The stewardess you recognized is Meredith on Gray's Anatomy. Also, you keep saying that he only cares about the money, but (at least as he's portrayed in this movie- I can't speak for the actual person) he's actually obsessed with family. But in his adolescent mind, that's closely tied to money. His seemingly perfect family fell apart when his dad lost whatever money he had and they had to leave their lovely home in the suburbs for an apartment. Eventually, his mother left his father for a more financially stable man. Of course, there was probably a lot more to it, but not that he would see as their child (who idolizes his father and thus can't see any other faults that she might have had issue with). This entire movie he's been trying to get them back together, and if you pay attention, it's always with obvious signs of wealth (let's buy you a new suit and take mom out to a fancy restaurant... what will she think when she sees you drive up in this fancy new car I bought you... etc). He desperately wants the family that he lost. You can see it when he meets Brenda's parents- how he looks at them when they're watching a TV show together as a family, and how the husband and wife are swaying together to the music as they wash the dishes. So he genuinely wants to marry Brenda and settle down- he wants to have a family so badly. He just thinks money is a necessary ingredient to that, without which it will all fall apart.
It's effortless because Christopher Walken isn't acting. He's just being Christopher Walken. Christopher Walken is such a cool and interesting person, he seems to just fit in the roles he takes. For most actors, this would be a noticeable flaw. But with Walken, it just seems to work.
@@Great-Documentaries Well in their defense, they say that acting in a movie as yourself, is one of the more difficult things to do. So....take that for what its worth.
I met Frank when I was in high school in the 80s. He came to my school as a public speaker where they told this whole story. The students were pretty riveted. It was pretty wild years later seeing this story made into a movie.
One of the greatest themes in Spielberg filmography is the father-son relationship. Spielberg came from a divorced family. His father was a workaholic and distant guy with which he had so many conflicts and fights so he reflected this in a good portion of his movies, if not in all: characters searching for validation from paternal figures or characters feeling abandoned by their fathers like in Close Encounters, Indiana Jones, Hook, A.I., etc... and in this one...
Ironically the real Frank Abagnale fabricated most of his biography and hugely inflated his achievements, so he's never given up being a con artist, making this movie even more fiction than intended.
I never knew this until your comment. I looked it up and that seems to be the truth of it. Kinda blew my mind. Although not entirely because I remember thinking when I saw this that it was A LOT of things he did in such a short amount of time. Seemed to be too much going on. So not totally surprised.
The movie is about fatherhood, as are many of Spielberg's movies. Christopher Walken's character is a bad father to Leo DiCaprio's character. Tom Hanks becomes the father he needed. The scene where Walken says, "Come on, I'm your father," and Leo responds, "Then ask me to stop." Walken says, "You can't stop." The very next scene Leo asks Hanks to stop chasing him, and Hanks says, "I can't stop." They are polar opposites, Hanks' and Walken's characters. Hanks is a strait-laced, by-the-book guy; Walken is a con-man. Frank needs a father who won't give up insisting that he walk the path of doing what is right, and who won't give up on him. He finally finds that in Carl. Interesting comparison: in Spielberg's movie Hook (1991), he has another scene of a lost boy coming to a window on a snowy night near Christmas and finding that he's been replaced by another child, just like the scene where Leo does that in this movie. That scenario must have spoken powerfully to Spielberg in some way for him to use it in two different movies.
@@francocba7301 Frank put him behind bars and ruined his life i wouldnt call him a father figure. Couldnt even speak with his father for one last time, lost his fiance.....
20:33 She's a candy striper. They are volunteers who do small jobs around the hospital and they usually hired young girls for that job. My sister was one when she was a teen.
Just like Carl said at the end, "living the lie is so much better than living the truth." So many of us face this truth on a daily basis, but we're not good at stealing. So we watch TV, or IG about rich people, or go to fancy hotels or restaurants to get a taste of the billionaire life. In the end all that really matters is love and family.
The real Frank Abagnale lived in my city (Tulsa, OK) for a long time and was actually in a neighborhood less than 2 miles from me. I had a friend that lived in his neighborhood and when we were about 7 or 8 we went trick or treating and his house was one of the many we went to. I didn't even know who he was at the time, but I do remember him having a giant bucket of full size candy bars and letting us each grab a handful. Seemed like a really nice person.
Another great movie that has a similar feel to this one is The Terminal (2004), Spielgberg & Tom Hanks & planes, comedy, sad undertones. And most importantly, it has an airport.
Frank Abigail has given various talks and appeared on tv shows recounting stories from his life. Many can be found right here on RUclips. It would be cool if you did a follow up reacting to some of those.
I actually found out recently that it's all BS...even his work at the FBI and friendship with an agent. His Google Talks video on YT has had comments disabled and there's a disclaimer about it now :(
The old fraudster double bluff - classic. He’s been up to the fraud for a long time then. I recall seeing him on the Tonight Show with Carson. That must have been 70s maybe 1980s.
RE: James Bond movies, it's a tricky thing because people usually love the Bond they grow up with, so that's why there's always arguments about the "best Bond". I've seen them all multiple times over the course of 40 years, I was even a Bond nerd when I was a kid, learning all the trivia and reading the books. I grew up with Moore, but I'm not a sentimental type of person. He's the worst. If you want to experience Bond, I recommend: 1. From Russia With Love (1963) - A more useful place to start than with the actual first one, 'Dr. No'. 2. Goldfinger (1964) (only if you intend to watch Austin Powers some day) 3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) (only if you intend to watch the latest Bond movie, 'No Time to Die', which I do recommend but only if you watch this first) 4. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - A good example of a mid-series Bond movie, also to see Moore and to see how the tropes have become elaborated and more theatrical. 5. License to Kill (1989) (only if you want to see Dalton) 6. Goldeneye (1995) (only if you want to see Brosnan) 7. Casino Royale (2006) - The best Bond movie. Must see. 8. No Time to Die (2022) - ONLY after 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' for the best experience. So, minimum, 'From Russia with Love' and 'Casino Royale'. But for a fuller experience, these eight. Incidentally, nos. 2, 3, 4, and 7 have great theme songs, they'll get stuck in your head. Especially 3.
