House of Deception - Books and Movies about Bunco, Scams, Swindles & Con Artists

We use Library of Congress preservation techniques.

The House of Deception is fully aware that the deceptive arts are played out not only in theatrical venues at scheduled times, but also, when one least expects it, on varied stages by singularly clever performers:

on the streets and in the bars,
in the breakrooms and boardrooms,
at the courthouses, country clubs and cocktail parties,
and in the faculty clubs and church socials.

Below are selected lists of works on a wide array of "theatrical" deceptions.

Books on Bunco, Scams, Swindles & Con Artists

Links: Bunco, Scams, Swindles & Con Artists

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) -- explanations of common fraud schemes

Snopes.com -- "Urban Legends Reference Pages," debunks hoaxes and rumors

Hoax Busters -- The good folks at Hoax Busters, a comprehensive guide to a variety of internet hoaxes, have retired. On their way out, they have kindly left us with a list of their recommendations for other hoax-debunking websites:

Internet Hoaxes and Fake Facts

TruthorFiction.com, FactCheck.org, Politifact, Washington Post Fact Checker, ThatsFake.com, ThatsNonsense.com, Snopes.com."

Videos: Bunco, Scams, Swindles & Con Artists

Orson Welles' F for Fake (1972)
The Criterion Collection (2005)
www.criterionco.com
Unrated
Runtime: 88 min.

*******Opinionated Ratings by The House of Deception*******

Highly recommended movies appear in large, bold type. The con is a central theme in these films.

Movies that appear in small, italicized type are not recommended (NR). These may be good movies by other standards, but the con is not the central theme.

We have not yet viewed the movies listed in plain type, although they appear on other con artist movie lists. We will add our ratings as we get to them.

The Thirties, Forties, & Fifties
Nightmare Alley. 1933
Poppy. 1936
My Little Chickadee. 1940 (NR: W.C. and Mae West comedy)
The Bank Dick. 1940 (W.C. gets conned by fast talker)
The Lady Eve. 1941
Nobody Lives Forever. 1946
The Swindle (Il Bidone). 1955
The Rainmaker. 1956 (NR: romantic western)

The Sixties
Elmer Gantry. 1960
Pocketful of Miracles. 1961
The Hustler. 1962
The Music Man. 1962
The Fortune Cookie. 1966 (NR: insurance fraud comedy)
The Flim-Flam Man. 1967 (NR: slap-stick comedy)
The Producers. 1968
The Italian Job. 1969 (NR: heist/caper)

The Seventies
Skin Game. 1971
Orson Welles' F for Fake. 1972
Paper Moon. 1973
The Sting. 1973

The Eighties
Vabank. 1981 (NR: Polish fluency required, no English subtitles)
Rakenstam. 1983
The Sting II. 1983 (NR: poor sequel to the 1973 classic, the great Jackie Gleason at his worst)
Vabank II. 1985 (NR: Polish fluency required, no English subtitles)
House of Games. 1987
Spoorloos. 1988 (NR: kidnapping, suspense)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. 1988
Let it Ride. 1989 (NR: comedy, exploits of a track loser)

The Ninties
The Grifters. 1990
Leap of Faith. 1992
Sneakers. 1992 (NR: spy espionage)
Diggstown. 1992
Six Degrees of Separation. 1993
Scam. 1993
DeadFall. 1993
The Vanishing. 1993 (NR: American version of Spoorloos; kidnapping suspense)
Stars Fell on Henrietta. (1995)
The Usual Suspects. 1995 (NR: heist, murder, robbery, assassination, drug dealing)
Primal Fear. 1996
Hard Eight (aka Sydney). 1996 (NR: neo noir crime drama, Reno casino grifters)
The Swindle (Rien ne va plus). 1997
The Pest. 1997 (NR: John Leguizamo comedy)
Shooting Fish. 1997 (NR: British comedy)
The Game. 1997 (NR: psychological thriller with a complex deception)
The Spanish Prisoner. 1997
Traveller. 1997
Following. 1998
Blue Streak. 1999 (NR: police station comedy)
Simpatico. 1999 (NR: horse racing swindlers)
Man on the Moon. 1999 (NR: biopic on Andy Kaufman, eccentric comedian and pro wrestler)

