Rififi
You can’t teach an old dogs new tricks, it would seem, just better ways of doing them; a jewel thief just out of prison after serving five years, Tony Le Stéphanois is already gambling and planning a heist, at his side trusty Jo whom he took the fall for previously and who now owes him and the ebullient Mario, the trio bringing in Italian safecracker César and making arrangements with a contact in London to fence the goods.
Casing not only the joint but the whole Rue de la Paix in central Paris, the routines of the shop owners and supporting services, their access point is to be through the floor of the apartment above, overpowering the occupants then drilling through and lowering themselves by rope, disabling the alarms and finally cutting into the safe, the haul to be converted into cash to be divided between them before they separate to live their lives as rich men.
Its title explained in a song performed by Viviane (Magali Nöel), chanteuse of the nightclub L’Âge d’Or, Rififi is the brewing trouble between the rough men who run the streets, Du Rififi chez les hommes (Some Trouble Among the Men) based upon August Le Breton’s novel of the same name, directed by Jules Dassin who also appears as César, credited as Perlo Vita due to his blacklisting in America, the man whose skill makes the plan work but whose impulsive action in stealing a diamond ring which he gifts to Viviane leaving them vulnerable.
The low budget precluding big name stars, Jean Servais, Carl Möhner and Robert Manuel are Tony, Jo and Mario, with Claude Sylvian as Jo’s wife Ida and Marie Sabouret as Mado, Tony’s ex-girlfriend with home he has a bitter and resentful reunion, the film carried by the taut script and forthright performances, shot on the streets of Paris and the surrounding suburbs in crisp monochrome to create a brisk and influential classic of French film noir.
Unusually for a crime thriller, the police are almost incidental, Rififi a contrast to The Naked City, Dassin’s earlier tale of New York cops on the trail of a killer also tipped off by a stolen ring, but the style remains the same, unsentimental, focused on the practicalities of the situation and swift moving, the screen busy with action in the foreground and background of his frames, particularly during the nightclub scenes and the crucial break in.
Taking almost a quarter of the running time of the film and shot without dialogue or music, it is meticulously choreographed and executed, both in terms of the film and the crime itself, composer Georges Auric having prepared a score for the scene should it be required but agreeing with Dassin that it was unnecessary, the tension sufficient with only the sound of the drills and hammer, the footsteps and the plaster falling below, a dusty rain which foreshadows the hail of bullets which concludes the film.
Rififi is available on the Arrow platform now