Fun fact. It turned out he actually lied about all of this! And I'm not joking! The man gets a movie about him and it turned out a couple years ago he scammed this too
There are also a ton of people in this that this was some of their earlier roles and were no named actors beforehand. Amy adams ( she was the main char in arrival you recently watched ) played brenda, elizabeth banks was the teller at the bank and jennifer garner was super young in this as the hooker at the hotel.
At the time the movie was made, it was thought that Abignale had really gotten away with a bunch of these things, but then it came out relatively recently that he made it all up. He conned the world that he was a successful conman, when that was in fact the only con he did and he got consulting work for the government & book deals, and a movie deal from it.
Not only did he make the vast majority of his claims up, but instead of the "victimless" crimes purported in the movie, his actual cons were pulled on small businesses and individuals. Not to mention that he also most likely a sex offender. A true scumbag with very few if any redeeming qualities
I've always been curious - why didn't all those truth-seeking journalists didn't show up after 2002's movie release? Why weren't they on the talk shows for the next 10 years refuting him? Only since 2020 have these stories 'resurfaced'. It's curious.
To be clear, I think it was the big spectacular cons that were made up - ie. successfully pretending to be an airline pilot, doctor, lawyer, etc. I think he did do some cheque fraud and conned money from several people.
I worked for the City Public Works Dept. and quite often we had to gain access into peoples back yards to locate sewer/drain lines. All we wore was an orange vest and carried a pick ax (to open manholes) and not once were we ever questioned or IDed. Makes you think.
A Deadhead is an airline employee who basically just catches a ride on a flight so they can either get to another airport to work a flight, or just to get home.
Oh I can't wait to watch this. It's one of my favorites because I was so depressed when I watched it and it made me feel so good. I went ALONE on Christmas day after dropping off my 4 kids at my ex's in a blizzard
Frank and Carl aren't friends to this day, as Carl's character is entirely fictional. Frank was serving a three-year prison sentence in New York for most of the period covered in this movie (when he was 17-20 years old). Most of his crimes were small-time (beginning with running up several thousands of dollar of debt on a credit card his father gave him to buy gas for his car, and stealing a car belonging to his father's friend. Though he spent some time running from the law, he was caught frequently and did jail time. When he was released he just kept scamming folks. He was never the subject of a nation-wide man-hunt by the FBI, and though he did forge checks the total amount of money he stole was less than $2000. There's no evidence he ever took or passed the Bar in any state, though he may have claimed to be a lawyer at some point. The scene of him posing as a pilot to recruit women to become stewardesses took place in Arizona, though it is creepier than portrayed here because this is where he claimed to be a doctor as well as a pilot, and apparently performed "physical exams" on several of the women. He never "worked for" the FBI though he may have consulted with them, but this was after he started his security firm, Abagnale & Associates, and successfully marketed himself to banks by inflating the nature of his claimed crimes. He is successful today, though most of his money comes from the success of his book and from the movie (both of which are largely fictional) and from his high fees for doing public lectures (in which he recounts the same fictional stories). No doubt they are great stories and he tells them well. I loved this movie and wanted to believe that it was all true (as we often do with great fiction), but at my core I'm just a little bit bugged by people telling fiction stories and claiming that they are true.
Thanks for reacting to this. It is a favorite of mine and it seems to have gotten lost behind the flashy, explosive super-hero movies. The fact that it is mostly true is even better.
Independent research done after his autobiography came out (the book on which this movie was based) suggests that "mostly true" is a _wild_ overstatement.
@@bigdream_dreambig I haven't seen the research. I guess a con man is always good for another con, just look at some of Congress. I still like the movie.
The Louisiana bar exam is considered the most difficult bar exam in the country, because Louisiana operates under a French law system, but you are also tested on English common law.
Parks, the inspiration for Brenda, claims their relationship in the film is not only heavily exaggerated, but blithely mischaracterized. In reality, Parks was a stewardess who met Abagnale while he was posing as a pilot. Though they struck up a friendship, it was quickly derailed when he discovered her work schedule (through deceptive means) and followed her all over the Eastern Seabord. Parks didn't know what to do with him. She tried to tell him that she wasn't interested, but he was persistent. After essentially stalking her through work, Abagnale showed up at her apartment in New Orleans where she told him that she was leaving to go visit her parents in Baton Rouge. He decided to tag along. After he met her parents, the duo parted ways and that seemed to be the end of it ... until Abagnale returned. He ended up staying with the family for quite a while. Having successful wined and dined Parks' parents, they came to trust him - even though Parks herself didn't. While he was staying in her family home and sleeping in her old bedroom, she was very reasonably mortified. Her parents were cooking meals for him and introducing him to people in Baton Rouge. Although he took them out to dinners as a thank you, it was later revealed that he was doing this with checks he was stealing from them. Abagnale allegrdly stole about $1,200 from the Parks family, and even more from local businesses in Baton Rouge.
In real life, Frank's father was the first scam victim. After his mother moved out following the divorce, Frank stayed with his father, and around that time, committed his very first scam. Using his father's credit cards, he began charging thousands of dollars - but when the first bill arrived, his father caught on. After a brief stint at a school for wayward boys, Frank moved out on his own at just 16 years old. And unlike in the movie, Frank never saw his father again. He's said that while he was in prison, his father was in a freak slip-and-fall accident and died after falling down the steps of a New York subway station.
Mary, if you like movies based on true crime stories, I suggest you watch A Place in the Sun (1951) and Bonnie and Clyde (1967). They are both considered Hollywood classics and are both on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. And they are based on true crime stories.
Great Reaction and this 69-year-old Londoner had a tear in his eye at the end and I have seen this before. A missing scene here was the fantastic trick he played on "The Lady Of The Night"..lol
The book’s incredible; couldn’t put it down. There’s actually much more to what he did than is shown in the film. The follow up book, The Art of the Steal, was good too.
