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.

Rififi depicts the perfect heist in more ways than one, telling its story so effectively that it essentially provided the template for an entire genre to follow.

'Rififi' stands as the definitive granddaddy of heist films, featuring a legendary 28-minute silent robbery sequence that reaches Hitchcockian levels of suspense. Jean Servais delivers an acclaimed performance as the world-weary protagonist, supported by masterful direction from Jules Dassin and stunning black-and-white cinematography. The film maintains razor-sharp tension throughout, creating a grim noir atmosphere that has influenced countless filmmakers. Despite being over 50 years old, it remains remarkably engaging and more intelligent than most modern genre entries.