Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
Direction
Dassin invented the modern heist film while blacklisted from Hollywood.
Editing
The silent robbery sequence — pure tension through rhythm, not music.
Cinematography
Paris at night, wet cobblestones, shadows that breathe.
Director
Jules Dassin
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
Rémi Grutter
Marcel Lupovici
Pierre Grutter
Dominique Maurin
Tonio
Magali Noël
Viviane
Marie Sabouret
Mado
Claude Sylvain
Ida Ferrati
Jules Dassin
Cesar le Milanais
Alain Bouvette
Footman, 'L'Age D'Or'
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jules Dassin was blacklisted during the McCarthy era and couldn't find work in America; Rififi was his French comeback and won him Best Director at Cannes.
The 32-minute silent heist sequence influenced everything from Mission: Impossible to Heat; real criminals allegedly used it as a training manual.
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