Rififi

"...Means Trouble!"

1955 1h 58m FR

🙌

7.8

BANGER

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

8.1

IMDB

★7.8TMDB · 658🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes●97Metacritic★8.1IMDB · 39,696

CrimeThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“...Means Trouble!”

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Cast

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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jules Dassin
Writers: René Wheeler, Auguste Le Breton
Languages: Italian, French, English
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jules Dassin, shot by Philippe Agostini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Georges Auric. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Roger Dwyre shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jean Servais and Carl Möhner and Robert Manuel carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "...Means Trouble!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jules Dassin directs. Philippe Agostini behind the camera. Georges Auric scores. Roger Dwyre cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in France. Dialogue in Italian, French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
271 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Italian, French, English.
4Directed by Jules Dassin, shot by Philippe Agostini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Georges Auric. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Roger Dwyre shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jean Servais and Carl Möhner and Robert Manuel carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "...Means Trouble!".
9IMDB entry: tt0048021 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "paris, france", "italian", "jewelry", "nightclub".

The technical file

Cinematography: Philippe Agostini
Original score: Georges Auric
Editing: Roger Dwyre
Production design: Alexandre Trauner
Costume design: Rosine Delamare
Makeup / hair: Marcelle Testard
Sound: Jacques Lebreton
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $200,000
Box office: $460,000
Return: 230% of budget
Original language: FR
IMDB: Rififi (1955)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 97/100
IMDB rating: 8.1/10 · 39,696 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

6 wins & 1 nomination total

Also by

Jules Dassin

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

badelf2023-01-14
★ 10/10
A 1955 classic whose story and production values have not aged. Sure, security technology has changed, and special effects have advanced. In spite of that, this movie has all the marks of a perfect film. Only one thing depicted in Rififi is no longer true: There is no longer any "honor among thieves". In my grandfathers time, thieves (Mafia?) had an honor code, or as it's called in this movie, "the rules". In today's world, the criminals (many of whom are the politicians and CEOs of monopolies) have no moral compass whatsoever. If that dates this movie, so be it. It's still a fantastic action film!

Production companies