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Karin Malchow
Scam ExaminerGullible suburban mother of four regularly duped in her half-century life. Exploring hoaxes and schemes as the ExSCAMiner, she attempts answering the nagging question: Should I have fallen for that? Got scam tips, email Karin at ScamExaminer@gmail.com.
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The Confidence game in cinema
4 comments
by Karin Malchow, Scam Examiner
Scamming in films is generally rewarded. After all, it is Hollywood. Here's a list of lauded movies all about the big shill.
- The Sting (1973): Paul Newman and Robert Redford make the scamming business cute. A fun flick, but Best Picture Oscar? Well, it's probably aged better than competitor The Exorcist.
- House of Games (1987): Scamming doesn't get much seamier. Golden Globe-nominated screenwriter David Mamet could strip the cute from a puppy.
- Paper Moon (1973): Tatum O'Neal won acclaim and an Oscar as a swearing, smoking, conning ten-year-old, considered unusual at the time.
- The Grifters (1990): where Oscar-nominated Angelique Houston was relationship-scammed by cheating, charming Jack Nicholson. Wait, that was real. She was John Cusack's con artist mom in the movie.
- Six Degrees of Separation (1993): Will Smith depicted the classic impersonate-to-impress con, but Stockard Channing got the Oscar nom as his pretentious victim. Now Fresh Prince scams us every summer starring in a new blockbuster and calling it acting.
- Sleuth (1972): Technically not a film about con men, but the two characters (Oscar nominated Michael Caine and Lawrence Olivier) definitely scammed each other. Audiences love being scammed, too, whether with plot twists or ticket prices.
- The Producers (1968): Making a movie of a play of a movie about a play may be a scam in itself, but stick with the original Oscar-winning Mel Brooks script. Nobody fleeces old ladies like Zero Mostel.
- Midnight Cowboy (1969): Petty grifter and male hustler, the ultimate buddy pic. Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight lost by splitting the Best Actor Oscar vote, but the film earned Best Picture. And it was rated X! Gotta love the '60s for that.
Looking for other con man movies?
Check out The Internet Movie Database
Topics: Con artists , movies
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