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Post by london777 on Oct 8, 2017 20:34:48 GMT
I added House of Games (1987) to my collection yesterday. I had seen it twice before, soon after release, but one of the few advantages of senile memory loss is that I can watch films again without knowing everything that is going to be said or done. So on the same evening on which I locked myself out of my apartment through forgetting my key I was later able to enjoy this film to the full.
I think it is David Mamet's best effort, among the many films where he has directed, written the original story of drama on which the film is based, or written the screenplay. I had really not esteemed Lindsay Crouse (Mamet's wife at the time) on my previous viewings but I did so this time. The other main parts are played by his "repertory company". I think the direction is excellent and makes me wonder why Mamet does not have more of a pedigree as a director. Too busy doing other stuff, I suppose.
A lot of it had a dream-like quality like a David Lynch film, though I am not suggesting there is any direct influence either way. The plot could have taken the "it was all a dream" route, (the central character even raises this possibility to her confidant), but thankfully did not.
I give it an 8 (a high mark in my book).
Other films in my collection about con-artists which I enjoyed are:
Paper Moon (1973) by Peter Bogdanovich
Matchstick Men (2003) by Ridley Scott
Magic in the Moonlight (2014) Woody Allen : about a fake medium so in a special subset of the topic
Black Rainbow (1989) Mike Hodges (of Get Carter fame) : another fake medium (or is she?). Not a great film but has some great moments and Rosanna Arquette was never lovelier
Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) Bryan Forbes : one of the best of these fake medium films.
Ripley's Game (2002) Liliana Cavani
Scarlet Street (1945) Fritz Lang
Shattered Glass (2003) Billy Ray : about someone taking shortcuts to further their career, another special subset
Wag the Dog (1997) Barry Levinson : about politicians using the media to con the whole nation, so another special subset on a theme now remarkably topical. David Mamet had a big hand in the script.
Killer Joe (2011) William Friedkin : though here the emphasis is more on "demanding money with menaces": rather than clever trickery
Miami Blues (1990) George Armitage : previous comment applies here too
99 Homes (2014) Ramin Bahrani : corrupt property deals with borderline legality so another special subset. Little-known film with the excellent Michael Shannon at his best. Not sure why they cast an English actor in the lead for this very American story though.
American Hustle (2013) David O Russell
An Education (2009) Lone Scherfig : although the male lead is a con-man (among other things), his scams are not central to the story, and he could have been written as some other category of baddie.
What other films about con-artists can you recommend?
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Post by movielover on Oct 8, 2017 20:36:49 GMT
The Sting
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Post by koskiewicz on Oct 8, 2017 20:51:43 GMT
The Grifters
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Post by wmcclain on Oct 8, 2017 20:52:02 GMT
The Spanish Prisoner, also Mamet.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Oct 8, 2017 21:01:51 GMT
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Post by manfromplanetx on Oct 8, 2017 21:16:17 GMT
The Baron Of Arizona (1950) Vincent Price has said it was his favourite film role he stars as the con-man Reavis. Fuller dove deep into the obscure early chapters of American history to create one of those wonderfully offbeat yarns that he excelled in , the story excited him as both a screenwriter and, before that, a crime reporter. The wonderful film tells the stranger-than-fiction true story of "Con-artist" James Addison Reavis, a rogue forger and fraud who, in the late 19th century, almost convinced the US government that he was rightful heir to the former Spanish and Mexican land claims for the then new state of Arizona.
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Post by mikef6 on Oct 8, 2017 21:35:20 GMT
The Spanish Prisoner, also Mamet. I love The Spanish Prisoner. Great choice.
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Post by mikef6 on Oct 8, 2017 21:39:21 GMT
I Love You Again / W. S. Van Dyke II (1940). This William Powell/Myrna Loy romp gets off to a fast start as stuffy prude Larry Wilson, on vacation on an ocean liner, saves a man from drowning but takes a blow on the head doing it. When he wakes up, he is another man, George Carey, a con-artist who had lost the last nine years of his life to amnesia and now remembers nothing about Larry Wilson. When the boat lands, he immediately meets Kay, his wife, to whom he is attracted, but she has filed for divorce. Farcical complications ensue, especially when some of his old associates arrive.
Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens) / Fabián Bielinsky (2000). Con artists conning a rich mark – or are they? Who’s conning whom? Remember, It’s not over until it’s over.
"Nine Queens" was remade in English as Criminal / Gregory Jacobs (2004).
The Two Faces Of January / Hossein Amini (2014). Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen), a rich American tourist is in Athens with his young wife, Collette (Kirsten Dunst). In reality, he is a con man who escaped America with a fortune in cash he stole with an investment fraud. Oscar Isaac also stars. Based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith.