Abagnale's claims were made before fact-checking involved Google searches. But it also helps that when Abagnale began telling his story in the '70s, there wasn't much research digging into his claims. He began making these claims at small events and eventually found himself on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." By that point, people assumed the questions had already been asked.
"Is this inspired by a true story? I can't imagine that this would happen, but wow..." It is inspired by a true story, but he wasn't making any phone calls on Christmas. The real life Frank Abignale Jr. is actually in this movie. Ironically, cast as a police officer.
Frank was actually one of four children, growing up with two brothers and a sister. On a similar note, Abagnale's mother never remarried and the Christmastime window scene where he discovers her with a new daughter never actually happened.
Important to realize the times and back then in the early days of commercial flying being a pilot or a stewardess was like being a rock star. And everyone admired them greatly.
_"I still need to watch a James Bond movie, where do you start with those?"_ - The beginning - Dr. No. _"It's so nice how he's consolidating him."_ - That's what I'm here for.
In 1960, Tony Curtis played the lead in the movie "The Great Imposter", where he did the similar things as Leonardo although they were different careers( he did pretend to be a doctor for one career). The two movies while not completely identical, are very similar.
As a lawyer myself, I always enjoy your reactions to any law-related film. :) The first James Bond film was Doctor No (1962). The most recent one was No Time to Die (2021). I think there are 26 or so, altogether. (Is this really a rabbit hole you want to jump into???) I think there's general agreement that Goldfinger (1964) and Casino Royale (2006) are the two best. Goldfinger was the clip you saw in this movie. Martin Sheen was one of the stars of the TV series The West Wing, where he was fabulous. He also played John F. Kennedy in a 1983 TV mini-series about that president. The Michigan and Massachusetts Bar Exams, which I passed, each took me about 8 weeks to study for, and that was *after* graduating from law school. (Although I'll admit that, after passing the Michigan Bar, I didn't study nearly so hard for the Massachusetts Bar, and I passed anyway.) However, two things: First, Louisiana has a substantially different legal system than any other State in the U. S. (it's actually based on European civil law; you'd understand it better than I would). Second, back in the 60s, when Frank took that exam, it was still possible to self-teach your way to qualify. I doubt I could do it in two weeks, especially with no prior experience, but it's not impossible. I mean, Frank was obviously highly intelligent.
I actually got to meet the real-life Frank Abagnale in the late '90s when I was working in the computer department of a bank. He was doing seminars teaching bank employees how to detect and avoid fraud. It was a really cool experience.
Also Marijke, what toook this movie to the next level is the John Williams score. I often find myself walking around the house singing the mischieveous obo riff when I am doing something micheveious. I am not a criminal but we all do something naughty every now and then. HA Why not have a soundtrack to my own person life. I deserve it.
Deadhead is a term used a lot in commercial transportation (especially trucking). It's an unpaid trip...so when you finish one job at point B but your next job begins at point C, the miles between the 2 locations is deadhead, cause there's no cargo therefore it's either unpaid or an out of pocket expense to you. The term originated from Greatful Dead fans...they are known as Deadheads used to follow the band all around the country to watch their shows.
This is a like a master class in filmmaking for a general drama; specifically historical drama. Spielberg is such a brilliant tactician as a director and cinematic mind. Doesn't hurt to have such a fantastic cast. Much credit as well to the casting agent(s).
Regarding the lawyer con: The fifth floor of the building Frank claims to have worked in never housed his agency's offices. For his part, Abagnale has always had a response to these claims - arguing that the people he scammed simply don't want to admit that they were fooled.
17:00 For James Bond movies, there seem to be two sets of opinions: start at the very beginning with Sean Connery in Dr. No (1962), or skip the first and start with the second, From Russia with Love (1963). I, myself, didn't think Dr. No was all that great or added anything, so I'd recommend starting with From Russia with Love.
A small detail I saw in an interview to the real Frank Abagnale Jr.: his hair started graying when very young, so even being a teenager, he looked older. That helped him a lot with his tricks.
@@blizzfreak He also lied about his hair going gray at a young age? Lol. We are commenting on a movie based on an autobiography written by a con man. You can see in the movie itself that there are unbelievable things going on. However, the graying hair could have helped him in his tricks, if he looked older and more respectable than he really was. That, at least, it's in the realm of possibility. DiCaprio is a great actor, but looked way too young as to be a believable pilot or physician/lawyer. Also, too old to be a teenager 😂
Great reaction! One thing about Leonardos Character is that he was never about the money, his Character was simply so absorbed in regaining the happy care free loving times of his childhood when his parents were together so much so that he went to great extremes to try and achieve it at all costs. That is what I call heart. Did not go about it the best way but it still took guts to do what he did.
The film ends with Abagnale working directly with the FBI, but this isn't exactly how things shook out. When the film was released, an FBI spokesperson (via NewsDay) acknowledged that Abagnale had given lectures at the Academy "from time to time," but denied other grandiose claims about the agency employing Abagnale.
Related to both characters leo DiCaprio played, its it's interesting how frank abagnale and jordan belfort both became really close friends to the agents who catch them.
a deadhead in airline terminology is an employee, usually a pilot or stewardess that is hitching a ride so that they can be ready for a flight they are working at a different airport.
Great Reaction Mary! If your favorite genre is Crime movies and true stories, i recommend "Zodiac" directed by David Fincher the same director form Seven. It is both crime and true story togheter. Also from David Fincher "The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo" this one is not from a true story but from a crime thiller book.
If you like movies based on a real story, you should take a look at a beautiful mind. It's about a genius, fighting his demons. It's a beautiful movie, overall, and I'm quite sure you would like it. By the way, I'm liking your reactions very much. Just go on like that.
Absolutely! I haven't seen a reaction to A Beautiful Mind. Russell Crowe lost out on the best actor that year to Denzel in Training day. Both great performances and movies.