The 2000s
Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas). 2000
Boiler Room. 2000
The Prime Gig. 2000
Bandits. 2001 (NR: bank robbery comedy; stunts and effects)
Birthday Girl. 2001 (NR: internet bride scam; extortion)
Heist. 2001 (NR: heist )
Heartbreakers. 2001
Ocean's Eleven. 2001 (NR: heist)
The Score. 2001 (NR: heist and double cross; Marlon Brando plays an old con artist)
Catch Me If You Can. 2002
Confidence. 2003
Matchstick Men. 2003
Shade. 2003
Out of Time. 2003 (NR: Southern police thriller)
The Italian Job. 2003 (NR: heist/caper)
Criminal. 2004 (remake of Nueva Reinas)
Ocean's Twelve. 2004 (NR: heist)
The Producers: The Movie Musical. 2005
Color Me Kubrick. 2005
Stories of Lost Souls. 2005
Bluffmaster! 2005
Derailed. 2005
Swindled (Incautos). 2005
Kurosagi. 2006
Lucky Number Slevin. 2006 (NR: assassination and revenge)
The Hoax. 2006
Con Man. 2006 (documentary)
Oceans Thirteen. 2007
Liar Game. 2007
Believe. 2007
Futurama: Bender's Big Score
The Brothers Bloom. 2009

Television
Racket Sqaud. 1950 (Dragnet-style series dramatizes confidence crimes)
Mission: Impossible. 1966-1973 (elaborate con games foil the villian marks)
Shell Game. 1975 (pilot with John Davidson & Joan Van Ark)
The Ribos Operation. 1978 (episode of Doctor Who)
Cheers. 1982-1993. NBC. (Magician Harry Anderson played Harry 'The Hat' Gittes.)
The Great Money Caper. 2002 (a Simpsons episode based around grifting)
Firefly, The Series. 2002-2004 (character Saffron is a confidence woman in this fine series)
The O.C. 2003 (Jeri Ryan played a con artist during the third season.)
Lost. 2004 (two characters, James "Sawyer" Ford and Anthony Cooper, are both con-artists.)
North Shore. 2004-2005 (Amanda Rhigetti played a con artist.)
Con. 2005 (Skyler Stone on Comedy Central)
Hustle. 2004-2007 (BBC series)
The Real Hustle. 2007- (documentary spinoff of Hustle, BBC)
The Riches. 2007
Burn Notice. 2007-.
Leverage. 2008-.

The list above is adapted, edited, and expanded by the House of Deception from Wikipedia Encyclopedia and may be read in its original, uncredited form at Wikipedia.org.

Visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) for complete information about these films.

Please contact us to recommend other videos with con artist themes to add to this group.

Criminal (2004)
Director: Gregory Jacobs
Rated R
Runtime: 87 min.

Bunco, Scams, Swindles & Con Artists In Movies and Television

Herman Melville's The Confidence-Man

The Red-Headed League, a Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, involves a sort of confidence trick used to enable a bank robbery.

Thomas Mann's Confessions of Felix Krull Confidence Man, The Early Years, an unfinished novel about a German con man.

Many of the crime novels by Jim Thompson involve confidence artists.

Joyce Carol Oates's My Heart Laid Bare features a family of confidence artists.

Eric Garcia's Matchstick Men.

Neil Gaiman's American Gods uses a two-man con as a major plot element.

O. Henry's collection The Gentle Grafter describes a variety of confidence tricks.

Slippery Jim, the protagonist of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat trilogy, uses abundant schemes and frauds.

The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man by David Maurer and Luc Sante

Judith Ivory's Untie My Heart

Jenny Crusie's Faking It features a family of confidence artists.

"Children of Lieutenant Schmidt Society", a fictional secret society of pretenders to be sons of Pyotr Schmidt (a Russian revolutionary hero), are described in Ilf and Petrov's The Little Golden Calf. See also The Twelve Chairs by the same authors.

The Professor in Spider Robinson's Callahan series

John Constantine of DC Comics/Vertigo ongoing series, Hellblazer, created by Alan Moore, uses confidence scams, trickery, and magic to outwit his opponents.

Stephen J. Cannell's King Con features a confidence man who successfully performs many of the known cons, as well as some very creative and impressive ones.

Tim Krabbe's The Golden Egg (1984) features a chemistry teacher who employs confidence tricks for the purpose of kidnapping.

Travis McGee in John D. MacDonald's series of novels frequently uses con games or has them tried against him.

Delos D. Harriman of Robert H. Heinlein's novel The Man Who Sold the Moon could possibly be considered a con artist.

The novella The Space Merchants by Frederic Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth is replete with con games practiced by corporations.

The novel The Brethren by John Grisham features a con run within a federal prison in which closeted gay men are targeted for extortion by three incarcerated judges.

Terry Pratchett's Going Postal features a convicted and condemned swindler spared execution in exchange for taking on a hazardous government job, to which he applies the principles of the con.

Brian Michael Bendis' crime graphic novels A.K.A. Goldfish and Jinx have a con man named David Gold as a main character.

