Films About Scams
Films about scams delve into the intricate world of deception, trickery, and the moral gray areas that arise from fraudulent schemes. These narratives often explore the cunning strategies employed by con artists, the unsuspecting victims they target, and the psychological and emotional stakes involved. From heists to elaborate frauds, these films capture the thrill of the chase, the tension of getting caught, and the complexities of human nature when faced with greed and betrayal.
Here’s a selection of films that center around scams:
“The Sting”, 1973
Director: George Roy Hill
Set in the 1930s, this classic film follows two con men who team up to pull off an elaborate scam to avenge a friend's murder, using a complex scheme to outwit a mobster.
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, John Heffernan, Dana Elcar, Jack Kehoe, Dimitra Arliss, Robert Earl Jones, James Sloyan, Charles Dierkop, Lee Paul, Sally Kirkland, Avon Long, Arch Johnson, Ed Bakey, Brad Sullivan, John Quade, Larry D. Mann, Leonard Barr, Paulene Myers, Joe Tornatore, Jack Collins, Tom Spratley, Kenneth O'Brien, Ken Sansom, Ta-Tanisha, William «Billy» Benedict, Jack Berle, Patricia Bratcher, Robert Brubaker, Robert Buckingham, Peter Eastman, Kathleen Freeman, Susan French, Sig Frohlich, Ralph Gambina, Clarke Gordon, Jack Griffin, Bob Harks, George Holmes, Sid Kane, Bruce Kimball, Mike Lally, Alexander Lockwood, Jim Michael, Chuck Morrell;
Production year: 1973;
Genre: drama, comedy, crime;
MPAA rating: pg;
Duration: 129 min.;
Rating: IMDB: 8,3;
More information about the film “The Sting” on the website imdb.com
“Catch Me If You Can”, 2002
Director: Steven Spielberg
Based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., this film chronicles the life of a young con artist who successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars before his 19th birthday, all while being pursued by an FBI agent.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, James Brolin, Brian Howe, Frank John Hughes, Steve Eastin, Chris Ellis, John Finn, Jennifer Garner, Nancy Lenehan, Ellen Pompeo, Elizabeth Banks, Guy Thauvette, Candice Azzara, Matthew Kimbrough, Joshua Boyd, Kaitlin Doubleday, Kelly McNair, Jonny Danks, Maggie Mellin, Thomas Kopache, Margaret Travolta, Jimmie F. Skaggs, Alex Hyde-White, Lilyan Chauvin, Eugene Fleming, Robert Ruth, Jennifer Manley, James Morrison, Robert Symonds, Jennifer Kan, Robert Curtis-Brown, Kelly Hutchinson, Steve Witting, Wendy Worthington, Jane Bodle, J. Patrick McCormack, Brian Goodman, Ray Proscia, Sarah Lancaster, Jill Matson-Sachoff, Mike Baldridge, Joel Ewing, Ritchie Montgomery, Jim Antonio, Angela Sorensen;
Production year: 2002;
Genre: crime, biography, comedy;
MPAA rating: pg13;
Duration: 141 min.;
Rating: IMDB: 8,1;
More information about the film “Catch Me If You Can” on the website imdb.com
“American Hustle”, 2013
Director: David O. Russell
Inspired by true events, this film follows a con artist and his partner who are forced to work for an FBI agent in a sting operation that exposes corruption in politics and business.
Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., Alessandro Nivola, Jack Huston, Robert De Niro, Michael Peña, Shea Whigham, Elisabeth Röhm, Paul Herman, Saïd Taghmaoui, Matthew Russell, Thomas Matthews, Adrian Martinez, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Camp, Steve Gagliastro, Christopher Tarjan, Zachariah Supka, Christy Scott Cashman, Simon Hamlin, Martie Barylick, Dawn Olivieri, Becki Dennis, Jay Giannone, Arthur Birnbaum, Rob DiNinni, Michael Fennimore, Jack Jones, Danny Corbo, Sonny Corbo, Bo Cleary, Greg Maxwell, Mickey O'Keefe, Aaron Flanders, Erica McDermott, Alura Carbrey, Kayla Feeney, Shannon Halliday, Volieda Webb, Patsy Meck, Abby Lavin, Damien Di Paola, Paul Campbell, Jeff Avigian, Stacy Hock, Michael Trigg;
Production year: 2013;
Genre: drama, comedy, crime;
MPAA rating: r;
Duration: 138 min.;
Rating: IMDB: 7,2;
“Focus”, 2014
Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
A seasoned con artist takes an inexperienced grifter under his wing, but their relationship complicates when they rekindle their romance during a high-stakes scam.
