Here’s the trailer for Du rififi chez les hommes, the 1955 noir by Jules Dassin. An excellent movie available on Criterion with great added features. Back in the 80’s I was cutting trailers in New York. I was working with Nick Meyers, a great editor, music editor extraordinaire, and a fine composer as well. Nick grew up in cutting rooms, his father was Sydney Meyers, a famous New York editor as well as a director. Also one of the founders of the New York Editor’s Guild. Nick worked as an editor on a George C. Scott television show East Side, West Side while still in his late teens! Anyway his dad was a Socialist and was very involved in film and Socialism in New York. So one day at work I mentioned the great french film director Jules Dassin,( I pronounced it Jhoooles Dahssan, in my best fake French accent). Nick says “Who?”, I repeat my francophonic prononcement. Nick says” Oh you mean Julie Dassin, he’s from Brooklyn.” Nick’s dad and Jules were running buddies back in the NY Theater/Communist days. Julie had to go to Europe to escape the Communist witch hunts of the 50’s. Sydney Meyers, by the way, edited Film the Samuel Beckett/ Buster Keaton collaboration. It was shot by Boris Kaufman who won an Oscar for On The Waterfront (featuring a great performance by my uncle’s brother-in-law “Two-Ton” Tony Galento). Boris also shot films for Jean Vigo, Zero De Conduit, L’Atalante, in his own words his greatest collaborations.


Two Ton Tony Galento