All the performances in this are great, but this was the first time that I realized how great of an actor DiCaprio is. Before this, I just knew him from Titanic and how all the girls had a crush on him. He was good in Titanic but I just didn't see the fuss. Catch Me if You Can made it clear that he was one of the best younger actors working. You should check out "The Aviator" some time. I think you would enjoy that too.
@@chrisbooth478 I forgot about that one, but I have seen it. It's really good and also very heavy. And Im not just talking About the mom. Leo as a kid actor was also amazing in "this boys life" with Robert de Niro.
In case you're wondering about the opening clip, they used a clip from a TV show that was on at the time, "To Tell the Truth", a panel game show. Three people come on, all claiming to be the same person, a short statement is read about this, and a panel of four celebrities questions the challengers in an effort to determine who the real one is. The episode they originally took the footage from was from a 1977 episode which featured the real Frank Abignale Jr.
This one I actually didn't like that much the first time I saw it. I've since seen it a hundred times on cable and love it. Very rewatchable. Great score by John Williams.
At some point after he started working for the FBI Frank moved to Kansas City, where he became a public speaker. My wife, who worked for a speaker's bureau, booked him into many corporate events.
A close friend of me and wife is good friends with Frank Abagnale's sister. She came to a barbecue with us just before this movie came out. Some of the stories she told about him were absolutely amazing. The movie only showed a small piece of the things that he did.
Basically, the film is a total fiction. Thanks to several journalists over the years, pretty much every aspect of Abagnale's claims about his crimes have been thoroughly disproven. In reality, he was a petty criminal who defrauded a lot of hardworking people and spent his youth in an out of prisons all over the country. I still absolutely love this film. I enjoy it as fiction, and everything about it is a work of art.
deadheading is when a crew member is flying to the an airport to get to the flight they are working on at no charge to them. It may be on their airline or a different one.
Background info on the opening scene: This was a re-creation of the American game show YO TELL THE TRUTH, in which 3 people all claiming the same identity try to stump a celebrity panel, earning money for every panelist fooled. . Frank actually did appear on the show in the 1970's, the studio set was faithfully rebuilt for the movie, and the actual theme song was Aldo used.
21:00 From my experience, credentials only get checked if people think something is "off" about you. So if you're really good at faking it, you can get away with a lot. It's been a thing in US politics these last few years, several candidates and advisors have been caught inflating their credentials with phony degrees and work experience - but they only get caught after making a public fool of themselves on an issue, so who knows how many people actually do it. Just speaking from my personal life, I had to drop out of university due to medical issues, a year before finishing my degree. I've continued my education further through auditing classes, private study, etc, but that's a lot to explain to someone I just met. So I usually just let them think I got a degree, and not once has someone doubted me. I have the luxury of being gainfully self-employed, but from what I understand, employers only bother to check your degree if it's absolutely vital (like med school). Many jobs that "require" a college degree will never check, they just want to filter out applicants.
17:02 You start at the start, Dr. No and please do :D 19:59 Cos it's the thrill as much as the gain 28:31 "Apocalypse Please" 🤣 It's "Apocalypse Now" but I think I prefer please, much better manners
Tont Curtis made a movie about a million years ago called "the great imposter". When "CMIYC" came out I thought it was a remake. But alas, this guy was an entirely different con man. Nice to know so many tricksters are out there. Good job Mary.
The stewardess you recognized is Meredith on Gray's Anatomy. Also, you keep saying that he only cares about the money, but (at least as he's portrayed in this movie- I can't speak for the actual person) he's actually obsessed with family. But in his adolescent mind, that's closely tied to money. His seemingly perfect family fell apart when his dad lost whatever money he had and they had to leave their lovely home in the suburbs for an apartment. Eventually, his mother left his father for a more financially stable man. Of course, there was probably a lot more to it, but not that he would see as their child (who idolizes his father and thus can't see any other faults that she might have had issue with). This entire movie he's been trying to get them back together, and if you pay attention, it's always with obvious signs of wealth (let's buy you a new suit and take mom out to a fancy restaurant... what will she think when she sees you drive up in this fancy new car I bought you... etc). He desperately wants the family that he lost. You can see it when he meets Brenda's parents- how he looks at them when they're watching a TV show together as a family, and how the husband and wife are swaying together to the music as they wash the dishes. So he genuinely wants to marry Brenda and settle down- he wants to have a family so badly. He just thinks money is a necessary ingredient to that, without which it will all fall apart.
True she needs to see this comment
Fun fact: at the scene where Frank is arrested in France, the officer who scorts him and puts him inside the police car is the real Frank Abagnale Jr.
Cool! I didn’t know that
It's amazing how effortless is Christopher Walken's acting. In the restaurant scene, Spielberg was left speechless
Gimme source, i love to read about these things
@@alejandrocalori6298 I saw it in the DVD extras!
It's effortless because Christopher Walken isn't acting. He's just being Christopher Walken. Christopher Walken is such a cool and interesting person, he seems to just fit in the roles he takes. For most actors, this would be a noticeable flaw. But with Walken, it just seems to work.
It's amazing how effortless Christopher Walken's acting is.*
@@Great-Documentaries Well in their defense, they say that acting in a movie as yourself, is one of the more difficult things to do. So....take that for what its worth.
I met Frank when I was in high school in the 80s. He came to my school as a public speaker where they told this whole story. The students were pretty riveted. It was pretty wild years later seeing this story made into a movie.
That’s cool.
Is really one of the guys in the beginning?
Well the weird part is that he made most of it up.
Too bad Frank made the entire story up.
One of the greatest themes in Spielberg filmography is the father-son relationship. Spielberg came from a divorced family. His father was a workaholic and distant guy with which he had so many conflicts and fights so he reflected this in a good portion of his movies, if not in all: characters searching for validation from paternal figures or characters feeling abandoned by their fathers like in Close Encounters, Indiana Jones, Hook, A.I., etc... and in this one...
