Con Artists in Cinema

Con Artists in Cinema PDF Author: Joseph H. Kupfer
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000956539
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 98

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Book Description
This book examines the con artist film as a genre, exploring its main features while also addressing variations within it. The volume explores three diverse themes of the con artist film: edification, self-awareness, and liberation through con games; the femme fatale as con artist; and romantic love as a plot point. Analyzing movies such as Matchstick Men (2003), House of Games (1987), Body Heat (1981), The Last Seduction (1994), Birthday Girl (2001), and The Game (1997), the book also explores their psychological investigation of the con artist figure, the con artist’s mark, and how the dynamic between these roles implicates us as the audience. It also addresses the con artist film genre’s close association with neo-noir, especially through the femme fatale figure, investigating and updating the rich tradition of noir film. Demonstrating the range and flexibility of this understudied genre, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of film studies, ethics, and those studying the representation of women in film. .

Con Artists in Cinema

Con Artists in Cinema PDF Author: Joseph H. Kupfer
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000956539
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 98

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book examines the con artist film as a genre, exploring its main features while also addressing variations within it. The volume explores three diverse themes of the con artist film: edification, self-awareness, and liberation through con games; the femme fatale as con artist; and romantic love as a plot point. Analyzing movies such as Matchstick Men (2003), House of Games (1987), Body Heat (1981), The Last Seduction (1994), Birthday Girl (2001), and The Game (1997), the book also explores their psychological investigation of the con artist figure, the con artist’s mark, and how the dynamic between these roles implicates us as the audience. It also addresses the con artist film genre’s close association with neo-noir, especially through the femme fatale figure, investigating and updating the rich tradition of noir film. Demonstrating the range and flexibility of this understudied genre, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of film studies, ethics, and those studying the representation of women in film. .

The Mark Inside

The Mark Inside PDF Author: Amy Reading
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307473597
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
In 1919, Texas rancher J. Frank Norfleet lost everything he had in a stock market swindle—twice. But instead of slinking home in shame, he turned the tables on the confidence men. Armed with a revolver and a suitcase full of disguises, Norfleet set out to capture the five men who had conned him, allowing himself to be ensnared in the con again and again to gather evidence on his enemies. Through the story of Norfleet’s ingenious reverse-swindle, Amy Reading reveals the fascinating mechanics behind the big con—an artful performance targeted to the most vulnerable points of human nature—and invites you into the crooked history of a nation on the hustle, constantly feeding the hunger and the hope of the mark inside.

The Confidence Game

The Confidence Game PDF Author: Maria Konnikova
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143109871
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
"It’s a startling and disconcerting read that should make you think twice every time a friend of a friend offers you the opportunity of a lifetime.” —Erik Larson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake and bestselling author of Devil in the White City Think you can’t get conned? Think again. The New York Times bestselling author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes explains how to spot the con before they spot you. “[An] excellent study of Con Artists, stories & the human need to believe” –Neil Gaiman, via Twitter A compelling investigation into the minds, motives, and methods of con artists—and the people who fall for their cons over and over again. While cheats and swindlers may be a dime a dozen, true conmen—the Bernie Madoffs, the Jim Bakkers, the Lance Armstrongs—are elegant, outsized personalities, artists of persuasion and exploiters of trust. How do they do it? Why are they successful? And what keeps us falling for it, over and over again? These are the questions that journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova tackles in her mesmerizing new book. From multimillion-dollar Ponzi schemes to small-time frauds, Konnikova pulls together a selection of fascinating stories to demonstrate what all cons share in common, drawing on scientific, dramatic, and psychological perspectives. Insightful and gripping, the book brings readers into the world of the con, examining the relationship between artist and victim. The Confidence Game asks not only why we believe con artists, but also examines the very act of believing and how our sense of truth can be manipulated by those around us.

Poker & Pop Culture

Poker & Pop Culture PDF Author: Martin Harris
Publisher: D&B Publishing
ISBN: 191286200X
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 657

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Book Description
Introduced shortly after the United States declared its independence, poker’s growth and development has paralleled that of America itself. As a gambling game with mass appeal, poker has been played by presidents and peasants, at kitchen tables and final tables, for matchsticks and millions. First came the hands, then came the stories – some true, some pure bluffs, and many in between. In Poker & Pop Culture: Telling the Story of America’s Favorite Card Game, Martin Harris shares these stories while chronicling poker’s progress from 19th-century steamboats and saloons to 21st-century virtual tables online, including: Poker on the Mississippi Poker in the Movies Poker in the Old West Poker on the Newsstand Poker in the Civil War Poker in Literature Poker on the Bookshelf Poker in Music Poker in the White House Poker on Television Poker During Wartime Poker on the Computer From Mark Twain to “Dogs Playing Poker” to W.C. Fields to John Wayne to A Streetcar Named Desire to the Cold War to Kenny Rogers to ESPN to Star Trek: The Next Generation and beyond, Poker & Pop Culture provides a comprehensive survey of cultural productions in which poker is of thematic importance, showing how the game’s portrayal in the mainstream has increased poker’s relevance to American history and shaped the way we think about the game and its significance.

