The Great Impostor

This movie was very entertaining. Watching Tony Curtis assume all these different identities was fun to watch and all seemed like harmless fun. The problem, though, for me is that the real-life guy the character was based upon was a selfish jerk that could have easily hurt people. In a movie, it looks cute when a guy posing as a surgeon does an operation but in reality it's pretty awful--and highly illegal. And that is the problem--the movie sensationalizes and makes a hero of a terrible person than should never be idealized. Considering the message the film gives our kids, I would have loved it if they also emphasized the evil this man or others like him did as well. For a more well-rounded view of one of these brilliant sociopaths, try CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, as it shows the damage as well as the consequences (though in that case they were far less than they could have been).

If you haven't seen this movie, catch it for at least one reason: About an hour into it Tony Curtis is passing as a surgeon on a Canadian warboat with Edmond O'Brien as its captain. O'Brien comes down with an impacted molar, and Curtis has to remove it. What happens after that is totally unforgettable. They should make special awards just for scenes this funny!

That this movie, made in 1961, wasn't the inspiration for Frank Abagnale (Catch me if you can), the bit Spielberg/DeCaprio/Hanks hit currently in theaters. When I saw the promos for CMIYC I thought, "Hey! This is a remake of an old Tony Curtis film!" The IMDB search shows that The Great Impostor was made in 1961; Frank Abagnales adventures as an imposter started in '62 or '63. Wonder if he saw the film? I can't remember if I loved The Great Impostor or not but I'm guessing I did; the plot is sooooooooo similar to Catch Me If You Can and I liked that film quite a lot!

There isn't a trivia option for this movie, so I'm having to post this in "general comments", and I'm not really sure if this is a spoiler, but a little caution goes a long way. Ferdinand Demara spent the last years of his life as a chaplain at a hospital in Southern California. He lived in an apartment complex right next to the hospital, where I also lived. He was as close as he could be if he were suddenly needed. Other people in the apartments had seen Tony Curtis come by from time to visit Rev. Demara. It was good to know that he had finally found a job/vocation which he enjoyed enough to stick with.

I can not imagine why this movie has not been released on DVD. When it first came out I went to see it several times. When it is on TV I always watch it. Not only is the story and performance of Curtis great, the music score is memorable.

Tony Curtis portrays "Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr.," who faked being a doctor, warden, monk and teacher. When I saw this at the theater 45 years ago, I thought it was fascinating. Much older and seeing it on tape about 10 years ago, it wasn't as interesting as I had remembered. I guess when you're a kid, everything on the big screen is impressive. Humor helped in this film, giving it some life here and there as it's a bit slow-moving but still entertaining. I've usually found Curtis entertaining to watch, a man who played a lot of interesting characters. I still think he is/was an underrated actor, too. It was nice seeing the main character, although being a fake, still asking for God's help in certain situations, inside knowing he was not doing the right thing. Those parts would be edited out if the film was re-made today. I agree, too, with a fellow reviewer that faking being a surgeon is not something to be laughed at, especially if he was doing his operating on you or me!