Cover -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Plot synopsis -- Introduction -- 1. The Route to Rififi -- A cosmopolitan life -- Hollywood and film noir -- The politics of exile -- The tradition of French film noir -- Auguste Le Breton and the Série Noire -- Production history -- Notes -- 2. Reading Rififi -- Beginnings -- Du rififi chez les hommes and the aesthetics of the heist thriller -- Space and genre: the nightclub -- Space and genre: the city -- Men and trouble -- A transnational film noir? -- Notes -- 3. Reviewing Rififi -- A surprise success -- 'A film without indulgence' -- The politics of realism -- Audiences, trade and culture -- Notes -- 4. Reviving Rififi -- After Du rififi chez les hommes -- Influences -- The rififi brand -- Rififi returns -- Notes -- Appendix 1: Credits -- Appendix 2: Jules Dassin filmography -- Appendix 3: Auguste Le Breton filmography -- Appendix 4: Cited films -- Appendix 5: 'Rififi à travers le monde' -- Appendix 6: Select bibliography -- Index.