TROUBLE IN MIND

If a case were to be made for exile, then director Jules Dassin would be its poster boy. In America, he turned out solid, workmanlike crime dramas such as The Naked City and Brute Force, but it wasn’t until the ’50s blacklist drove him to Europe that he produced his masterworks. His best, the quintessential Du Rififi Chez les Hommes, is anchored by a nerve-racking, wordless 45-minute heist sequence against which every subsequent heist film must be measured. UMKC’s Department of Communication Studies co-presents Rififi at 6:30 p.m. at Tivoli Cinemas (4050 Pennsylvania, 913-383-7756). It’s part of the Film Noir Series, which continues on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout March, spotlighting such international classics as Jean-Pierre Melville’s Bob le Flambeur, Luchino Visconti’s Obsession, Julien Duvivier’s Pepe le Moko, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Diabolique, and Dassin’s Night and the City. All screenings cost $4 (free for UMKC students and staff with valid ID). For more information, see tivolikc.com.

Thu., March 4, 6:30 p.m., 2010