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The Flim-Flam Man (1967) opens with the blast of a train whistle, signaling the heady onset of a journey into a kind of fairy-tale American past: a gilded spot on the time-space continuum where, somehow, con artists are loveable rogues, young men are naughty but nice Tom Sawyer types, sheriffs are gullible but basically soft hearted, and only cheats can be cheated. This is the whimsical side of the road-movie coin, a warm-spirited precursor to the darker, meaner, tougher genre that would become such a cinematic staple in the late Sixties and throughout the Seventies, gifting us with everything from Easy Rider to Scarecrow to Smokey and the Bandit. Given the conventions of these later films, there are some uneasy moments when we learn, early in The Flim-Flam Man, that young Curley Treadaway (Michael Sarrazin) has gone over the hill from Fort Bragg after slugging his big-mouthed Yankee sergeant. He will be hauled back, surely, and shipped to Vietnam wont he? Not, happily, in this universe. Although not nominally a period film, Flim-Flam seems to exist in a timeless rural South (with picturesque Kentucky locations standing in for North Carolina) of gleaming fields, tree-shaded lanes, and tidy one-traffic-light towns. Not a trailer-park or holler in sight. As often the case, it took an outsider to bring us this very American fable. Although born in Jefferson City, Missouri, screenwriter William Rose was an early volunteer in World War II, heading for Britain in 1939 to fight with Canadas Black Watch regiment. After the war, he settled in England, becoming a stalwart of British cinema, writing two comic classics, The Ladykillers (1955) and significantly, a very early road movie, indeed, the luscious Genevieve (1953). Venturing to Hollywood in the early 1960s, Rose hit his stride with yet another picaresque tale, the zany Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), which, like The Flim-Flam Man, focused although in far less benign fashion on the nutty venality of human nature.
This movie is George C. Scott at his comedic best. A great supporting staff, which includes Michael Sarrazin; Sue Lyon; Harry Morgan; Alice Ghostley; Jack Albertson; and Albert Salmi, among others, adds to this laugh 'til you drop comedy. From the various cons perpetrated on the unsuspecting marks; the flim flam man and his cohort in crime traveling down a railroad track in a dilapidated old moonshine truck, just escaping an oncoming train; and the utter destruction of a town by a stolen...brand new off the showroom floor convertible, among other uproariously funny situations, make this movie a must buy and see for anyone who enjoys a good action packed comedy. I inadvertently ordered the VHS tape, instead of the DVD I really had my heart set on buying, and found myself disappointed in both the picture and sound quality...and definitely would not recommend making a purchase of same. Pay particular attention when ordering, on Amazon or elsewhere, that it is actually the DVD and not the VHS tape you're ordering! Folks I just received the DVD of this movie, that I ordered soon after getting my VHS Tape, but found it would only play in one of the two the players I own. The DVD from closer examination was an Australian import, which no doubt was manufactured with a type of coding my player didn't recognize and accept. Though you could run into a similar situation with a product manufactured in the United States, I believe the odds are more in your favor sticking with American made products.I liked this movie...The movie does differ from the book in a number of ways, but not with the basic philosophy. ..One: the movie was not set in rural Texas, but in North Carolina--although it was filmed in Kentucky as the producers thought the landscape there looked more like North Carolina than the real thing (go figure); second, there are blacks in the movie, in the general store at Ellers Bend, and there are black characters in the book, but none of them were being flim-flammed. I'd like the video even better if we