I love it when I find a diamond in the rough.
The director Joseph M. Newman didn't readily ring any bells so looked him.up. Newman is responsible for 711 Ocean Drive, and a recent discovery Death in Small Doses. Both pretty good Noirs. He also directed the studio bound Dangerous Crossing and later some twilight Zone episodes. The cinematographer Ellis W. Carter did a couple of Noirs I've never heard of Big Town After Dark and Waterfront at Midnight. The well polished screenplay was by Daniel Fuchs and William Sackheim.
Fuchs has a pretty good pedigree in noir responsible for The Gangster, Hollow Triumph, Criss Cross, Panic in the Streets and Storm Warning. Sackheim adapted 3D Noir Man in the Dark. The music was by Hans J. Salter.
So who starred in it?, is probably your next question. Garry Merrill he really impressed me with his portrayal of wise ass hood Tommy Scalisi opposite Dana Andrews in Where The Sidewalk Ends.
He didn't have to go over the top like Widmark doing that other Tommy, "have a nice trip down the stairs Mrs. Rizzo," Tommy Udo. Merrill sold Scalisi with his cool delivery and his stance. He sold it and you bought it. What Merrill does here is portraying his range. He's equally believable to me as a smart hard as nails police reformer Police Capt. John Danforth. Then watch his broken on the wagon wino in the Transitional Noir The Incident.
What also makes you wonder why The Human Jungle isn't more well known is the equally exceptional performances of rest of the cast.
Jan Sterling plays a stripper/hooker Mary Abbott, I've never seen her look better and she was a veteran of seven noirs prior to this role (she is also in The Incident). Regis Toomey fits the part of Det. Bob Geddes like putting on an old pair of comfortable slippers.
Chuck Connors really sines as meathead, gang muscle Earl Swados. Then you have, perennially popping up as a cop, Emile Meyer as Police Chief Abe Rowan and the equally adept James Westerfield as Police Capt. Marty Harrison.
Claude Akins is the mob connected owner of the Hutch, George Mandy. The rest of the cast just add to the realism. Lamont Johnson as Det. Lannigan is great and looks amazingly like Tom Hanks, Patrick Waltz as Det. Strauss, Paula Raymond as Pat Danforth, Gary Merrill's wife. The rest, George Wallace as Det. O'Neill, Chubby Johnson as Greenie and, Florenz Ames as Leonard Ustick are equally believable.
Its a well executed film from Allied Artists, and when you're not expecting too much going into it you get a pleasant surprise with what was achieved.
The story is more about cleaning up a troublesome police precinct than solving the crime of who bludgeoned the floozy in the alley. The atmosphere of a lackadaisical precinct full of cops who don't give a shit is well executed. An old New York Times review from 1954 mentions that the film was full of "generally unfamiliar faces." It's full of faces that subsequently became quite famous and familiar on TV.
An anonymous New York Times review at the time, goes on to say that "Unfortunately, the color of this hard-bitten canvas surpasses its substance. Mr. Merrill's campaign is valiant but predictable, hinging on the inevitable platinum blond cutie, excellently played, as usual, by Jan Sterling."
This just goes to say that back in the day (the 50s) they were churning out these cops and criminal features like they were going out of style. From 1949 to 1954 they produced 52 in '49, 57 during high water mark '50, 39 in 51 then 26, 21, and back up to 26 in 1954. That's 221 Crime features a lot of the great Film Noir. It's easy to see how this gets lost in the shuffle.
The Times also went on to say "And Emile Meyer, Regis Toomey, Chuck Connors and most of the other supporting roles are expertly ticked off."Sounds like he's writing a four star review. He goes on "Furthermore, for once we get a rather unorthodox fa?ade for evil in Florenz Ames' chilling milquetoast."
I think the final lines display a somewhat jaded attitude "Alas, none of them, including Mr. Merrill's hero, is particularly intriguing. For all the picturesque puttering and sputtering, "The Human Jungle" lodges unimportantly somewhere between "The Asphalt Jungle" and "Detective Story."" Its important now because of the new interest in Films Noir, and sitting between The Asphalt Jungle and Detective Story ain't to shabby a spot, don't ya think?
It's not so much about solving a crime as it is about the change in the characters getting there. From Allied Artist originally Monogram Pictures. Its a bit studio bound and could have used more location shots. 8/10
