Catch Me If You Can (2002) on Netflix
PG-1320022h 21mBiographyCrimeDrama
Frank Abagnale Jr., sixteen, watches his father run cons. When his parents divorce, he runs away and passes forged Pan Am checks as a pilot. FBI agent Carl Hanratty takes the case.
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb8.1/101,265,263 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes96%
Trailer
Plot summary
Frank Abagnale Jr. grows up in New Rochelle, New York, admiring his father, Frank Sr., whose tax troubles with the IRS cost the family its house. They move into a small apartment. Frank discovers his mother, Paula, having an affair with Jack Barnes, a friend from his father's Rotary Club, and his parents divorce. Asked which parent he will live with, Frank runs away and uses his checkbook to pay for rides and rooms. The money runs out, and his forged checks and confidence tricks on bank tellers fail. He notices airline pilots and stewardesses receiving special treatment at a hotel, obtains a Pan Am pilot's uniform, and studies the airline by presenting himself as a college student writing a report. Forged Pan Am checks begin to pass. FBI agent Carl Hanratty takes up the case.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The FBI agent Abagnale says tracked and later worked with him was Joseph Shea; because Shea did not want his name used in the film, the character was renamed Carl and given the surname Hanratty, after the football player Terry Hanratty.
- In 1978 several journalists debunked Abagnale's claim that he passed the Louisiana bar and worked for Attorney General Jack P. F. Gremillion; journalist Ira Perry could find no evidence he worked with the FBI, and a retired FBI Special Agent in Charge said Abagnale was caught trying to pass fraudulent checks in 1978.
- Abagnale was arrested in Cobb County, Georgia, on November 2, 1970, and federal court records associated with his conviction show he cashed only 10 personal checks carrying a Pan American Airlines logo, totaling less than $1,500.
- Tom Hanks was cast only in August 2001, the month Spielberg officially committed to directing, replacing James Gandolfini, who had exited the project because of scheduling conflicts with The Sopranos.
- Gore Verbinski's version of the film cast James Gandolfini as Carl Hanratty, Ed Harris as Frank Abagnale Sr. and Chloë Sevigny as Brenda Strong; Verbinski then dropped out because of DiCaprio's commitment to Gangs of New York.