Confident Women

Confident Women PDF Author: Tori Telfer
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062956043
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
The true crime author of Lady Killers presents a roundup of history’s most notorious female con artists and their bold, outrageous scams. From Elizabeth Holmes and Anna Delvey to Frank Abagnale and Charles Ponzi, audacious scams and charismatic scammers continue to intrigue us. As Tori Telfer reveals in Confident Women, the art of the con has a long and venerable tradition, and its female practitioners are some of the best—or worst. In 18th century Paris, Jeanne de Saint-Rémy scammed the royal jewelers out of a priceless diamond necklace by pretending to be best friends with Queen Marie Antoinette. In 19th century Rochester, NY, Kate and Maggie Fox accidentally started a religious movement by pretending they could speak to spirits. In the 20th century, a woman named Margaret Lydia Burton embezzled money all over the country—and stole upwards of forty prized show dogs. A few decades later, a teenager named Roxie Ann Rice scammed the entire NFL. Confident Women investigates how these and other notorious women were able to so spectacularly dupe and swindle their victims . . .

The Amityville Horror

The Amityville Horror PDF Author: Jay Anson
Publisher: Gallery Books
ISBN: 1982138262
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
“A fascinating and frightening book” (Los Angeles Times)—the bestselling true story about a house possessed by evil spirits, haunted by psychic phenomena almost too terrible to describe. In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that, one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in the house, but the property—complete with boathouse and swimming pool—and the price had been too good to pass up. Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror. This is the spellbinding, shocking true story that gripped the nation about an American dream that turned into a nightmare beyond imagining—“this book will scare the hell out of you” (Kansas City Star).

"Yellow Kid" Weil

Author: J. R. Weil
Publisher: AK Press
ISBN: 1849350213
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
Everywhere the Yellow Kid looks he sees money—too bad it's yours.

Conning Harvard

Conning Harvard PDF Author: Julie Zauzmer
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0762787430
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
In 2011 a 24-year-old man pled guilty to falsifying his application to Harvard University, bilking the world’s most prestigious university out of more than $45,000 in prizes and scholarships. Using forged SAT scores, transcripts, and letters of recommendation, Adam Wheeler outsmarted Harvard's admissions office and then went even further. Once accepted into the Ivy League he kept lying, cheating, and succeeding, winning thousands of dollars in prizes and grants. But then he shot too far. During his senior year, Wheeler applied for Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships, a gamble that finally exposed his extensive tangle of lies. Alerted that he was under suspicion, Wheeler fled Harvard but did not stop. He successfully filed more fraudulent applications at top-tier schools across the country, until some vigilant admissions officers, Massachusetts police, and even his own parents forced him off his computer and into court. As reporters for The Harvard Crimson, Julie Zauzmer and Xi Yu covered the case from the moment the news of Wheeler’s indictment broke. In the course of their reporting, they interviewed dozens of friends, roommates, teachers, and advisors who knew Wheeler at the many phases of his suspect academic career. Their fascinating account reveals how one serial scammer took on the competitive world of the Ivy League—and almost won.

The Art of the Con

The Art of the Con PDF Author: R. Paul Wilson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493016113
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
A sucker is still born every minute. In this modern and interconnected world, con-men are lurking everywhere – it’s never been easier for them to dupe us, take from us, and infiltrate our lives. One of the world’s leading and celebrated experts on con-games takes the reader through the history of cons, how they’ve been updated to the modern age, how they work, how to spot them, and how to protect yourself from being the victim of one. R. Paul Wilson is a con-man who works for the other side – our side. He has spent a lifetime learning, performing, studying, and teaching about the ins and outs of the con world in order to open up our eyes to the dangers lurking about us – and to show us how not to get taken. Paul has never made a living as a con-man, profiting off of marks – he has used his expertise throughout his life to help people avoid cons. In this fascinating book, Paul takes the reader through the history and developments of the con game, what elements from the past are based on basic human psychology and have stood the test of time, what has been updated for the modern era and how it’s getting used in the computer age, the structure of how these cons work, and – most importantly - how to recognize one, protect yourself and your loved ones, and avoid becoming just another sucker.

Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can PDF Author: Frank W. Abagnale
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767915607
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
The uproarious, bestselling true story of the world's most sought-after con man, immortalized by Leonardo DiCaprio in DreamWorks' feature film of the same name, from the author of Scam Me If You Can. Frank W. Abagnale, alias Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams, and Robert Monjo, was one of the most daring con men, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history. In his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a pilot's uniform and copiloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as the supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license, passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed over $2.5 million in forged checks, all before he was twenty-one. Known by the police of twenty-six foreign countries and all fifty states as "The Skywayman," Abagnale lived a sumptuous life on the lam—until the law caught up with him. Now recognized as the nation's leading authority on financial foul play, Abagnale is a charming rogue whose hilarious, stranger-than-fiction international escapades, and ingenious escapes-including one from an airplane-make Catch Me If You Can an irresistible tale of deceit.