Overview
See production notesIn 1969, FBI agent Carl Hanratty arrives in Marseille, France, to pick up prisoner Frank Abagnale Jr., who has fallen ill due to the prison's poor conditions. In a flashback, Frank is living in New Rochelle, New York, with his father, Frank Sr., and his French mother, Paula, in 1963. During his youth, he witnesses his father's many techniques for conning people, but Frank Sr.'s tax problems with the IRS eventually force the family to move from their house and into a small apartment. One day, Frank discovers his mother is having an affair with Jack Barnes, his father's friend from the New Rochelle Rotary Club. When his parents divorce, Frank runs away. Needing money, he turns to confidence scams to survive and his cons progressively grows bolder. He poses as a Pan Am pilot named Frank Taylor and forges payroll checks from Pan Am. Soon, his forgeries are worth millions of dollars. News of the crimes reaches the FBI and Carl begins tracking Frank. He finds him at a motel, but Frank tricks Carl into believing he is a Secret Service agent named Barry Allen. He escapes before Carl realizes the deception. Adopting a new identity as Dr. Frank Conners, Frank falls in love with Brenda, a naive young hospital nurse, and asks her attorney father for both her hand in marriage and help with arrangements to take the Louisiana State Bar exam, which Frank passes. Carl tracks Frank to his and Brenda's engagement party, but Frank escapes through a bedroom window, telling Brenda to meet him at Miami International Airport two days later. At the airport, Frank spots Brenda but also plainclothes agents. He realizes she has been followed and drives away. Reassuming his pilot identity, he stages a recruiting drive for stewardesses at a local college. Surrounded by eight young women dressed as stewardesses, which distracts the agents at the airport, Frank escapes on a flight to Madrid. In 1967, Carl tracks Frank down in his mother's hometown of Montrichard, France, and convinces him to surrender to the French police. Frank is arrested and taken into custody there, but Carl assures him he will be extradited to the U.S. In 1969, Carl accompanies Frank on a flight to the U.S. As they approach, Carl informs Frank that his father has died. Grief-stricken, Frank escapes from the plane through a toilet and reaches the house of his mother, who is now married to Barnes and is living with him and their young daughter. Heartbroken by his mother having a new family, Frank surrenders to Carl and a judge sentences him to 12 years in a maximum-security prison. Carl visits Frank in prison; he shows him a fraudulent check from a case he is investigating. Frank immediately deduces that a bank teller was involved in the fraud. Impressed, Carl convinces the FBI to allow Frank to serve the remainder of his sentence working for the FBI Financial Crimes Unit. Frank agrees, but soon grows restless doing the tedious office work. One weekend, Frank prepares to impersonate a pilot again but is intercepted by Carl, who says he is willing to let him continue with his con, assuring Frank that no one is chasing him and that it is his choice. Frank returns to work the following week. As they discuss another fraudulent check, Carl asks him how he cheated on the Louisiana State Bar exam, and Frank tells him he did not cheat, but studied for two weeks and passed it. Carl smiles and asks Frank if he is telling the truth, but Frank does not answer, instead giving Carl input on the check. The closing titles state that (as of 1991) Frank has now been married for 26 years, has three sons and is living in the Midwestern United States, and that he has remained friends with Carl and has made a living as a leading expert on bank fraud and forgery.
Plot from Catch Me If You CanCC BY-SA 4.0
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See all quotesFrank Abagnale Sr.: You know why the Yankees always win, Frank? Frank Abagnale, Jr.: 'Cause they have Mickey Mantle? Frank Abagnale Sr.: No, it's 'cause the other teams can't stop staring at those damn pinstripes. Carl Hanratty: Well, would you like to hear me tell a joke? Earl Amdursky: Yeah. Yeah, we'd love to hear a joke from you. Carl Hanratty: Knock knock. Earl Amdursky: Who's there? Carl Hanratty: Go fuck yourselves. Mr. Strong: Frank, would you like to say grace? ...Unless you're not comfortable. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: Absolutely. Two little mice fell into a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned, but the second mouse, he struggled so hard that he eventually churned that cream into butter and he walked out. Amen. Mrs. Strong: Oh, that was beautiful. The mouse, he churned that cream into butter.
Catch Me If You Can, CC BY-SA 4.0
Frank Abagnale, Jr.: Carl, how long do I have to work here [the FBI]? Carl Hanratty: 8:15 in the morning, 4:00 in the afternoon. Forty-five minutes for lunch. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: No, I mean...how long? Carl Hanratty: Every day. Every day, Frank...until we let you go. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: Hey, Carl.
Catch Me If You Can, CC BY-SA 4.0
Assistant Director Marsh: I'd like for you to take a look at something, tell me what you think. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: [Marsh hands Frank a fake check as Carl looks on] That's a fake. Assistant Director Marsh: How do you know? You haven't looked at it. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: There's no perforated edge, right? This check was hand-cut, not fed. The paper's double-bonded, much too heavy to be a bank check. Magnetic ink, it's raised against my fingers, not flat. This doesn't smell like MICR, it's some kind of, uh, some kind of drafting ink. The kind you get at a stationery store. Assistant Director Marsh: Frank, would you be interested in working for the FBI's Financial Crimes Unit? Frank Abagnale, Jr.: I've already got a job here, you know. I, uh, deliver the mail. Assistant Director Marsh: Frank, we have the power to take you out of prison. You'd be placed in the custody of the FBI where you'd serve out the remainder of your sentence as an employee of the Federal Government. Frank Abagnale,
Catch Me If You Can, CC BY-SA 4.0
Carl Hanratty: How'd you do it, Frank? How'd you pass the bar in Louisiana? Frank Abagnale, Jr.: [Frank continues to walk. Carl walks several paces behind] What are you doing here? Carl Hanratty: Listen... Frank Abagnale, Jr.: I'm sorry I put you through all this. Carl Hanratty: You go back to Europe, you're gonna die in Perpignan Prison. You try to run here in the States, we'll send you back to Atlanta for 50 years. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: I know that. Carl Hanratty: I spent four years trying to arrange your release. Had to convince my bosses at the FBI and the Attorney General of the United States you wouldn't run. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: Why'd you do it? Carl Hanratty: You're just a kid. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: I'm not your kid. You said you were going to Chicago. Carl Hanratty: My daughter can't see me this weekend. She's going skiing. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: You said she was four years old. You're lying. Carl Hanratty: She was four when I left. Now she's 15. My wife's been remarried for 11 ye
Catch Me If You Can, CC BY-SA 4.0
Carl Hanratty: There's impressions on every line... looks like the original amount was for $60... Frank Abagnale, Jr.: [walks up and takes magnifier] Mind if I take a look? Carl Hanratty: [looks up] Cashed in Flagstaff a week ago. Cost the bank $16,000. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: It's a real check. Carl Hanratty: Yeah. Yeah, it's been washed. The only thing original is the signature. Frank Abagnale, Jr.: But it's perfect, Carl. I mean, this isn't hydrochloride or bleach. Carl Hanratty: No. Something new. Maybe a nail polish remover where the acetone removes the ink that's not been printed? Carl Hanratty: How did you do it, Frank? How did you cheat on the bar exam in Louisiana? Frank Abagnale, Jr.: I didn't cheat. I studied for two weeks and I passed. Carl Hanratty: Is that the truth, Frank? Is that the truth? Frank Abagnale, Jr.: I'll bet this guy steals checks out of mailboxes. He washes off their names and he puts on his own. Carl Hanratty: You're saying he's a local? Frank Abagnale, Jr.:
Catch Me If You Can, CC BY-SA 4.0
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