astin, Hugh Sanders, Robert Brubaker, Lou Krugman, and Brad Morrow guest-star.June 25, 1961

Related Research Articles

<i>Ironside</i> (1967 TV series) American television crime drama (1967–1975)

Ironside is an American television crime drama that aired on NBC over eight seasons from 1967 to 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as Robert T. Ironside, a consultant to the San Francisco police department, who was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot while on vacation. The character debuted on March 28, 1967, in a TV movie entitled Ironside. When the series was broadcast in the United Kingdom, from late 1967 onward, it was broadcast as A Man Called Ironside. The show earned Burr six Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations.

The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories by American author Ed McBain. McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several occasions.

<i>Barney Miller</i> American sitcom

Barney Miller is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker. Noam Pitlik directed the majority of the episodes. It spawned a spin-off series, Fish, that ran from February 5, 1977, to May 18, 1978, focusing on the character Philip K. Fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Smith (actor)</span> American actor (1933–2021)

William Emmett Smith was an American actor. In a Hollywood career spanning more than 79 years, he appeared in almost three hundred feature films and television productions in a wide variety of character roles, often villainous or brutal, accumulating over 980 total credits, with his best known role being the menacing Anthony Falconetti in the 1970s television mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man. Smith is also known for films like Any Which Way You Can (1980), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Rumble Fish (1983), and Red Dawn (1984), as well as lead roles in several exploitation films during the 1970s and 1990s.

<i>The Asphalt Jungle</i> 1950 film by John Huston

The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 American heist film noir directed and co-written by John Huston, and starring Sterling Hayden and Louis Calhern, with Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, and Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. R. Burnett</span> American novelist

William Riley Burnett 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 movies.

Joseph M. Newman 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Adler</span> American actor (1896–1978)

Jay Adler was an American actor in theater, television, and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Beddoe</span> American actor (1903–1991)

Donald Theophilus Beddoe was an American character actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McIntire</span> American actor (1907–1991)

John Herrick McIntire was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in November 1960, as the star of NBC's Wagon Train. He played Christopher Hale, the leader of the wagon train from early 1961 to the series' end in 1965. He also replaced Charles Bickford, upon Bickford's death in 1967, as ranch owner Clay Grainger on NBC's The Virginian for four seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Kelley</span> American actor (1908–1991)

Edward Barry Kelley was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in Oklahoma! on Broadway. His large size and acting range had him playing primarily judges, detectives, and police officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Williams (actor)</span> American actor

Adam Williams was an American film and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Binns</span> American actor (1916–1990)

Edward Binns was an American actor. He had a wide-spanning career in film and television, often portraying competent, hard working and purposeful characters in his various roles. He is best known for his work in such acclaimed films as 12 Angry Men (1957), North by Northwest (1959), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), Fail Safe (1964), The Americanization of Emily (1964), Patton (1970) and The Verdict (1982).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Seay</span> American actor (1914–1992)

James Seay was an American character actor who often played minor supporting roles as government officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Haggerty</span> American actor (1914–1988)

Don Haggerty was an American actor of film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Bray</span> American film and television actor (1917–1983)

Robert E. Bray was an American film and television actor known for playing the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the CBS series Lassie, He also starred in Stagecoach West and as Mike Hammer in the movie version of Mickey Spillane's novel My Gun Is Quick (1957).

<i>The Felony Squad</i> American TV crime drama (1966–1969)

The Felony Squad is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966, to January 31, 1969.

<i>Whispering Smith</i> (TV series) American Western television series

Whispering Smith is an American Western television series that originally aired on NBC. It has the same ultimate source material as the 1948 film of the same name, but differs in some significant respects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Lynch</span> American actor

Kenneth E. Lynch was an American radio, film, and television actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been best known for his starring role as "the Lieutenant" on Dumont detective series The Plainclothesman (1949–1954), on which his face was never seen, and for his co-starring role as Sergeant Grover on McCloud.

<i>The Lawbreakers</i> 1961 film by Joseph M. Newman

The Lawbreakers is a 1961 American film directed by Joseph M. Newman. Made in a film noir style, the crime drama is based on the pilot episode of the 1961 television series The Asphalt Jungle and stars an ensemble cast including Jack Warden, Vera Miles, Robert Douglas, and Arch Johnson.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 64.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9 ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 85. ISBN   978-0-345-49773-4 . Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  3. 1 2 3 Library of Congress The Asphalt Jungle
  4. Hughes, Howard, The Filmgoers' Guide to Great Crime Movies, New York: I. B. Taurus & Co., Ltd., 2006, ISBN   978-1-84511-219-6, unpaginated.
  5. tvguide.com The Asphalt Jungle Episodes