Jules Dassin (1911-2008)

The obits for Jules Dassin have all started with Never On Sunday, a film best remembered for its insinuating, irritating theme music and gorgeous poster art of Dassin’s second wife, actress Melina Mercouri. But the great stuff from this famously black-listed actor/director was about dedicated cops, hardened jail-birds and professional thieves, not happy hookers. In the late 40s he made two crime classics for producer Mark Hellinger at Universal: Brute Force and The Naked City. Exiled in Europe, he directed the essential heist movie Rififi (1955) and the lighter but equally influential caper Topkapi (1964). The robbery scene in Rififi is justifiably famous: a tense, beautifully constructed 30-minute sequence without dialogue or music. Here—for a change—is the four minutes before silence descends, as the gang heads to work with Georges Auric’s music leading the charge. Dassin is the one with the moustache.

Comments

[Marv Newland]

Mr. Staehling,

Saw this one, twice, at the Pacific Cinematheque in Vancouver, Canada. I only wanted to see it once, on a Tuesday, but coming out of the restroom someone put a rag full of chloroform over my face and when I came to, the closing credits were rolling for Rififi, on a Wednesday.

V.Alabama