EMMETT Of The Unblinking Eye

TOP 10 FORGERY AND COUNTERFEITING MOVIES OF ALL TIME!!!

September 10, 2004

Since someone may actually read this years from now, the genesis of this list lies in documents discovered by CBS News purportedly prepared more than 32 years ago by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, President Bush's commanding officer.  CBS contends they are genuine; many --including Lt. Col. Killian's family and many questioned document examiners -- claim they are forgeries, and not very good forgeries at that.  So to commemorate this historic dispute, here are the Top 10 Forgery and Counterfeiting Movies of All Time!

	10.	The Replacement Killers (1998):  Chow Yun-Fat -- or, if you're a purist, Yun-Fat Chow -- stars as a hit man who refuses to perform his assignment, and needs the help of a small-time forger (Mira Sorvino) to get him the papers he needs to get back to China, and to avoid the replacement killers sent to get him.
	9.	A Doll's House (1973): Based on the Henrik Ibsen play. Clair Bloom stars as Nora Helmer, who years earlier committed a forgery in order to save the life of her authoritarian husband Torvald (Anthony Hopkins).
	8	To Live and Die in L.A (1985): William Friedkin directed this taught cop drama about a Secret Service agent (William Peterson) bent on capturing the forger (Willem Dafoe) who killed his partner.
	7	How to Steal a Million (1966):  Audrey Hepburn comes from a long line of art forgers, including her father (Hugh Griffith), who lends his prized Cellini Venus -- also a forgery -- to a museum.  She then enlists the help of a society burglar (Peter O'Toole) to recover the "masterwork" from the museum before they can discover that it's a fake.
	6	Melvin and Howard (1980): Jason Robards and Paul La Mat star as Howard Hughes and Melvin Dummar in this biopic of the alleged Hughes will that would have made Dummar one of the richest men in the world.  Mary Steenbergen won the Oscar® for Best Supporting Actress, and the movie also won for best original screenplay.
	5	F for Fake (1976): Orson Welles created this documentary focusing on art forger Elmyr de Hory and his biographer, Clifford Irving.  But Welles, who started his career with a fake resume and earned his fame from a faked radio broadcast, has a few surprises up his own ample sleeve.
	4	Mister Roberts (1955): Mister Roberts (Henry Fonda) is stuck aboard a US cargo ship in the Pacific during the Second World War, and would do anything to leave the quiet of the ship to join in the action.  But his tyrannical captain (James Cagney) won't sign his transfer request.  How in the world can he get those papers?  You'd never guess.  A fine WWII comedy with a great cast.
	3	The Maltese Falcon (1941):  Okay, so there are no forged papers, but as forged falcon has to count for something!  A tremendous cast (Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and the immortal Elisha Cook, Jr.) and a grand script make this one of the best detective movies ever made.
	2	The Great Escape (1963): When you think of forgers, it's hard to think of anyone other than Donald Pleasance's wonderful performance as Flight Lt. Colin 'The Forger' Blythe in this wonderful World War II prisoner of war story. A movie that everyone has seen, and if they haven't, they shoulda.
	1	Catch Me If You Can (2002):  I never thought anyone could best Donald Pleasance, and I certainly didn't think that it would be Leonardo DiCaprio, but I was wrong.  His performance as real-life forger Frank Abagnale, Jr., and Tom Hanks's turn as his relentless pursuer, make this movie much more than it ought to be.

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