 The film was made on an extremely small budget (so small that Dassin  claims people do not believe him when he tells them the amount),  which is why so many desperate (himself included) or inexperienced  people were hired for the production. The director claims that he  was so broke at the Cannes film festival in 1955 (where he won the  Best Director prize for the film) that, while watching one of the  producers play the casinos, he had to ask for some money to bet. He  then asked on what date had they began filming Rififi? When informed  of the date (the 18th), Dassin put all his money on 18 and won. He  says that his family managed to live off this money for a while.