Rififi

Rififi (1955) starring Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Magali Noel, Robert Manuel, Jules Dassin. Directed by Jules Dassin. French crime noir in which four jewel thieves pull off an incredibly lucrative heist -- only to find that a slip-up by one of them endangers not only the take from the robbery but the life of one of their sons. Dassin is actually an American director who was blacklisted during the early 1950s, and had to go to Europe in order to be able to make films. This movie is actually a pretty great crime film. Of particular note is the actual heist scene itself, in which the four men go about the business of breaking into a jewelry store and cracking the safe with no soundtrack -- no dialogue or music -- except the incidental sounds of the break-in and safe-cracking. The actors were not well known, even in France. An entertaining and involving movie. In French, with English subtitles. Grade: B+