Ironically the real Frank Abagnale fabricated most of his biography and hugely inflated his achievements, so he's never given up being a con artist, making this movie even more fiction than intended.
I never knew this until your comment. I looked it up and that seems to be the truth of it. Kinda blew my mind. Although not entirely because I remember thinking when I saw this that it was A LOT of things he did in such a short amount of time. Seemed to be too much going on. So not totally surprised.
The movie is about fatherhood, as are many of Spielberg's movies. Christopher Walken's character is a bad father to Leo DiCaprio's character. Tom Hanks becomes the father he needed. The scene where Walken says, "Come on, I'm your father," and Leo responds, "Then ask me to stop." Walken says, "You can't stop." The very next scene Leo asks Hanks to stop chasing him, and Hanks says, "I can't stop." They are polar opposites, Hanks' and Walken's characters. Hanks is a strait-laced, by-the-book guy; Walken is a con-man. Frank needs a father who won't give up insisting that he walk the path of doing what is right, and who won't give up on him. He finally finds that in Carl.
Interesting comparison: in Spielberg's movie Hook (1991), he has another scene of a lost boy coming to a window on a snowy night near Christmas and finding that he's been replaced by another child, just like the scene where Leo does that in this movie. That scenario must have spoken powerfully to Spielberg in some way for him to use it in two different movies.
I don't know man, I really wish I had a father like frank, who is always supporting me no matter what, I had to become my own mentor in life.
@@francocba7301 Frank put him behind bars and ruined his life i wouldnt call him a father figure. Couldnt even speak with his father for one last time, lost his fiance.....
20:33 She's a candy striper. They are volunteers who do small jobs around the hospital and they usually hired young girls for that job. My sister was one when she was a teen.
Just like Carl said at the end, "living the lie is so much better than living the truth." So many of us face this truth on a daily basis, but we're not good at stealing. So we watch TV, or IG about rich people, or go to fancy hotels or restaurants to get a taste of the billionaire life. In the end all that really matters is love and family.
The real Frank Abagnale lived in my city (Tulsa, OK) for a long time and was actually in a neighborhood less than 2 miles from me. I had a friend that lived in his neighborhood and when we were about 7 or 8 we went trick or treating and his house was one of the many we went to. I didn't even know who he was at the time, but I do remember him having a giant bucket of full size candy bars and letting us each grab a handful. Seemed like a really nice person.
Whattt? Frank lived in Tulsa? What area? I’ve lived in Broken Arrow all my life I never knew that
@@letssee5095 Yep. Can't think of the name of the neighborhood, but it's on 81st between Harvard and Yale.
Leonardo Dicaprio & Tom Hanks performances in this movie is top notch, cool reaction as always Mary, take care sweetie 🥰
Another great movie that has a similar feel to this one is The Terminal (2004), Spielgberg & Tom Hanks & planes, comedy, sad undertones.
And most importantly, it has an airport.
Frank Abigail has given various talks and appeared on tv shows recounting stories from his life. Many can be found right here on RUclips. It would be cool if you did a follow up reacting to some of those.
I actually found out recently that it's all BS...even his work at the FBI and friendship with an agent. His Google Talks video on YT has had comments disabled and there's a disclaimer about it now :(
@@hafeya Yeah the guy's a complete fraud.
The old fraudster double bluff - classic.
He’s been up to the fraud for a long time then. I recall seeing him on the Tonight Show with Carson. That must have been 70s maybe 1980s.
@@hafeya Great irony that this whole story is made up
RE: James Bond movies, it's a tricky thing because people usually love the Bond they grow up with, so that's why there's always arguments about the "best Bond". I've seen them all multiple times over the course of 40 years, I was even a Bond nerd when I was a kid, learning all the trivia and reading the books. I grew up with Moore, but I'm not a sentimental type of person. He's the worst. If you want to experience Bond, I recommend:
1. From Russia With Love (1963) - A more useful place to start than with the actual first one, 'Dr. No'.
2. Goldfinger (1964) (only if you intend to watch Austin Powers some day)
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) (only if you intend to watch the latest Bond movie, 'No Time to Die', which I do recommend but only if you watch this first)
4. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - A good example of a mid-series Bond movie, also to see Moore and to see how the tropes have become elaborated and more theatrical.
5. License to Kill (1989) (only if you want to see Dalton)
6. Goldeneye (1995) (only if you want to see Brosnan)
7. Casino Royale (2006) - The best Bond movie. Must see.
8. No Time to Die (2022) - ONLY after 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' for the best experience.
So, minimum, 'From Russia with Love' and 'Casino Royale'. But for a fuller experience, these eight. Incidentally, nos. 2, 3, 4, and 7 have great theme songs, they'll get stuck in your head. Especially 3.
Fun fact. It turned out he actually lied about all of this! And I'm not joking! The man gets a movie about him and it turned out a couple years ago he scammed this too
There are also a ton of people in this that this was some of their earlier roles and were no named actors beforehand. Amy adams ( she was the main char in arrival you recently watched ) played brenda, elizabeth banks was the teller at the bank and jennifer garner was super young in this as the hooker at the hotel.
The amount of future leading actresses in this movie. Ellen Pompeo, Jennifer Garner, Elizabeth Banks and Amy Adams all pretty big names in Hollywood.
At the time the movie was made, it was thought that Abignale had really gotten away with a bunch of these things, but then it came out relatively recently that he made it all up. He conned the world that he was a successful conman, when that was in fact the only con he did and he got consulting work for the government & book deals, and a movie deal from it.
His bighest con was on us.🤣
Not only did he make the vast majority of his claims up, but instead of the "victimless" crimes purported in the movie, his actual cons were pulled on small businesses and individuals. Not to mention that he also most likely a sex offender. A true scumbag with very few if any redeeming qualities
i'm gonna pretend i didn't read this, mannnnn
I've always been curious - why didn't all those truth-seeking journalists didn't show up after 2002's movie release? Why weren't they on the talk shows for the next 10 years refuting him? Only since 2020 have these stories 'resurfaced'. It's curious.
