''The Flim-Flam Man'' (titled ''One Born Every Minute'' in some countries) is a 1967 American comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner, featuring

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...

Michael Sarrazin Michael Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011)

Sue Lyon Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits island ...

, based on the 1965 novel ''The Ballad of the Flim-Flam Man'' by Guy Owen. The movie has well-known character actors in supporting roles, including

Jack Albertson Harold Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981), known professionally as Jack Albertson, was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in variety. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor. For his perfo ...

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting and appeared in dozens of movies and ...

Strother Martin Strother Douglas Martin Jr. (March 26, 1919 – August 1, 1980) was an American character actor who often appeared in support of John Wayne and Paul Newman and in Western films directed by John Ford and Sam Peckinpah. Among Martin's memorable pe ...

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both ''December Bride'' (1954–1959 ...

, and

Albert Salmi Albert Salmi (March 11, 1928 – April 22, 1990) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. Early life Salmi was born and raised ...

. The movie is set in the countryside and small towns of the American South, and it was filmed in the

Anderson County, Kentucky Anderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,852. Its county seat is Lawrenceburg. The county was formed in 1827 and named for Richard Clough Anderson Jr., a Kentucky legisla ...

, area. It is also noted for its folksy musical score by composer

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franc ...

. The movie's title song " Flim Flam Man," written by

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

, later became a hit for

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

Plot summary

Mordecai C. Jones (Scott)a self-styled "M.B.S., C.S., D.D. Master of Back-Stabbing, Cork-Screwing and Dirty-Dealing!"is a drifting

confidence trick A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers h ...

ster who makes his living defrauding people in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

using tricks such as rigged

punchboard A punchboard is a game board, primarily consisting of a number of holes, which was used once for lottery games. History Origin Punchboards were originally used in the 18th century for gambling purposes. A local tavern owner would construct a ...

s, playing cards, and found wallets. He befriends a young man named Curley (Sarrazin), a

deserter Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

from the United States Army, and the two form a team to make money. In their escapades, they wreck a town during a hair-raising chase in their stolen car, steal a truck loaded with moonshine whiskey that they sell, break out of a sheriff's office, and discover a riverboat brothel. In the ending scene, Mordecai explains how he sees himself.

Cast

as Mordecai Jones *

Michael Sarrazin Michael Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011)

as Bonnie Lee Packard *

as Sheriff Zebulon "Zeb" Slade *

as Mr Packard *

Alice Ghostley Alice Margaret Ghostley (August 14, 1923 – September 21, 2007) was a Tony Award-winning American actress and singer on stage, film and television. She was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–70; 1972) on ''Bewitched'' ...

as Mrs Packard *

as Deputy Meshaw *

as Jarvis Bates *

as Lovick * George Mitchell as Tetter * Woodrow Parfrey as Supermarket Manager

Production

The movie was filmed on location for the most part in Central Kentucky during the second half of 1966. Exterior filming was done in a number of locations including near Frankfort, Midway, Winchester, Irvine, outside Georgetown, and several other places. Filming involving trains was done in conjunction with the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of t ...

, and for a smaller part the Southern Railway System. Some interior filming (the inside of the Packard home and campsite sequences) was done on a sound stage specially built in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

at the Vaughn Tobacco Company warehouses. Filming locations included: * Paynes Depot, Kentucky: The opening sequence in which Curley meets Mordecai after getting thrown off a freight train was filmed here. The small railroad yard is now gone, but the roadside store seen in the background just before the title card still remains, as well as the base of the tank car station seen briefly in the film. A rented train from the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was used, headed by Alco RS-3 #136. *

Old Crow Old Crow is a low-priced brand of Kentucky-made straight bourbon whiskey distilled by Beam Suntory, which also produces Jim Beam and several other brands of whiskey. The current Old Crow product uses the same mash bill and yeast as Jim Beam, but ...

Distillery,

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the pr ...

: The location of Curley's hideout in the overturned L&N

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, dam ...

was filmed just north of the Old Crow Distillery on Glenns Creek Road. The concrete "railroad bridge" in this scene was actually an access road on the distillery grounds and had fake tracks laid across it that ended just out of frame. The caboose was placed in the creek by a local crane company, which would later move it to the banks of the nearby

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The river and its t ...

after filming. It washed away in a flood some time during the 1970s, but the concrete bridge remains. Other portions of the film shot here were those depicting the moonshine still and the sequence in which the green flatbed truck is stolen by Mordecai. * Glenns Creek Road, Frankfort: The scene that introduces Sheriff Slade and Deputy Meshaw (in which Curley and Mordecai dive off the road) was filmed here about 1/2 mile north of the Old Crow distillery. The large tree in front of which Curley and Mordecai talk still stands as of 2014, although it is dead. * Main Street, Midway, Kentucky: The establishing scene of the small town in which the

Three-card Monte Three-card Monte – also known as Find the Lady and Three-card Trick – is a confidence game in which the victims, or "marks", are tricked into betting a sum of money, on the assumption that they can find the "money card" among three face-dow ...

scam occurred was shot here. A railroad line runs directly through the center of town. The passenger train in the scene was the Chesapeake and Ohio's ''

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

'', which operated between Lexington and Louisville over the L&N Railroad via

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may ...

. * Old Frankfort Pike,

: The Packard farm is located here. As of 2014, the house exterior is mostly unchanged, with some minor remodeling. No interior filming was made at this location as the interior of the house was a

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...

