The Following is Based on a Half-True Story

This past week I was in St. Petesburg, Florida at a conference for work.  One of the sessions was conducted by Frank Abagnale.  For readers that don’t know Mr. Abagnale, he is currently a consultant with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is an expert on the subjects of forgery, embezzlement and secure documents.  Abagnale’s teen years are what most people know about him.  During this time, Abagnale became the countries’ notorious con artist.  Abagnale successfully impersonated a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer all before the age of 21.  In 2002, Steven Spielberg adapted Abagnale’s story into a movie in called Catch Me if You Can.

Catch Me if You Can 2002 trailer

According to Abagnale, Steven Spielberg never spoke with him regarding his life or how to interpret it.    Spielberg took some creative liberties with Abagnale’s story.  There’s a scene in the movie after Abagnale brings impersonating a pilot, where he meets his father for a lunch.  Abagnale stated that after he ran away, he never saw his father again.  Abagnale’s died while he was in prison in Europe. When Abagnale was impersonating a pediatrician, he did so to convince people there was a reason he was a driving expensive car.  This aspect of the movie was never explored.  The film shows him working at a hospital. He did read medical journals to keep his cover going when a doctor moved into the same apartment complex. 

Another piece of movie fiction is regarding Tom Hanks’ character of Carl Hanratty.  The real name of Abagnale’s FBI pursuer was Joe Shea.  Why this was changed in the movie was unclear, but Abagnale and Shea did remain friends in real life after Abagnale starting was working for the FBI which is portrayed in movie. 

Now Catch Me if You Can is one of the few films that some of the true events appear in of the movie.  A few years ago a movie called The Strangers came out and was based on a true story as well.  Basically the plot revolved around people coming up to the door in the middle of the night and asking for someone that didn’t live at the house. The people staying at the home were then brutally murder.  Well the only true aspect of this movie was when the film’s director was younger; someone came to his house late at night and asked for someone that didn’t live there.  The next few days, a few homes in his neighborhood were robbed.

So when a film says that it is based on a true story, the story may only a half truth.

What is your favorite movie based on a true story?

Here I am with Frank Abagnale