To be clear, I think it was the big spectacular cons that were made up - ie. successfully pretending to be an airline pilot, doctor, lawyer, etc. I think he did do some cheque fraud and conned money from several people.
I worked for the City Public Works Dept. and quite often we had to gain access into peoples back yards to locate sewer/drain lines. All we wore was an orange vest and carried a pick ax (to open manholes) and not once were we ever questioned or IDed. Makes you think.
A Deadhead is an airline employee who basically just catches a ride on a flight so they can either get to another airport to work a flight, or just to get home.
Best Mary quote from this vid - "This is not going to work. She sits on her dad's lap for Christ's sake." lol
Oh I can't wait to watch this. It's one of my favorites because I was so depressed when I watched it and it made me feel so good. I went ALONE on Christmas day after dropping off my 4 kids at my ex's in a blizzard
Frank didn't do it for the money; he did it for the thrill. That's what's so addictive about this sort of lifestyle for many people.
Love this movie. Belle réaction as always! You've lots of movies to catch up :) Cheers and get well soon!
Frank and Carl aren't friends to this day, as Carl's character is entirely fictional. Frank was serving a three-year prison sentence in New York for most of the period covered in this movie (when he was 17-20 years old). Most of his crimes were small-time (beginning with running up several thousands of dollar of debt on a credit card his father gave him to buy gas for his car, and stealing a car belonging to his father's friend.
Though he spent some time running from the law, he was caught frequently and did jail time. When he was released he just kept scamming folks. He was never the subject of a nation-wide man-hunt by the FBI, and though he did forge checks the total amount of money he stole was less than $2000.
There's no evidence he ever took or passed the Bar in any state, though he may have claimed to be a lawyer at some point. The scene of him posing as a pilot to recruit women to become stewardesses took place in Arizona, though it is creepier than portrayed here because this is where he claimed to be a doctor as well as a pilot, and apparently performed "physical exams" on several of the women.
He never "worked for" the FBI though he may have consulted with them, but this was after he started his security firm, Abagnale & Associates, and successfully marketed himself to banks by inflating the nature of his claimed crimes. He is successful today, though most of his money comes from the success of his book and from the movie (both of which are largely fictional) and from his high fees for doing public lectures (in which he recounts the same fictional stories).
No doubt they are great stories and he tells them well. I loved this movie and wanted to believe that it was all true (as we often do with great fiction), but at my core I'm just a little bit bugged by people telling fiction stories and claiming that they are true.
To be fair, when it said "inspired by a true story," it didn't say what percentage was "true" and what percentage was"inspired"! 🙈
If you’re gonna start reacting to the James Bond movies, I recommend you start with Dr. No.
Yep. Do them in order.
Thanks for reacting to this. It is a favorite of mine and it seems to have gotten lost behind the flashy, explosive super-hero movies. The fact that it is mostly true is even better.
Independent research done after his autobiography came out (the book on which this movie was based) suggests that "mostly true" is a _wild_ overstatement.
@@bigdream_dreambig I haven't seen the research. I guess a con man is always good for another con, just look at some of Congress. I still like the movie.
The Louisiana bar exam is considered the most difficult bar exam in the country, because Louisiana operates under a French law system, but you are also tested on English common law.
Parks, the inspiration for Brenda, claims their relationship in the film is not only heavily exaggerated, but blithely mischaracterized. In reality, Parks was a stewardess who met Abagnale while he was posing as a pilot. Though they struck up a friendship, it was quickly derailed when he discovered her work schedule (through deceptive means) and followed her all over the Eastern Seabord.
Parks didn't know what to do with him. She tried to tell him that she wasn't interested, but he was persistent.
After essentially stalking her through work, Abagnale showed up at her apartment in New Orleans where she told him that she was leaving to go visit her parents in Baton Rouge. He decided to tag along. After he met her parents, the duo parted ways and that seemed to be the end of it ... until Abagnale returned.
He ended up staying with the family for quite a while. Having successful wined and dined Parks' parents, they came to trust him - even though Parks herself didn't. While he was staying in her family home and sleeping in her old bedroom, she was very reasonably mortified. Her parents were cooking meals for him and introducing him to people in Baton Rouge. Although he took them out to dinners as a thank you, it was later revealed that he was doing this with checks he was stealing from them.
Abagnale allegrdly stole about $1,200 from the Parks family, and even more from local businesses in Baton Rouge.
The scene shot in the white terminal towards the end is the TWA hotel converted when they closed
In real life, Frank's father was the first scam victim.
After his mother moved out following the divorce, Frank stayed with his father, and around that time, committed his very first scam. Using his father's credit cards, he began charging thousands of dollars - but when the first bill arrived, his father caught on.
After a brief stint at a school for wayward boys, Frank moved out on his own at just 16 years old. And unlike in the movie, Frank never saw his father again. He's said that while he was in prison, his father was in a freak slip-and-fall accident and died after falling down the steps of a New York subway station.
Two TOM HANKS movies that Mary would love to watch are CAST AWAY (2000 film) and CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (2013 film and true story)
James Bond? Chronologically. You start with Dr No and go from there. Great reaction, Mari.
Mary, if you like movies based on true crime stories, I suggest you watch A Place in the Sun (1951) and Bonnie and Clyde (1967). They are both considered Hollywood classics and are both on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. And they are based on true crime stories.
Great Reaction and this 69-year-old Londoner had a tear in his eye at the end and I have seen this before.
A missing scene here was the fantastic trick he played on "The Lady Of The Night"..lol
So happy you're reacting to this. Currently @ sports bar watching Saints LOSE but watching vid soon as I return home.
The book’s incredible; couldn’t put it down. There’s actually much more to what he did than is shown in the film.
The follow up book, The Art of the Steal, was good too.
The book is very good and includes a lot more than was shown here, some of it rather graphic and unpleasant!
perfect choice for you.