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Adrian Martinez, Gerald McRaney, Rodrigo Santoro, B.D. Wong, Brennan Brown, Robert Taylor, Dotan Bonen, Griff Furst, Stephanie Honoré, David Stanford, Dominic Fumusa, Steve Kim, Don Yesso, Juan Minujín, Jano Seitún, Melania Lenoir, Pietro Gian, Justina Bustos, Paula Brasca, Antonella Macchi, Aaron Hanson, Armando Leduc, Jon Eyez, Clay Chamberlin, Danny Ladmirault, Chip Carriere, Daniella Short, Frank Monteleone, Alan Sabbagh, Hervé Segata, Jorge Takashima, Pierre Marquille, Nas Mehdi, Federico Bongiorno, Kate Adair, Billy Slaughter, Lindsay Clift, Thomas Murphy, Nicoye Banks, Ruy Gatti, Cacilie Hughes, Alvin Chon, Brett Baker, Taylor Persh, Mariano Bertolini, Scott Michael Jefferson, Billy Louviere, Thomas Thomason;
Production year: 2014;
Genre: drama, melodrama, comedy, crime;
MPAA rating: r;
Duration: 104 min.;
Rating: IMDB: 6,6;
More information about the film “Focus” on the website imdb.com
“Now You See Me”, 2013
Director: Louis Leterrier
This film follows a group of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money, while a team of FBI agents attempts to capture them.
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mélanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Michael Kelly, Common, David Warshofsky, José Garcia, Jessica Lindsey, Caitríona Balfe, Stephanie Honoré, Stanley Wong, Laura Cayouette, Douglas M. Griffin, Adam Shapiro, J. LaRose, Justine Wachsberger, Christian Gazio, Benoit Cransac, Conan O'Brien, Samantha Beaulieu, Odessa Feaster, Shannon Hand, Wendy Miklovic, Brad Abrell, Randy Rousseau, Hunter Burke, Brian Tucker, Teddy Cañez, Joe Chrest, Kerry Cahill, Diego Miró, Adella Gautier, Nguyen Anh Huu, Jaren Mitchell, Scott Shilstone, Zac Waggener, Caleb Michaelson, Anthony Molinari, Griff Furst, Katheryn Swann, Kevin Roy, Kenneth Herrington, Andy Ryan, Erik Blake, Tarek Isham;
Production year: 2013;
Genre: crime, thriller, detective;
MPAA rating: pg13;
Duration: 115 min.;
Rating: IMDB: 7,2;
“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, 1988
Director: Frank Oz
Two con men compete to swindle an heiress out of her fortune, leading to a series of humorous and outrageous attempts to outsmart each other.
Starring: Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly, Anton Rodgers, Barbara Harris, Ian McDiarmid, Dana Ivey, Meagen Fay, Frances Conroy, Nicole Calfan, Aïna Wallé, Cheryl Pay, Nathalie Auffret, Lolly Susi, Rupert Holliday-Evans, Hepburn Graham, Xavier Maly, André Penvern, Louis Zorich, Georges Gerrard Baffos, Valerie Beaufils, Patricia Davidson;
Production year: 1988;
Genre: comedy, crime;
MPAA rating: pg;
Duration: 110 min.;
Rating: IMDB: 7,4;
More information about the film “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” on the website imdb.com
“The Wolf of Wall Street”, 2013
Director: Martin Scorsese
Based on the memoir of Jordan Belfort, this film depicts his rise and fall as a stockbroker who engages in rampant fraud and corruption on Wall Street.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, P.J. Byrne, Jon Bernthal, Cristin Milioti, Jean Dujardin, Matthew McConaughey, Kenneth Choi, Jon Favreau, Joanna Lumley, Christine Ebersole, Shea Whigham, Katarina Cas, Brian Sacca, Henry Zebrowski, Ethan Suplee, Barry Rothbart, Jake Hoffman, MacKenzie Meehan, Bo Dietl, Jon Spinogatti, Aya Cash, Rizwan Manji, Stephanie Kurtzuba, J.C. MacKenzie, Ashlie Atkinson, Thomas Middleditch, Stephen Kunken, Edward Herrmann, Ted Griffin, Fran Lebowitz, Robert Clohessy, Natasha Newman-Thomas, Sandra Nelson, Johnnie Mae, Christina Jeffs, Sabina Maschi, Zana Markelson, Welker White, Dan Flaherty, Carla Corvo, Dustin Kerns, Ashley Blankenship, Madison McKinley, Dierdre Reimold, Kerry Malloy;
Production year: 2013;
Genre: drama, crime, biography, comedy;
MPAA rating: r;
Duration: 180 min.;
Rating: IMDB: 8,2;
“The Talented Mr. Ripley”, 1999
Director: Anthony Minghella
This psychological thriller follows Tom Ripley, a young man who assumes the identity of a wealthy playboy, leading to deceit, manipulation, and murder.
