Rififi (1955)

Four men plan a technically perfect crime, but the human element intervenes...

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Auguste Le Breton (novel), Jules Dassin (adaptation)

Stars:

Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Robert Manuel

6 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Servais	...	Tony le Stéphanois
Carl Möhner	...	Jo le Suedois
Robert Manuel	...	Mario Ferrati
Janine Darcey	...	Louise
Pierre Grasset	...	Louis Grutter aka Louis le Tatoué
Robert Hossein	...	Remi Grutter
Marcel Lupovici	...	Pierre Grutter
Dominique Maurin	...	Tonio
Magali Noël	...	Viviane
Marie Sabouret	...	Mado les Grands Bras
Claude Sylvain	...	Ida Ferrati
Jules Dassin	...	Cesar le Milanais (as Perlo Vita)
Armandel	...	Second Gambler
Alain Bouvette	...	Footman, 'L'Age D'Or'
Alice Garan

Storyline

After five years in prison, Tony le Stéphanois meets his dearest friends Jo and the Italian Mario Ferrati and they invite Tony to steal a couple of jewels from the show-window of the famous jewelry Mappin & Webb Ltd, but he declines. Tony finds his former girlfriend Mado, who became the lover of the gangster owner of the night-club L' Âge d' Or Louis Grutter, and he humiliates her, beating on her back for being unfaithful. Then he calls Jo and Mario and proposes a burglary of the safe of the jewelry. They invite the Italian specialist in safes and elegant wolf Cesar to join their team and they plot a perfect heist. They are successful in their plan, but the Don Juan Cesar makes things go wrong when he gives a valuable ring to his mistress.

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Plot Keywords:

heist | burglary | power drill | security system | hole in the floor | 

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Taglines:

A Sensational New Motion Picture

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French Italian English

Release Date:

5 June 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rififi

Filming Locations:

Pont de Bir-Hakeim, Paris 15, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,981, 23 July 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$57,226, 29 November 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathé Consortium Cinéma,Indusfilms,Société Nouvelle Pathé Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The much imitated heist sequence is over 32 minutes long and contains not a single line of dialogue or music. The production crew and composer Georges Auric thought it would be a disaster to have such a long sequence sans dialogue. Auric insisted that he allow him to write a grand piece of music for the scene and he eventually did on his own. Later Dassin played the part for Auric twice, once with the score, once without. Auric turned to him and admitted, "Without the music".

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Goofs

When Tony and Mario go out in the black Citroen to time the drive with a stopwatch, they start out in a car with the standard grille and plate # 2126 DB75, but after the first turn they are in a car with an after-market grille and plate # 3510 BU75.

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Quotes

Louise: You're not the only one that had an unhappy childhood, there are millions like you, and, in my eyes, *they* are the tough ones, not you!

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Last Exorcism/Piranha 3D/Vampires Suck (2010)

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Soundtracks

Le Rififi
Music by Philippe-Gérard
Lyrics by Jacques Larue
Performed by Magali Noël

User Reviews

Breathtakingly brilliant! Still one of the greatest crime movies ever made.

'Rififi' is so damn good it takes your breath away! Director Jules Dassin, blacklisted from Hollywood, was living almost hand to mouth in Europe and taking any job he could get, when he made this movie, a project he was initially not at all excited by. Happily he turned around an awful situation and ended up making a classic thriller which is still one of the greatest crime movies ever made. One of the most influential too, having an impact on movies like 'The Killing', 'The Anderson Tapes', 'Thief', 'Reservoir Dogs', 'The Score' and many, many others. 'Rififi' is a classic heist movie but it is much more than that, it is a superbly written and acted character study. The robbery sequence itself is regarded as one of the most impressive in film history, but it is by no means the only thing worth watching this movie for. In fact I'd go so far as to call it perfect. Every time you watch it you discover something more of interest. Jean Servais, who later appeared in the entertaining horror sexploitation movie 'The Devil's Nightmare', is absolutely wonderful as Tony, a veteran criminal talked into joining his young friend Jo (Carl Mohner) in a daring robbery. His performance is first rate, but Mohner and the rest of the cast are equally good, including Drassin himself as Cesar, an Italian safe-cracker who inadvertently causes the gangs ultimate downfall. There's a brilliant scene between Servais and Drassin towards the end of the movie which is short but unforgettable. Look out for it. Truffaut raved about this movie calling it the best Noir he'd ever seen. I don't think he was exaggerating, it really IS that good, and personally I think it's a much better movie than Truffaut's more celebrated 'Breathless'. If you enjoy crime thrillers it doesn't get much better than this! Highly recommended!