The Asphalt Jungle (TV series)

Cast

Synopsis

The New York Police Department's Metropolitan Squad specializes in fighting organized crime in New York 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.

Production

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 – with the partial exception of the episode "The Professor," the plot of which reflects elements of the movie.

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.

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. Like "The Lady and the Lawyer," The Lawbreakers does not include Smith or his Keller character, and he therefore is not credited in the movie. David White, who portrays Police Commissioner James Deane in The Lawbreakers, also is credited for the role in the closing credits of the "The Lady and the Lawyer," although neither he or his Deane character appear in the television episode.

Broadcast history

The Asphalt Jungle premiered on ABC on April 2, 1961. It had mediocre ratings and was cancelled after the broadcast of its thirteenth episode on June 25, 1961. It aired on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. throughout its run.

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

Episodes

Sources