July 27, 2001
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Screenplay by Jeff Nathanson, Book by Frank Abagnale Jr. and Stan Redding
Synopsis by Brian Aldrich
Some people consider FRANK ABAGNALE JR. to be the world's greatest imposter. He was the only teenager ever to have been placed on the FBI's ten most wanted list. In 1964, fifteen year old Frank lived with his parents, FRANK SR. and PAULA, in an upper class New Jersey suburb and he attended an elite private school. However, when his father's stationary store business fails, the family was forced to move into a dilapidated apartment and go to public school. But Frank Jr. had learned a few tricks from his father who always told him that people only know about you what you tell them.
When Frank went to public school still wearing his private school blazer, he was mistaken for a substitute teacher and wound up teaching the French class for a few weeks until his masquerade was finally discovered. When his parents divorced, Frank, now 16, ran away from home to NYC. He began writing bad checks to support himself. Then, he started masquerading as an airline pilot in order to fly for free wherever he wanted to go. Unable to catch him, the authorities began calling him "the Skywayman". Eventually, he started counterfeiting airline payroll checks and cashing them. He lost his virginity to MARCI, an airline stewardess. He romanced LUCY, a bank teller, and got her to show him how a check encoding machine works. He bought himself one and started manufacturing his own fake checks and cashing them at banks all over the country. FBI agent JOE SHAYE was assigned to investigate Frank, called "John Doe 2172". When Joe tracked Frank down to a motel in Los Angeles, Joe actually caught Frank, but Frank convinced him he was a secret service agent and escaped. Frank started calling Joe at his office to talk. Using his encoding machine on a Vegas bank's blank deposit slips, Frank committed the second largest bank robbery in the history of Las Vegas. With the help of a fellow agent, Joe figures out "John Doe 2172" and the "Skywayman" are the same person. Soon, Joe identified his prey as Frank Abagnale Jr. Frank realized the heat was on and moved to Atlanta where he lived the playboy lifestyle. Faking an impressive resume, Frank began masquerading as a doctor and got a job at a hospital. He began a romance with 17 year old candy striper BRENDA STRONG. When he learned Brenda's father, ROBERT, was a New Orleans' District Attorney, he proposed to her and convinced her they should move back to her home. In New Orleans, Frank convinced Robert that he was also a lawyer before he became a doctor. Amazingly, Frank passed the bar exam and went to work for Robert as an Assistant Prosecutor. He took a brief vacation to NYC where he learned how to counterfeit airline expense checks. From time to time, Frank visited his struggling father and offered him money, but Frank Sr. refused any help.
When Frank realized Joe was getting close to finding him in New Orleans, he told Brenda the truth and asked her to run away with him. However, the FBI got to Brenda and her family before Frank could take her away. Using a dead man's identity, Frank got a passport and flew to Europe. In France he looked up his mother's family and stayed with them. He masqueraded as a professor and began teaching at a local university. He used his relative's printing press to forge perfect airline checks, which he cashed all over the continent. Joe contacted JULIEN, a French police detective, and worked with him to finally catch Frank. After spending two years in a French prison, Joe showed up to extradite him back to the States. After learning his father had committed suicide, Frank escaped from Joe's custody and went to see his mother. Joe caught Frank again. Frank was sentenced to 18 years in prison, but after five years, Joe convinced the FBI to have Frank work for them in their fraud division, using his expertise to help them solve cases. He married, had kids, and was awarded several distinguished service awards from the FBI. Frank and Joe remained close friends to this day.
Summary Criticism: The script is excellently crafted and the characters are sympathetic. Frank's exploits and Joe's struggle to catch him are engaging parallel stories, but Frank's primary motivation needs to be more than a vague fear of poverty and a desire to impress his father.
Catch Me If You Can - imdb wiki
Frank Abagnale Jr. - imdb wiki
Stan Redding - imdb
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