Monsieur and Madame Thenardier of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. Cruel, wicked, money-hungry, the Thenardiers scam money from whomever they can. Schemes include robbery, fraud, and murder.

The list above is adapted and edited by the House of Deception from Wikipedia Encyclopedia and may be read in its original, uncredited form at Wikipedia.org .

Please contact us to recommend other literature with con artist themes to add to this list.

Bunco, Scams, Swindles & Con Artists In Literature

Bunco, Scams, Swindles & Con Artists In Fine Art

On this page you will find:

.: a list of books (exposes) on confidence games, swindles, scams and con artists
.: a photo gallery of many of the books in the con game bibliography
.: a list of useful links to educational sites about bunco and confidence crime
.: a list of movies and TV shows with con artist themes and characters
.: a list of novels and short stories involving confidence tricks, scams and con artists
.: paintings and other works of art with swindling & confidence crime themes

Please bookmark & link to HouseofDeception.com - New titles are added periodically.

Leap of Faith (1992)
Director: Richard Pearce
Rated PG-13
Runtime: 107 min.
Highly recommended by The House of Deception

Swindled [Incautos] (2005)
Director: Miguel Bardem
Unrated
Runtime: 107 min.
Recommended by The House of Deception

Nine Queens [Nueve Reinas] (2000)
Director: Fabian Bielinsky
Rated R
Runtime: 115 min.

House of Deception Library: Bunco, Scams, Swidles, & Con Artists

Author	Title	Publication Year	Publisher
Abagnale, Frank W.	The Art of the Steal	2002	Broadway, New York
Abagnale, Frank W.; Redding, Stan	Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake	2000	Broadway, New York
Ashforth, David	Ringers and Rascals: The True Story of Racing's Greatest Con Artists	2004	Eclipse, Lexington, KY
Blaine, David	Mysterious Stranger	2002	Villard, New York
Britland, David	Phantoms of the Card Table: Confessions of a Card Sharp	2004	Four Walls Eight Windows. New York
Byrne, Robert	McGoorty: A Pool Room Hustler	2004	Broadway, New York
Fenton, Peter	Eyeing the Flash	2005	Simon & Schuster, New York
Gibson, Walter B.	The Bunco Book	1946	Sidney Radner, Holyoke, MA
Henderson, Les	Crimes of Persuasion: Scemes, Scams, Frauds	2000	Coyote Ridge, Azilda, Ont.
Houdini, Harry	A Magician Among the Spirits	1972	Arno, New York
Huston, Peter	More Scams from the Great Beyond!	2002	Paladin, Boulder, CO
Huston, Peter	Scams From The Great Beyond	1997	Paladin, Boulder, CO
Hyde, Stephen; Zanetti, Geno (eds.)	Players: Con Men, Hustlers, Gamblers and Scam Artists	2003	Thunder's Mouth, New York
Jay, Ricky; Purcell, Rosamond Wolff	Dice: Deception, Fate, and Rotten Luck	2003	Quantuck Lane, New York
Keene, Lamar M.; Spraggett, Allen	The Psychic Mafia	1997	Prometheus, Amherst, NY
Leland, Charles Godfrey	Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling	1962	University, New Hyde Park, NY
Liebling, A. J.	The Telephone Booth Indian [The Library of Larceny Edition]	2004	Broadway, New York
Lovell, Simon	How to Cheat at Everything: A Con Man Reveals the Secrets of the Esoteric Trade of Cheating, Scams, and Hustles	2007	Thunder's Mouth, New York
MacKay, Charles	Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds	1960	L. C. Page, Boston
Marlock, Dennis M.	How to Become a Professional Con Artist	2001	Paladin, Boulder, CO
Marlock, Dennis; Dowling, John	License To Steal: Traveling Con Artists: Their Games, Their Rules-Your Money	1994	Paladin, Boulder CO
Maskelyne, John Nevil	Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill	1971	Gambler's Book Club, Las Vegas
Maurer, David W.	The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man	1999	Anchor, New York
Moger, Art (ed.)	Pros and Cons: Incredible True Tales about Famous Con Men, Frauds, Hoaxers, and Beguiling Swindlers	1975	Fawcett Books, Greenwich, CT
Mulholland, John	Beware Familiar Spirits	1938	Scribner, New York
Nash, Jay Robert	Hustlers and Con Men: An Anecdotal History of the Confidence Man and His Games	1976	M. Evans, New York
Norfleet, J Frank	Norfleet: The Actual Experiences of a Texas Rancher's 30,000 Mile Transcontinental Chase after Five Confidence Men	1924	author, Fort Worth, TX
Peyton, Richard (ed.)	At the Track: A Treasury of Horse Racing Stories	2004	Gramercy, New York
Randi, James	Flim-Flam!: Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions	1982	Prometheus, Amherst, NY
Randi, James	The Faith Healers	1987	Prometheus, Amherst, NY
Randi, James	The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer	1993	Prometheus, Amherst, NY
Randi, James	Truth About Uri Geller	1982	Prometheus, Amherst, NY
Rice, George	My Adventures With Your Money	1986	Nevada Publications, Las Vegas
Robbins, Todd	The Modern Con Man: How To Get Something For Nothing	2008	Bloomsbury, New York
Rose, Jim	Snake Oil: Life's Calculations, Misdirections, and Manipulations	2005	Bartleby, Silver Spring, MD
Sifakis, Carl	Frauds, Deceptions, and Swindles	2001	Checkmark, New York
Sommer, Robin Langley	Great Cons & Con Artists: The Incredible Stories of the Masters of Deceit	1994	Running Press, Philadelphia
Spurling, Hilary	La Grande Therese: The Greatest Scandal of the Century	2001	Perennial, New York
Stein, Gordon; MacNee, Marie J.	Hoaxes!: Dupes, Dodges & Other Dastardly Deceptions	1995	Visible Ink, Detroit
Stowers, Carlton	The Unsinkable Titanic Thompson	1992	Palmer Magic, Lake Hughes, CA
Stratton, Owen Tully	Medicine Man	1989	University of Oklahoma Press
Strauss, Darin	The Real McCoy	2002	E P Dutton, New York
Swierczynski, Duane	The Complete Idiot's Guide To Frauds, Scams, and Cons	2002	Alpha, New York
Tonken, Aaron	King of Cons: Exposing the Dirty Rotten Secrets of the Washington Elite and Hollywood Celebrities	2004	Nelson, Nashville, TN
Walker, Kent; Schone, Mark	Son of a Grifter	2002	Avon, New York
Wallace, Mike	Con Men: Fascinating Profiles of Swindlers and Rogues from the Files of the Most Successful Broadcast in Television History	2003	Simon & Schuster, New York
Weil J. R. "Yellow Kid" ; Brandon, W. T.	Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story	2004	Broadway, New York
Weisberg, Barbara	Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism	2004	Harper, San Francisco
Whitlock, Charles R.	Easy Money: The Con Game Exposed	1994	Kensington, New York


