Exhibition

Rififi: Silver Screen Gem

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

It’s the first of our Silver Screen Gem film series, inspired by Chicago Collects: Jewelry in Perspective! Join us for a screening of the classic French film, 1955’s film Rififi. Popcorn is included!

Film Synopsis:

Newly released from a five-year incarceration, seasoned jewel thief Tony initially rejects a lucrative opportunity proposed by his friend Jo. However, Tony’s resolve wavers when he learns that his former flame has entered into a relationship with the local mobster. What begins as a minor burglary swiftly escalates into a grand-scale jewel heist orchestrated by Tony and his crew. The trailer is available here. Starring Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, and Marie Sabouret. Directed by Jules Dassin.

The film will be introduced by University of Chicago Professor Leora Auslander, who will set the context for the film with a primer on the visuals and narrative.

In French with English subtitles. Running time is 1:58. Designed for adults ages 18 and over.

About the Speaker:

Leora Auslander is Arthur and Joann Rasmussen Professor in Western Civilization in the College and Professor in the departments of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity and History at the University of Chicago. The primary national focus of her research is modern France, but she investigates research problems best treated transnationally. She teaches nineteenth- and twentieth-century European social and cultural history with a focus on France and Germany; material culture, everyday life, and the built environment; Jewish history; gender history and theory; race in the Atlantic world; colonial and postcolonial Europe.

Film still courtesy of Rialto Pictures