. * Duckers, Kentucky: The country store where Sheriff Slade and Deputy Meshaw first see the red convertible "borrowed" by Mordecai is located here. The store still stands but is now a private residence with the "porch" on which the sheriff sat now enclosed. * Clifton Road,

Versailles, Kentucky Versailles () is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 9,316 according to 2017 cen ...

: This is the place where Curley first notices that the police are following the convertible. The wooden house by which the police car passes no longer exists. * Court Street,

Lawrenceburg, Kentucky Lawrenceburg is a home rule-class city in Anderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,505 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of its county. Lawrenceburg is part of the Frankfort, Kentucky, micropolitan statistical area. H ...

: The scene in which the convertible narrowly misses a Southern Railway locomotive and boxcar at a grade crossing was filmed here. The crossing still exists and is now

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

territory. * Main Street, Lawrenceburg: The sequence during the car chase in which the convertible destroys a town was filmed here, and two alleys split off either side of it. Most of the structures in this sequence remain as of 2014, including the tobacco warehouse where the convertible detoured through the loading dock. The alley where the convertible ran through Christmas merchandise also still exists, but the brick building has been demolished and replaced by a modern bank. The scam in which Mordecai and Curley sell bourbon-cut

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

to a storekeeper was also filmed in Lawrenceburg, directly behind the former offices of the ''Anderson County Observer'' newspaper. The back of this building is no longer accessible because of remodeling. * Main Street,

Irvine, Kentucky Irvine () is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Estill County, Kentucky, Estill County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the county seat, seat of its county. Its population was 2,715 at the time of the 2010 United States Censu ...

: The near ending of the car chase in which the convertible and sheriff's car run around an A&P grocery store and across a green highway bridge was filmed here. * Corner of Lemons Mill and Newtown Pike,

Georgetown, Kentucky Georgetown is a home rule-class city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 37,086 at the 2020 census. It is the 6th-largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the seat of its county. It was original ...

: The country store where the "peg game" scam took place was filmed here. The bridge where Curley is first dropped off at the beginning of the scene was removed in a road realignment during 2001. As of 2014, the buildings remain, but in a state of disrepair. * Valley View Ferry, Tates Creek Road,

Valley View, Kentucky Valley View is an unincorporated community located in Madison County, Kentucky, United States. The community is part of the Richmond–Berea Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is located at the junction of Kentucky Route 169 and Kentucky R ...

: The ferry operates on Tates Creek Road on the Madison County and Fayette County borders. The ferry still operates as of 2021, although the barge and power unit have been replaced several times since the making of the film. The large steel towers seen in the background (part of an abandoned railroad bridge) can still be seen. * Main Street,

Winchester, Kentucky Winchester is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Clark County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 18,368 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winchester is located ro ...

: The "pigeon drop" sequence with Slim Pickens was filmed here. The building that Slim Pickens first exits was the St. George Hotel and was located at the corner of Washington Street and Main. This has since been demolished, and the whole block is now occupied by the Winchester Post Office. The scene in the alley where the pigeon drop scam occurred was behind the Sphar Feed Company building on North Main Street. Today, the building is owned by the City of Winchester and is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Plans call for rehabilitating the warehouse and repurposing it to serve as Winchester's welcome center and professional office space. * Anderson County Courthouse, Lawrenceburg: The film's last act was filmed inside and outside the courthouse. The exterior of the building is mostly unchanged as of 2014, but the interior setup has been remodeled somewhat. The sheriff's office on the front ground floor no longer exists. * Railroad filming (the truck on rails sequence) was done on several rail lines including the

Louisville and Nashville The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

"Old Road" line between Lexington and Frankfort, and possibly the Frankfort and Cincinnati Railroad. The scene in which the truck almost collides with an L&N freight train was filmed on the L&N Hermitage Branch, which served the Old Crow Distillery outside Frankfort. * The final scene with Mordecai riding a bicycle to a railroad crossing and disappearing after the passage of a local freight utilizing a

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

locomotive (GP-9 173) and caboose thinly disguised with L&N markings was most certainly filmed in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

area on a UP spur line after Kentucky filming had finished.

Awards

William Rose was nominated for the Best American Comedy Writing award given by the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

Reception

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' said: "The movie was shot on location, largely in Kentucky, and it gains a real feeling of authenticity. These are real crossroads stores and real wide-eyed rednecks, watching the city slicker shuffle the cards. And a lot of the episodes are hilarious. I announced some time ago, in connection with '' Casino Royale'' (1967) I think, that chase scenes had just about had it as laugh-getters in the movies. Wrong again. There is a chase scene in this one that's a classic. The flim-flam man, dressed as a minister, and his pupil, dressed as an accident victim, steal a car and lead the sheriff on a brilliantly photographed chase down the sidewalks and through the watermelon wagons of the South. ... There are also some nicely directed scenes in which Scott gradually overcomes the suspicions of his victims, wins their confidence, allows his straight man to win a few bucks and then, oh, so innocently asks a tobacco farmer if he'd care to speculate as to which card was the queen."

Box office

According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $6,400,000 in rentals to break even and made $3,525,000, meaning it incurred a loss.

References

External links

* * * * * A video showing the various filming locations in 2014 can be foun
here
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flim-Flam Man 1967 films 1960s chase films 1960s crime comedy films 20th Century Fox films American chase films American crime comedy films Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith Films about con artists Films based on American novels Films directed by Irvin Kershner Films shot in Kentucky 1967 comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films