Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Auguste Le Breton (novel)
Jules Dassin (adaptation)

Release Date:

5 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

["Rififi"] ...means Trouble!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Jewelry | Italian | Safe | Burglary | Jewel

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jean Servais	...	Tony le Stéphanois
Carl Möhner	...	Jo le Suedois
Robert Manuel	...	Mario Ferrati
Janine Darcey	...	Louise le Suedois
Pierre Grasset	...	Louis Grutter aka Louis le Tatoué
Robert Hossein	...	Remi Grutter
Marcel Lupovici	...	Pierre Grutter
Dominique Maurin	...	Tonio le Suedois
Magali Noël	...	Viviane
Marie Sabouret	...	Mado les Grands Bras
Claude Sylvain	...	Ida Ferrati
Jules Dassin	...	Cesar le Milanais (as Perlo Vita)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
André Dalibert	...	Webb, le bijoutier (as Dalibert)

Also Known As:

Rififi (UK) (USA)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

France:-16 (original rating) | West Germany:18 | Finland:(Banned) (1956) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (1978) (uncut) | Finland:K-18 (1959) (cut) | Australia:M | Norway:16 | France:U (re-release) | Sweden:15 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Grande Poste, Rue du Louvre, Paris 1, Paris, France

Company:

Pathé Consortium Cinéma

Trivia:

Dassin also claims that he was brought in on the project because of his situation (the Hollywood blacklist). The novel's characters were all North Africans and at the time France was experiencing much trouble with Algeria. This was seen as possibly inflammatory so the producers wanted an American director to soften it by making them Americans instead. Dassin asked if they'd considered simply making them Frenchmen. They had not.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jo climbs down into Mappin & Webb, he is the fourth and final member of the gang. Yet you can see another pair of legs still in the room above.

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!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Jackie Gleason Show: The Honeymooners: Rififi - Brooklyn Style (#1.22)" (1967)

Soundtrack:

La chanson 'Le Rififi'

Hollywood, come up with your own ideas!

RIFIFI (Jules Dassin - France 1955)

To me, it seems a very risky idea to attempt a Hollywood-remake of Jules Dassin's 1955 classic RIFIFI. Planned for release in 2007, Al Pacino apparently is gonna play the lead, taking on the role of Tony le Stephanois. Risky business... How they're gonna pull this off?

Ironically, Dassin was blacklisted in Hollywood and went on to try his luck in France and made this little masterpiece, aptly called by some "The Grandddady of all caper- and heist movies". In my opinion, it remains a one-of-a-kind classic, beautifully filmed with one of the most memorable endings ever to be put on film. Whatever one's opinion of the film.

In the last couple of years RIFIFI has become dangerously overpraised. Nevertheless, this French noir-classic shouldn't be forgotten. Go see it, before the remake is out there, in order to have some ammunition for comparing the two.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10