Catch Me If You Can: 5 Things Based On The True Story (& 5 Creative Liberties Taken)

Is this Steven Spielberg-Leonardo DiCaprio caper too crazy to be true? While some parts of Catch Me If You Can are accurate, others are fabrications.

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Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can is one of those movies that is made even more entertaining knowing it is based on a true story. The caper stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale Jr., who while still in his teens, became one of the most successful con artists in American history.

The entire story seems too perfect for Hollywood, and one might assume it is largely fabricated. But some of the most outlandish aspects are true, though the movie does, of course, stretch the truth on occasion. Here are some of the ways Catch Me If You Can is accurate to the true story and some of the ways it takes creative liberties.

10 True: Child Of Divorce

The movie shows that before his life of crime, Frank lived a happy life with his mother and father. His parents’ divorce was, in fact, one of the catalysts for his criminal career. This immediately feels like a Hollywood invention as a way of making us sympathize with a criminal character.

However, the real Frank Abagnale was a child of divorce and he did run away as a teen to escape his unpleasant home life. Abagnale admits that even when enjoying the life of luxury as a con artist he would fantasize about his parents getting back together and things returning to normal.

9 False: Frank Abagnale Sr.

One of the highlights of the film is Christopher Walken’s performance as Frank’s father. After losing his own wealth and success, Frank Sr. remains in contact with his son as he goes off on his many adventures. Frank Jr. even risks getting arrested to occasionally visit with his father.

In reality, Frank Jr. didn’t see his father again after running away from home. He also acknowledges that the film and Walken’s performance shed a more positive light on the man.

8 True: Scams

Some of the most entertaining and thrilling aspects of the film are Frank’s daring and ambitious schemes. What starts as him writing bad checks quickly evolves into elaborate schemes where he poses as people in powerful positions. Over the course of the film, we see him impersonate an airline pilot, a lawyer, and a doctor successfully.

Remarkably, the real Frank did this as well and similarly as depicted in the film. He posed as a student newspaper writer to learn as much as he could about being a pilot and scored a Pan Am uniform by claiming he lost his.

7 False: Carl Hanratty

Adding to the immense talent involved in this film, Tom Hanks has a great supporting role as Carl Hanratty, the dedicated FBI agent tracking Frank. Carl gets on Frank’s trail early in his criminal career and remains devoted to catching him while Frank always seems able to stay one step ahead of the law. The two form a cat-and-mouse relationship throughout the film.

In reality, there was no Carl Hanratty. There were likely many agents tasked with finding Frank over the years. However, one agent in particular served as the main basis for the character though he preferred his real name not be included in the film.

6 True: Night With An Escort

Jennifer Garner has a brief cameo in the film as a high-class escort who falls victim to one of Frank’s scams. After negotiating a price for their night together and settling on $1000 dollars, the girl convinces Frank that instead of going out to cash his check for $1400, he should just endorse the check to her and she’ll pay him the difference of $400.

Incredibly, this is an actual transaction that happened with Frank. In fact, the woman even went to the police and reported the fraud. Of course, by then Frank already had plenty of lawmen after him for stealing a lot more than $400.

5 False: Arrest

After evading Carl and the other lawmen yet again, Frank heads to France and hides out in his mother’s hometown. However, Carl finally catches up with him and convinces him to turn himself over to the French authorities.

In reality, it was Frank’s womanizing that finally got him captured. While in France, he was spotted by a flight attendant he once dated who informed the police. He was arrested by French authorities without any involvement from the FBI.

4 True: Almost A Happy Ending

After living his wild life as a criminal, Frank finds himself getting lonely and falls in love with a young nurse named Brenda (Amy Adams). The two become engaged and Frank seems ready to settle down. Unfortunately, the authorities catch up with him. He confesses his crimes to Brenda and tries to convince her to run away with him, but she tries to turn him in.

Though it wasn’t a nurse who he fell for, Frank did meet a girl who he came close to marrying during his criminal years. He also did tell her about who he really was and his crimes — and the relationship did end when she tried to turn him in.

3 False: Imprisonment

After Carl finally catches Frank, hes thrown in French prison to answer for his various fraud crimes in that country. Carl visits Frank in prison to have him extradited to the United States. It’s clear that prison hasn’t been kind to Frank but he still has that con artist nature to him.

Frank did indeed spend time in a French prison, and it was even harsher than was depicted in the film. After serving half a year, he was transferred to Sweden to serve time for his crimes there and was treated much more humanely. When he faced extradition to Italy, a judge had his passport canceled so he would be sent back to America instead.

2 True: Working For The FBI

After serving some time in prison, Carl visits Frank with an interesting proposition. He has arranged to have Frank released if he agrees to work for the FBI in tracking down other check forgers like himself. He and Carl even work together and form a friendship.

This is another aspect that sounds like a Hollywood ending, but it is true. Actually, this is not an unusual practice for the FBI to use criminals with specific skills to investigate crimes similar to their own. It’s also true that Frank ended up working with the agent who arrested him.

1 False: Carefree Adventures

What makes Catch Me If You Can such an enjoyable film is the fun Spielberg injects into the story. Following Frank on his insane scams is extremely exciting as he is introduced to new worlds and creates a luxurious life for himself out of thin air.

While the real Frank certainly benefited from his crimes, it was not always to good times that are shown in the film. He worked diligently to ensure his scams were as airtight as possible and put in tireless work to pull it off. Even criminals have to do their homework.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/catch-me-if-you-can-steven-spielberg-leonardo-dicaprio-facts-true-story-creative-liberties/