Abagnale's claims were made before fact-checking involved Google searches. But it also helps that when Abagnale began telling his story in the '70s, there wasn't much research digging into his claims. He began making these claims at small events and eventually found himself on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." By that point, people assumed the questions had already been asked.
"Is this inspired by a true story? I can't imagine that this would happen, but wow..."
It is inspired by a true story, but he wasn't making any phone calls on Christmas. The real life Frank Abignale Jr. is actually in this movie. Ironically, cast as a police officer.
"12:00" I've never heard that noise come out of a person before lol..caught me off guard haha
I met Frank when he interviewed on the radio station where I worked. Amazing guy. I really like the movies theme music.
gotta love Tom's mid Atlantic accent
The guy who played Agent Fox was Frank John Hughes, Wild Bill Guarnere in Band of Brothers.
Frank was actually one of four children, growing up with two brothers and a sister.
On a similar note, Abagnale's mother never remarried and the Christmastime window scene where he discovers her with a new daughter never actually happened.
Such a nice movie mary, as for the james bond question the first james bond film is Dr. No. So maybe start there
If you want to delve into the James Bond franchise, I recommend going in order of realease, starting with Sean Connery in "Dr. No" (1962).
Can skip "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Waste of two and half hour.
@@jukopliut I respectfully disagree. Things happen in that film that referred to up to the Pierce Bronsan era.
@@aaronhusk yes but itis lousy movie
The title sequence for this film remains a personal favourite.
Important to realize the times and back then in the early days of commercial flying being a pilot or a stewardess was like being a rock star. And everyone admired them greatly.
_"I still need to watch a James Bond movie, where do you start with those?"_ - The beginning - Dr. No.
_"It's so nice how he's consolidating him."_ - That's what I'm here for.
In 1960, Tony Curtis played the lead in the movie "The Great Imposter", where he did the similar things as Leonardo although they were different careers( he did pretend to be a doctor for one career). The two movies while not completely identical, are very similar.
As a lawyer myself, I always enjoy your reactions to any law-related film. :)
The first James Bond film was Doctor No (1962). The most recent one was No Time to Die (2021). I think there are 26 or so, altogether. (Is this really a rabbit hole you want to jump into???) I think there's general agreement that Goldfinger (1964) and Casino Royale (2006) are the two best. Goldfinger was the clip you saw in this movie.
Martin Sheen was one of the stars of the TV series The West Wing, where he was fabulous. He also played John F. Kennedy in a 1983 TV mini-series about that president.
The Michigan and Massachusetts Bar Exams, which I passed, each took me about 8 weeks to study for, and that was *after* graduating from law school. (Although I'll admit that, after passing the Michigan Bar, I didn't study nearly so hard for the Massachusetts Bar, and I passed anyway.) However, two things: First, Louisiana has a substantially different legal system than any other State in the U. S. (it's actually based on European civil law; you'd understand it better than I would). Second, back in the 60s, when Frank took that exam, it was still possible to self-teach your way to qualify. I doubt I could do it in two weeks, especially with no prior experience, but it's not impossible. I mean, Frank was obviously highly intelligent.
The real Frank never passed or even took the bar exam. Never worked a day as a lawyer. All his claims about it were debunked.
I actually got to meet the real-life Frank Abagnale in the late '90s when I was working in the computer department of a bank. He was doing seminars teaching bank employees how to detect and avoid fraud. It was a really cool experience.
Also Marijke, what toook this movie to the next level is the John Williams score. I often find myself walking around the house singing the mischieveous obo riff when I am doing something micheveious. I am not a criminal but we all do something naughty every now and then. HA Why not have a soundtrack to my own person life. I deserve it.
Deadhead is a term used a lot in commercial transportation (especially trucking). It's an unpaid trip...so when you finish one job at point B but your next job begins at point C, the miles between the 2 locations is deadhead, cause there's no cargo therefore it's either unpaid or an out of pocket expense to you.
The term originated from Greatful Dead fans...they are known as Deadheads used to follow the band all around the country to watch their shows.
One of my favorite movies. Even though it's based on a true story there is so much artistry and creativity in telling it.
the aviator is another great dicaprio film you ought to check out
This is a like a master class in filmmaking for a general drama; specifically historical drama. Spielberg is such a brilliant tactician as a director and cinematic mind. Doesn't hurt to have such a fantastic cast. Much credit as well to the casting agent(s).
Regarding the lawyer con:
The fifth floor of the building Frank claims to have worked in never housed his agency's offices.
For his part, Abagnale has always had a response to these claims - arguing that the people he scammed simply don't want to admit that they were fooled.
17:00 For James Bond movies, there seem to be two sets of opinions: start at the very beginning with Sean Connery in Dr. No (1962), or skip the first and start with the second, From Russia with Love (1963). I, myself, didn't think Dr. No was all that great or added anything, so I'd recommend starting with From Russia with Love.
Yes!!! been waiting for this one.
A small detail I saw in an interview to the real Frank Abagnale Jr.: his hair started graying when very young, so even being a teenager, he looked older. That helped him a lot with his tricks.
He never did any of this. He lied about doing all of it.
@@blizzfreak He also lied about his hair going gray at a young age? Lol.
We are commenting on a movie based on an autobiography written by a con man. You can see in the movie itself that there are unbelievable things going on. However, the graying hair could have helped him in his tricks, if he looked older and more respectable than he really was. That, at least, it's in the realm of possibility. DiCaprio is a great actor, but looked way too young as to be a believable pilot or physician/lawyer. Also, too old to be a teenager 😂
Great reaction! One thing about Leonardos Character is that he was never about the money, his Character was simply so absorbed in regaining the happy care free loving times of his childhood when his parents were together so much so that he went to great extremes to try and achieve it at all costs. That is what I call heart. Did not go about it the best way but it still took guts to do what he did.
21:26 is the content I come here to see. 😆 Great flick, great reaction!
min 17:05 "Dr. No" of course...
The film ends with Abagnale working directly with the FBI, but this isn't exactly how things shook out. When the film was released, an FBI spokesperson (via NewsDay) acknowledged that Abagnale had given lectures at the Academy "from time to time," but denied other grandiose claims about the agency employing Abagnale.