Duplicity / Tony Gilroy (2009). Industrial spies for opposing corporations indulge in crosses, double, triple, and quadruple crosses in this light twister of…well…duplicity. To repeat: it’s not over until it’s over. Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Oct 8, 2017 21:49:08 GMT
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Post by Doghouse6 on Oct 8, 2017 21:51:27 GMT
Two from Jules Dassin, one glossy, one gritty:
Two Smart People (1946) - This belongs to a sub-category I call "glam-noir." John Hodiak and Lucille Ball are con artists who meet when both are pursuing the same mark and crab each other's deal. Lloyd Nolan is the cop who's been on Hodiak's trail for so long that they've developed grudging mutual respect and admiration; even what could be called a friendship. When Nolan finally gets the goods on Hodiak, a gentlemen's agreement prevails on the cross-country train ride to New York with stops planned along the way to make the trip a sort of holiday for both before the unpleasantness of Hodiak's trial and expected conviction. Double crosses and seduction enter the picture when Ball, after loot she knows Hodiak has stashed away, turns up on the train. What follows is part romance, part road film, part caper and all charm.
Night and the City (1950) - Not as much to say about this one simply because it's so much better known, and because most of what can be said already has been. They don't come much grittier or more harrowing than this American-style noir intriguingly transposed to London's east end and with Richard Widmark at his edgy best as the small-time grifter believing he's on the brink of hitting the big time, and instead finding himself in over his head.
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Post by President Ackbar™ on Oct 8, 2017 21:54:42 GMT
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Post by bravomailer on Oct 8, 2017 22:00:47 GMT
The Flim-Flam Man
Wise Blood (Ned Beatty's character)
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Post by manfromplanetx on Oct 8, 2017 22:06:06 GMT
En la palma de tu mano , In the Palm of Your Hand (1951) Professor Jaime Karin is an astrologer and palm reader, a smooth con artist he preys on vulnerable rich widows with the help of a female accomplice who passes on inside information that she hears working in the beauty saloon. Karin attempts to seduce the widow of a recently deceased millionaire, with the intention of conning her out of a large inheritance. But he has taken on a lot more than he bargained for, his intended victim is more cunning and ruthless than he, a tense game of cat-and-mouse ensues but who is the cat? An exceptional Mexican thriller starring Arturo de Córdova and the formidable femme fatale Leticia Palma. Highly Recommended...
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Post by Ass_E9 on Oct 8, 2017 22:09:15 GMT
Confidence
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Post by BATouttaheck on Oct 8, 2017 22:09:44 GMT
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Post by petrolino on Oct 8, 2017 22:19:30 GMT
'I Sell Anything' (1934) - Pat O'Brien, Claire Dodd & Ann Dvorak
'Black Sheep' (1935) - Edmund Lowe & Claire Trevor
'The Young In Heart' (1938) - Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Janet Gaynor & Paulette Goddard
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Post by mikef6 on Oct 8, 2017 22:40:10 GMT
Here are two classic TV series about Good Guys conning Bad Guys:
The Rogues. NBC. One season. 1964-1965. The central characters are a family of felons whose specialty was swindling swindlers and conning con artists. David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Gig Young headlined the cast.
Mission: Impossible. CBS. Seven Seasons. 1966-1973. Needs no introduction. Secret agents conning Evildoers with impersonations and high tech tricks. A marvel. The modern film series is a travesty and doesn’t deserve the name.
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Post by BATouttaheck on Oct 8, 2017 22:46:15 GMT
The Rogues (1964-65)That was a fun series, mikef6 . Only 30 episodes It Takes a Thief (1968) Robert Wagner as Alexander Mundy - smooth, suave, sophisticated - is the world's greatest cat burglar. Finally arrested after years of pilfering, he strikes a deal with American agent Noah Bain: a full pardon if Mundy agrees to use his skills to steal for the SIA, an American espionage agency. Technically under house arrest, Mundy travels all over the world performing daring acts of thievery in the name of Uncle Sam. Another good guy (now that he has reformed) conning the bad guys.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Oct 8, 2017 22:54:48 GMT
An obscure little oddity is the Australian psychological thriller The Plumber (1979) from Peter Weir . It has is has an interesting take on the "Con-artist" theme... When Jill answers a knock on her apartment door a scruffy long haired man Max announces that he is the buildings plumber and that he has come to check her bathroom pipes , despite Jill insisting that she did not call for a plumber, Max assures her that he is simply doing a mandatory check of the building's pipes. Jill becomes uneasy, when Max who is way too forward and slightly aggressive, he says was in prison, then denies it. Jill’s discomfort increases and over the course the next few days he totally destroys their bathroom. What transpires is a disturbing film of people at psychological odds to each other, both Jill and Max make an effort to get-along, but essentially they detest each other, sexual undercurrents are strong, Is the plumber really a plumber? ... is he purposely extending the job to irritate Jill? Max takes a break from the pipes and belts out a tune...
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Post by Doghouse6 on Oct 8, 2017 22:57:48 GMT
Here are two classic TV series about Good Guys conning Bad Guys: The Rogues. NBC. One season. 1964-1965. The central characters are a family of felons whose specialty was swindling swindlers and conning con artists. David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Gig Young headlined the cast. Mission: Impossible. CBS. Seven Seasons. 1966-1973. Needs no introduction. Secret agents conning Evildoers with impersonations and high tech tricks. A marvel. The modern film series is a travesty and doesn’t deserve the name. If you haven't seen it, this one would be right up your alley: Hustle (2004-2012) - Adrian Lester and Robert Vaughn lead a band of high-stakes long-con artists who meticulously plan and execute every operation and, guided by the old adage, "You can't cheat an honest man," fleece only those deserving of it. With great amounts of style and wit, the show lets viewers in on the con, but also cons them along the way.
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