Starring: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cate Blanchett, Jack Davenport, James Rebhorn, Sergio Rubini, Philip Baker Hall, Celia Weston, Fiorello, Stefania Rocca, Ivano Marescotti, Anna Longhi, Alessandro Fabrizi, Lisa Eichhorn, Gretchen Egolf, Jack Willis, Frederick Alexander Bosche, Dario Bergesio, Larry Kaplan, Claire Hardwick, Antonio Prester, Lorenzo Mancuso, Enzo Mancuso, Massimo Reale, Emanuele Carucci Viterbi, Caterina Deregibus, Silvana Bosi, Gianfranco Barra, Renato Scarpa, Deirdre Lovejoy, Brian Tarantina, Guy Barker, Perico Sambeat, Gene Calderazzo, Joseph Lepore, Rosario Giuliuni, Eddy Palermo, Byron Wallen, Pete King, Clark Tracey, Jean Toussaint, Geoff Gascoyne, Carlo Negroni, Giuseppe Fiorello, Marco Quaglia, Alessandra Vanzi, Marco Rossi;
Production year: 1999;
Genre: thriller, drama, crime;
MPAA rating: r;
Duration: 139 min.;
Rating: IMDB: 7,4;
More information about the film “The Talented Mr. Ripley” on the website imdb.com
“Ocean's Eleven”, 2001
Director: Steven Soderbergh
A master thief assembles a team of skilled criminals to pull off an elaborate casino heist, showcasing the art of planning and execution in the world of scams.
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliott Gould, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner, Shaobo Qin, Eddie Jemison, Joe La Due, Michael DeLano, Cecelia Ann Birt, Paul L. Nolan, Carol Florence, Lori Galinski, Mark Gantt, Tim Perez, Frank Patton III, Jorge R. Hernandez, Tim Snay, Miguel Pérez, Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko, Barry Brandt, William Patrick Johnson, Robert Peters, David Jensen, Kelly Adkins, Gregory Stenson, John C. Fiore, Tommy Kordick, Charles La Russa, Anthony Allison, Ronn Soeda, Robin Sachs, Jean-Paul Manoux, Jerry Weintraub, Frankie J. Allison, James Curatola, Henry Silva, Eydie Gormé, Angie Dickinson, Steve Lawrence, Wayne Newton, Siegfried Fischbacher, Roy Horn;
Production year: 2001;
Genre: crime, thriller;
MPAA rating: pg13;
Duration: 116 min.;
Rating: IMDB: 7,7;
More information about the film “Ocean's Eleven” on the website imdb.com
These films not only entertain but also provoke thought regarding ethics, ambition, and the lengths people will go to achieve their desires.
In conclusion, the selection of films about scams offers a thrilling and captivating exploration of the art of deception and the human psyche. From classic heist movies to modern con artist tales, these films delve into the intricate web of lies, manipulation, and high-stakes schemes, leaving audiences on the edge of their seats. Through masterful storytelling and brilliant performances, these movies not only entertain but also provide a thought-provoking commentary on the complexities of human nature and the allure of the forbidden. As the credits roll, viewers are left pondering the blurred lines between right and wrong, truth and fiction, making the experience of these films about scams truly unforgettable.
