8.2/10
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112 user 121 critic

Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

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

Director:

Writers:

(novel), (adaptation) | 3 more credits »
5 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Robert Manuel ...
Janine Darcey ...
Pierre Grasset ...
Louis Grutter aka Louis le Tatoué
...
Remi Grutter
Marcel Lupovici ...
Pierre Grutter
Dominique Maurin ...
Tonio
...
Viviane
Marie Sabouret ...
Mado les Grands Bras
Claude Sylvain ...
Ida Ferrati
...
Cesar le Milanais (as Perlo Vita)
Armandel ...
Second Gambler
Alain Bouvette ...
Footman, 'L'Age D'Or'
Alice Garan
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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. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

["Rififi"] ...means Trouble!

Genres:

Crime | Thriller

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

| |

Release Date:

13 April 1955 (France)  »

Also Known As:

Rififi  »

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$17,981 (USA) (21 July 2000)

Gross:

$57,226 (USA) (27 November 2015)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Sound System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

For the scene where Jo and Mario inform Tony of their intent to "knock over" the Mappin & Webb, the crew placed a table and three chairs in front of a phony window frame in the middle of the street to create the illusion that they were sitting in a cafe across the street from the jewelers. See more »

Goofs

When they do timings by car during the heist preparation, the car changes in between shots. See more »

Quotes

Mario Ferrati: [to Tony about Cesar] For a job with you he'll come. Cesar! There's not a safe that can resist Cesar and not a woman that Cesar can resist.
See more »

Connections

Spoofed in Ratataa eller The Staffan Stolle Story (1956) See more »

Soundtracks

La chanson 'Le Rififi'
Lyrics by Jacques Larue
Music by Philippe-Gérard
édité par LES AUTEURS ASSOCIÉS
Performed by Magali Noël (uncredited)
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User Reviews

 
It's good overall, and exceptional in the middle
23 October 2006 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

I've watched many film noirs in my day, but this would be one of the few French noirs that I've seen. In some senses, it's like most other film noirs: you have tough guys ("rififi" meaning tough guy), capers, and things going bad. There are no femme fatals in this one though.

So why does this film stand out? Why in the world would I watch this over any other of the hundreds of film noirs that were made in the world? Well, for the first half hour of the film, I couldn't figure it out either. In fact, it was kind of mundane. And then came the jewel heist. This is a stunner--for almost half an hour, there is not a word of dialogue and minimal sound effects. What's more, the tension gets thicker and thicker despite the silence.

The rest of the movie goes forward in a more typical fashion, but the caper itself is pretty impressive. The rest of the story is fine, a far as film noirs go. It doesn't help to elevate the film a lot, but the middle section makes the film worth watching.

It's good overall, and exceptional in the middle. 7/10.


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