"what if you fall into water though?" Wow
20:33 "why does she act like a child?" those are candystrip nurses. they start at 14 so, they're literally children.
Ha.... That Neeeeeeeh at 8:04 reminded me of Conehead's.... LOL
" No necklace for you, m'lady"......haha
Related to both characters leo DiCaprio played, its it's interesting how frank abagnale and jordan belfort both became really close friends to the agents who catch them.
Brilliant Mary, I so dig your perspective and reaction... very excellent
The most amazing part of this story is how it is basically a scam in and of itself!
a deadhead in airline terminology is an employee, usually a pilot or stewardess that is hitching a ride so that they can be ready for a flight they are working at a different airport.
I got not tears to feed upon, goddamnit. I did like laughing at the quacks man, that was hilarious
Great Reaction Mary!
If your favorite genre is Crime movies and true stories, i recommend "Zodiac" directed by David Fincher the same director form Seven. It is both crime and true story togheter.
Also from David Fincher "The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo" this one is not from a true story but from a crime thiller book.
If you like movies based on a real story, you should take a look at a beautiful mind. It's about a genius, fighting his demons. It's a beautiful movie, overall, and I'm quite sure you would like it. By the way, I'm liking your reactions very much. Just go on like that.
Absolutely! I haven't seen a reaction to A Beautiful Mind. Russell Crowe lost out on the best actor that year to Denzel in Training day. Both great performances and movies.
Mary said it just right... "A Gem!"
you start 007 with the first film, Dr. No.
All the performances in this are great, but this was the first time that I realized how great of an actor DiCaprio is. Before this, I just knew him from Titanic and how all the girls had a crush on him. He was good in Titanic but I just didn't see the fuss. Catch Me if You Can made it clear that he was one of the best younger actors working. You should check out "The Aviator" some time. I think you would enjoy that too.
Have you ever watched WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE?
If not you really should, 👍👍
@@chrisbooth478 I forgot about that one, but I have seen it. It's really good and also very heavy. And Im not just talking About the mom. Leo as a kid actor was also amazing in "this boys life" with Robert de Niro.
High anxiety whenever you're near high anxiety it's you that I fear. Mel Brooks +
High Anxiety= Comedy Gold.🤪🤪🤪😜😛
You should read the book. He had a harrowing experience in the European prison. The book also covers more things that were left out in the movie.
Your laugh is contagious lol
In case you're wondering about the opening clip, they used a clip from a TV show that was on at the time, "To Tell the Truth", a panel game show. Three people come on, all claiming to be the same person, a short statement is read about this, and a panel of four celebrities questions the challengers in an effort to determine who the real one is.
The episode they originally took the footage from was from a 1977 episode which featured the real Frank Abignale Jr.
The reason criminals don't get out while they're still ahead is you feel like you are in complete control until you aren't. - me a criminal
This one I actually didn't like that much the first time I saw it. I've since seen it a hundred times on cable and love it. Very rewatchable. Great score by John Williams.
At some point after he started working for the FBI Frank moved to Kansas City, where he became a public speaker. My wife, who worked for a speaker's bureau, booked him into many corporate events.
A close friend of me and wife is good friends with Frank Abagnale's sister. She came to a barbecue with us just before this movie came out. Some of the stories she told about him were absolutely amazing. The movie only showed a small piece of the things that he did.
Which were all faked, actually. Man conned people about his cons.
Read the book "The Greatest HOAX On Earth" by Alan C. Logan if you want to know the truth about Frank. Most of Frank's stories of his cons are false.
Basically, the film is a total fiction. Thanks to several journalists over the years, pretty much every aspect of Abagnale's claims about his crimes have been thoroughly disproven. In reality, he was a petty criminal who defrauded a lot of hardworking people and spent his youth in an out of prisons all over the country.
I still absolutely love this film. I enjoy it as fiction, and everything about it is a work of art.
I think I recommended this one a long time ago. So happy you finally watched it.
The French actors at the beginning of this movie are known French Canadian actors. I recognized some of them.
deadheading is when a crew member is flying to the an airport to get to the flight they are working on at no charge to them. It may be on their airline or a different one.
Mary the first James Bond movie is Dr. No. Great place to start
Background info on the opening scene: This was a re-creation of the American game show YO TELL THE TRUTH, in which 3 people all claiming the same identity try to stump a celebrity panel, earning money for every panelist fooled. . Frank actually did appear on the show in the 1970's, the studio set was faithfully rebuilt for the movie, and the actual theme song was Aldo used.
21:00 From my experience, credentials only get checked if people think something is "off" about you. So if you're really good at faking it, you can get away with a lot. It's been a thing in US politics these last few years, several candidates and advisors have been caught inflating their credentials with phony degrees and work experience - but they only get caught after making a public fool of themselves on an issue, so who knows how many people actually do it.
Just speaking from my personal life, I had to drop out of university due to medical issues, a year before finishing my degree. I've continued my education further through auditing classes, private study, etc, but that's a lot to explain to someone I just met. So I usually just let them think I got a degree, and not once has someone doubted me. I have the luxury of being gainfully self-employed, but from what I understand, employers only bother to check your degree if it's absolutely vital (like med school). Many jobs that "require" a college degree will never check, they just want to filter out applicants.
17:02 You start at the start, Dr. No and please do :D
19:59 Cos it's the thrill as much as the gain
28:31 "Apocalypse Please" 🤣 It's "Apocalypse Now" but I think I prefer please, much better manners
The scenes in France were filmed in Québec City. The actors are all French Canadians-:)
Tont Curtis made a movie about a million years ago called "the great imposter". When "CMIYC" came out I thought it was a remake. But alas, this guy was an entirely different con man. Nice to know so many tricksters are out there. Good job Mary.
I've watched several reactions to this film and nobody has, as of yet, included the chilled salad fork scene.
loved this one 🤠