	House of Deception Library: Bunco, Scams, Swindles, and Con Artists

Abagnale. Catch Me If You Can.jpg	Abagnale. The Art of the Steal.jpg	Ashforth. Ringers and Rascals.jpg	Blaine. Mysterious Stranger.jpg	Britland and Gazzo. Phantoms of the Card Table, Confessions of a Card Sharp.jpg
Byrne. McGoorty, A Pool Room Hustler.jpg	Fenton. Eyeing the Flash 2.jpg	Gibson. The Bunco Book 2.jpg	Houdini. A Magician Among the Spirits.jpg	Hyde and Zanetti. Players, Con Men, Hustlers, Gamblers and Scam Artists .jpg
Jay and Purcell. Dice, Deception, Fate and Rotten Luck.jpg	Liebling. The Telephone Booth Indian.jpg	Lovell. How to Cheat at Everything.jpg	MacKay. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds 2.jpg	Marlock and Dowling. License to Steal.jpg
Marlock. How to Become a Professional Con Artist.jpg	Maskelyne. Sharps and Flats.jpg	Maurer. The Big Con, The Story of the Confidence Man.jpg	Moger.Pros and Cons.jpg	Mulholland. Beware Familiar Spirits.jpg
Nash, Hustlers and Con Men.jpg	Peyton (ed.). At the Track A Treasury of Horse Racing Stories.jpg	Randi. The Faith Healers.jpg	Rice. My Adventures with Your Money.jpg	Robbins. The Modern Con Man.jpg
Rose. Snake Oil 2.jpg	Sifakis. Frauds, Deceptions and Swindles.jpg	Sommer. Great Cons and Con Artists.jpg	Spurling. La Grande Therese.jpg	Stein and MacNee. Hoaxes.jpg
Stowers. Titanic Thompson.jpg	Stratton. Medicine Man.jpg	Strauss. The Real McCoy.jpg	Swierczynski. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Frauds, Scams and Cons.jpg	Tonken. King of Cons.jpg
Walker. Son of a Grifter.jpg	Wallace. Con Men.jpg	Weil and Brandon. Con Man, A Master Swindler's Own Story.jpg	Weisberg. Talking to the Dead.jpg	Whitlock. Easy Money, The Con Game Exposed!.jpg