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1. “The Usual Suspects” (1995)
A boat has been destroyed; 27 are dead, including the criminals. The key to this mystery lies with the only survivor and his convoluted story that begins with five career crooks in a not-so-random police lineup.
Great grift: This is much more than a crime drama. It’s mastermind Kaiser Soeze’s carefully plotted payback of five duped accomplices who wronged him. But the corpses aren’t the only marks; the cops working the case are taken in too.
Great quote: “I’m telling you, this guy is protected from up on high by the Prince of Darkness.”
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2. “The Sting” (1973)
In 1930s Chicago, a small-time grifter unknowingly steals from a big-time crime boss. After the boss has his partner killed, Johnny (Robert Redford) schemes with Henry (Paul Newman) to take the man for an enormous payback.
Great grift: This is all about the “long con,” an elaborate, slowly unfolding scheme involving a whole roster of accomplices, and stakes that couldn’t be higher – life or death.
Great quote: “Your boss is quite a card player, Mr. Kelly; how does he do it?” … “He cheats.”
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3. “Paper Moon” (1973)
In the Depression-ravaged Midwest, a grifter takes in a 10-year-old orphan to help him run his scheme delivering unordered, overpriced Bibles to recent widows he identifies through newspaper obits.
Great grift: A real-life father- daughter duo (Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal) play a fake father-daughter duo making money in every dishonest way imaginable? What’s not to love?
Great quote: “No, I don’t know what scruples is, but if you’ve got ’em, you sure bet they belong to somebody else!”
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4. “The Grifters” (1990)
It can’t be good when three selfish grifters join forces – and one is your estranged mom. One alters racetrack odds (Anjelica Huston), another hustles sailors with loaded dice (John Cusack), the third simply hustles her hot bod (Annette Bening). A film noir with more angles than a protractor.
Great grift: Unresolved filial issues all but guarantee this will turn ugly.
Great quote: “I guess we won’t be getting a straight job.”
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5. “Memento” (2000)
A man has no short-term memory after a blow to the head during an assault on his wife. So he leaves himself notes and self- applied tattoos to help him hunt for the killer.
Great grift: A great movie mystery, to be sure, but within it contains a masterful grift possibly being perpetuated on this man by his only friend.
Great quote: “Someone has to pay, Lenny. Somebody always pays.”
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6. “Jackie Brown” (1995)
A flight attendant gets caught smuggling her boss’ gun money. She has a choice: Give up the arms dealer, and she walks, until said dealer cuts her off at the knees. Or keep your mouth shut and do time. Then there’s Option 3: Hatch a plan with your infatuated bail bondsman to play everyone against one another, and walk off with millions.
Great grift: The greatest grifts involve a grift within a grift within a grift. What better than blaxploitation queen (and Denver native) Pam Grier teaming with a lonely late-50s burnout who’s in love with her?
Great quote: “Somebody with a grudge blew Beaumont’s brains out. Oh (bleep), that (bleep) rhymes! ‘Blew Beau-mont’s brains out!”‘
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7. “Catch Me if You Can” (2002)
The true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., who, before his 19th birthday, conned $4 million worth of checks as a fake Pan Am pilot, doctor and legal prosecutor.
Great grift: Frank, who started with $25 in his pocket, was motivated (at first) to help erase his dad’s IRS debts and get his estranged parents back together.
Great quote: “Ah, people only know what you tell them, Carl.”
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8. “Confidence” (2003)
Jake has just swindled thousands from a man he has no idea is the accountant for an eccentric crime boss. Swaggering Jake offers to repay “The King” by pulling off the biggest con of his career. The mark? A banker with ties to organized crime. The complex scheme involves corporate loans, offshore accounts and a brash, blond pickpocket named Lily.
Great grift: We get to see Dustin Hoffman as a supreme weasel. On purpose.
Great quote: “Sometimes, Jake, style can get you killed.”
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9. “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960)
We’re talking about the original starring Frank Sinatra. Eleven old World War II pals hatch a plan to rob five Las Vegas casinos in one night by killing the electricity.
Great grift: Danny Ocean has self-confidence, composure and unmistakable cool. But it’s what goes wrong that makes this a great film. Every great grift flick needs a double-twist (of the knife).
Great quote: “You could never love a woman like you love danger.”
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10. “Wag the Dog” (1997)
Caught in a scandal days before the election, the president has no chance of being re-elected. So his adviser (Robert De Niro) contacts a Hollywood film producer (Hoffman) to manufacture a fake war in Albania that the president can heroically end – all through the manipulation of the mass media.
Great grift: Wait, what’s a political film doing on this list? Think of it as a grift played upon an entire, unsuspecting nation.
Great quote: “War is show business … that’s why we’re here.”
Three great Broadway grifts
“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (2005): Two disparate con men agree to a bet: The first one to extract $50,000 from a young female target wins. The loser must leave town.
“The Producers” (2001): A scheming producer sets out to win a fortune by creating a flop that disastrously turns into a success.
“The Music Man” (1957): A con man pretends to be a music professor, but he’s out to bilk the town for cash in exchange for nonexistent musical instruments. But by the time he’s exposed, the whole town has fallen for him.
Two classic grifts
“Volpone” (1606): Ben Jonson’s tale of a man who pretends to be dying, so he offers anyone who looks after him his “fortune.” Greedy sorts offer him whatever he desires – including their daughters. The joke is: The man has nothing.
“Tartuffe” (1664): Moliere’s scathing satire of a seemingly religious guy who comes into a household pretending to be a Christian – and ends up seducing the man’s wife.
Note: Plot summaries culled in part from .