received any royalties from it! I thought Scott was fine as Mordecai; Sarazin good as Curley (in spite of being a Canadian having to speak with a Southern accent); Harry Morgan was great as Sheriff Meshaw; Alice Ghostley and Jack Albertson fine as Mr. and Mrs. Packard; Sue Lyon adequate as the love interest. Minor characters (the Flim-Flamees), especially Slim Pickens, were excellent. I particularly liked the way the movie used the train motif--from the beginning, with Scott being thrown from a train, to the middle with the whistle in the background in the Slim Pickens scene, and wrapping the whole thing up at the end with the Flim-Flam Man's bicycle left behind at the railroad siding. This movie holds up well, even though it was filmed in 1967.Great acting, dialogue, action, and direction. The story is so good and the plot development was second to none as being in line with the colorful flavor of how the theme was expressed. True it is a sad ending, all be it a just one, yet there is room for the Flim Flam Man's young protégé for changing and improving by learning some hard lessons after it's all said and done. George C. Scott gives a great performance and it's clear that the character he plays is too old and set in his ways to change, so you don't even consider that as a possibility. You'll always have the sense of an inevitable tragic ending, yet you'll be wondering of how this occurs as you enthusiastically look forward to what happens in the proceeding scenes as they unfold. Wildly entertaining, original, and a solidly nostalgic characteristic to it. The picture quality is not of today's standards, obviously, yet you'll find that it gives it a stronger, rustic feel to it, as well as still having a colorful and exciting quality.August, 2011: THE FLIM FLAM MAN HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED ON DVD! You should know this before spending your money on a VHS tape.Hats off to Screen Archives Entertainment for re-releasing this long unavailable masterpiece on DVD. Condolences to vendors selling old VHS tapes of The Flim-Flam Man for $100+.The Flim-Flam Man will make you laugh out loud (guaranteed), and it will touch your heart via a great story, great acting, and very fitting music. George C. Scott was said to have called this his favorite role. I can see why.One of the 100 greatest movies ever made, the Flim-Flam Man will be one of your favorites.I purchased a copy of the new DVD, and this is NOT a bootleg DVD burned from a tape. It is a pristine, wide-screen, presentation!2016 UPDATE: I see the price is now back up over $100. The lesson is to snap-up your DVDs SOON after limited releases come out.I have a list of movies I have been patiently waiting for, to be released on DVD, now I can finally cross this one off! This movie is phenomenal, from the acting, and the script, all the way to the cinematography and the soundtrack. It's a comedy, it's a drama, it's a love story, it's an action movie. It's one of the best ever and I'm so happy it's finally been released. It's just as entertaining and funny today as it was when I first watched it in the 70's and every time since then.Perhaps it's because I don't understand the process that takes place in order for a film to be released to DVD, but it seems like the "powers that be" have dragged their feet on gems like "The Flim-Flam Man" but will release some crap that sucked so bad it didn't gross dime one at the theater!! Go figure!Anyway,just happy it's here to watch at my leisure....now back to the list!Those reading this are likely very well-acquainted with the charms of this wonderful and underacknowledged gem of a movie.The acting is top-notch with George C. Scott as a star surrounded by a constellation of fine character actors - Harry Morgan, Alice Ghostly, Strother Martin, and the great Slim Pickens, to name a few! Well, the DVD has been issued in 2011 and is now sadly out of print. Is it too much to expect the blu ray gods to smile upon us and reissue this movie?! Far lesser movies have made it to the format.It's about time this one did!Brilliant George C Scott