Wednesday, June 27, 2007

It's a Jungle Out There

John McIntire was born 100 years ago today. Definitely one of those actors you may not know by name, but you probably know him by sight.

Maybe you recognize McIntire only because of his role as Police Commissioner Hardy in The Asphalt Jungle. A classic film from 1950 and the subject of many TV ep title allusions.

Update (29 Jun 2007 at 19:18PDT): I received an anonymous comment from someone much more worldly than me, and he/she pointed to the 1955 film, Blackboard Jungle. I'll keep the original list intact. A few titles obviously refer to Blackboard Jungle. A few definitely allude to The Asphalt Jungle. The rest? Not so easy to parse, and that's why I'll keep a single list.

The original list:
  • The Ass Fat Jungle (''Boston Legal,'' 11/15/2005)
  • The Backboard Jungle (''NYPD Blue,'' 1/16/1996)
  • The Backyard Jungle (''Micro Ventures,'' 12/7/1968)
  • The Beautiful People Jungle (''The American Girls,'' 9/30/1978)
  • The Croissant Jungle (''Kate & Allie,'' 2/3/1986)
  • The Glass Jungle (''Bus Stop,'' 11/5/1961)
  • The Green Felt Jungle (''Kraft Suspense Theater,'' 4/1/1965)
  • The Greenhouse Jungle (''Columbo,'' 10/15/1972)
  • The Hidden Jungle (''The Defenders,'' 12/1/1962)
  • The High Jungle (''Climax!,'' 7/25/1957)
  • The Hobo Jungle (''Our Miss Brooks,'' 2/26/1954)
  • The Human Jungle (''Lux Video Theatre,'' 10/20/1955)
  • The Mysterious Mechanical Jungle (''Battle of the Planets'')
  • The Plush Jungle (''Cain's Hundred,'' 1/2/1962)
  • The Rag Jungle (''The Kaiser Aluminum Hour,'' 11/20/1956)
  • The Scrap Iron Jungle (''Rescue 8,'' 2/18/1959)
  • The Shampoo Jungle (''No Appointment Necessary,'' 6/17/1977)
  • The Toy Jungle (''77 Sunset Strip,'' 12/6/1963)
  • The Velvet Jungle (''Starsky & Hutch,'' 3/5/1977)
  • The Wax Jungle (''The Silent Force,'' 10/26/1970)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

A couple of those are clearly allusions to the book/film "The Blackboard Jungle," which seems to bear no relation to "The Asphalt Jungle."

dr. tv (mike vicic) said...

Thanks for the note.

I never heard of "The Blackboard Jungle" before. You are definitely right. Some of these allusions are definitely Blackboard instead of Asphalt.

Thanks for the education!:)