MOVIE Magic

The movie world loves a good yarn about con-artists - although they tend to make they to make them cuddly and likeable. The latest addition to this genre I Love You Phillip Morris (unofficial site) tells the story of Steven Russell a serial con-artist who talked his way out of jail on three occasions. Here's other movies which have told both true and fictionalised stories of con-artists:


1. The Sting (1973), starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as two fraudsters who set out to con a mob boss.
2. Six Degrees of Separation (1993) with Will Smith, based on the real life of David Hampton who fooled Manhattan's glitterati into thinking he was Sidney Poitier's son.
3. Traveller (1997) with Mark Walhberg in a movie about Irish traveller scam artists working in the United States.
4. The Grifters (1990) with Angelica Heuston and John Cusask playing the parts of professional con-artists in a gritty film noir.
5. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) with Steve Martin and Martin Caine in the kind of comedy that sums up the preferred view of fraudsters as lovable rogues.
6. Boiler Room (2000) - John Cusack and Vin Diesel in an unsympathetic depiction of the seedy con-artists trying to sell worthless shares.
7. Catch Me If You Can (2002) with Leonardo DiCaprio in probably the best known movie about con-artists, based on the true-life exploits of Frank Abagnale junior.
8. Confidence (2002) with Edward Burns playing a con-man who tries to pull off a scam and avenge the death of his best friend.
9. Colour Me Kubrick (2005) starring John Malkovich playing the part of real-life Alan Conway who pretended he was film director Stanley Kubrick for two decades.
10. 21 (2008) about the true story of five college students who devise a system for card-counting to rip-off the Las Vegas casinos.