comedy who plays the aging con man Mordecai,teaching his 'apprentice' Curly (played by Michael Sarrazin) the various flim flams.The boy develops scurples after falling in love with the lovely Bonnie(Sue Lyon) throwing the spanner into their schemes.Irwin Kershner directs the film with style and there are hilarious car chases beautifully filmed by the famous second unit director Yakima Canutt(credits include the Ben Hur chariot race).Adding to the comic chaos are veterans like Harry Morgan,Slim Pickens,etc,.A great 1960's comedy that's well worth getting.Excellent movie with the great George C. SCOTT and Michael SARRASIN who played in a streak of remarkable movies sometimes a great notion,they shoot horses don't they ? I had seen this film thirty years ago at the Paris cinematheque ,but couldn't find a reasonably priced dvd,untiltoday,very good technical quality.Classic 60s comedy George C. Scott movie.Mixture of pathos and action as well.Good transfer to dvd widescreen.Auf der Flucht vor der Militärpolizei, die in verfolgt, weil er einen schikanösen Vorgesetzten verprügelt hat, trifft der junge Curley Treadaway (Michael Sarazin) Mordacay Jones (George C. Scott). Mordacay Jones, der in der Gegend als „Mister Flim-Flam“ bekannt oder eher als Ganove berüchtigt ist, bestreitet seinen Lebensunterhalt mit allerlei dubiosen Geschäften und ganz offensichtlichen Betrügereien. Curley lässt sich darauf ein, sein Partner zu werden. Aber bereits beim zweiten Coup lernt er die hübsche Bonnie Lee Packard (Sue Lyon, aus Kubrick’s „Lolita“ in ihrer vierten Filmrolle) kennen, die er gerne näher kennenlernen würde. „Flim-Flam“ bringt ihn in eine Lage, in der er beim Diebstahl von Miss Packards neuem Auto behilflich wird und anschließend auf der Flucht vor der Polizei zusammen mit Jones ihr Auto sowie die halbe Hauptverkehrstraße einer nahe gelegenen Kleinstadt in Schutt und Asche legt. Im weiteren Verlauf der Geschichte erleben wir Mr. Flim Flam und Curley Treadaway bei einigen ihrer Betrügereien. Obwohl Curley Bedenken hat, überzeugt ihn Mister Flim-Flam, dass noch viele Menschen lernen müssen, dass Gier nicht gut für sie ist. "Ich kam dahinter, dass die Menschen betrogen sein wollen und diesen Gefallen wollte ich ihnen erweisen. Ich diene den Menschen als Erzieher." Dummerweise (oder glücklicherweise?) bekommt Curley die hübsche Famerstochter nicht mehr aus dem Kopf, die den Rest an Ehrlichkeit, die noch in ihm ist, am Leben hält.Die Gaunerkomödie „Der tolle Mister Flim Flam“ („The Flim Flam Man“) wurde 1967 von Irving Kershner gedreht. Laut Angaben auf der DVD-Hülle: Laufzeit: ca.104 min, Bildformat 2.35:1 anamorph, Tonformat: Dolby 2.0 Mono, Sprachen: Englisch, Deutsch, Untertitel: Deutsch, Ländercode 2 (Europa). Der Film wurde früher regelmäßig im Fernsehen gezeigt, aber heute ist er etwas aus der Mode gekommen, obwohl er unterhaltsam ist. Der versprochene Trailer fehlt auf der DVD. Die Bildqualität der DVD halte ich für ziemlich gut, die Farben sind gut erhalten für einen über fünfzig Jahre alten Film und der Ton ist auch in Ordnung. Nur in Englisch hatte ich diesmal bei den Dialogen Probleme. Ich mag den Film und halte ihn wirklich für einen Kult-Film.Wonderschönes Kino vom "The Empire Strikes back" Regisseur Irvin Kershner. Das letzte Mal habe ich dieses turbulente familienfreundliche Roadmovie Mitte der 80er Jahre gesehen. Unser öffentlich-rechtliches könnte das ruhig mal wieder ausstrahlen (wie so viele andere Perlen) - Naja, die haben eben Besseres zu tun ;-) Muss halt unser Privatfernsehen wieder die Qualitätsstandards halten. An dieser Stelle mein Dankeschön an Tele 5 und Servus TV.Handlungsanriss: Der alternde Trickbetrüger Mr. Flim Flam, eine geniale Verkörperung der ur-amerikanischen "Trickster" - Figur zieht mit seinem jungen Sidekick durch die sonnendurchflutete Landschaft des amerikanischen Südens, (gedreht in Kentucky) und trickst die Landbevölkerung nach Strich & Faden aus. Witzig, charmant, eine Verfolgungsjagd, die Filmgeschichte geschrieben hat, eine Boy meets Girl Story - alles drin. Fantastische Filmmusik von Jerry Goldsmith.
