[camelsmoker]

*clears throat*

Hello, and welcome to perfesser camelsmoker's Grift 101 class. Today we will look at Lost's resident grifter, Sawyer, and the different confidence games that we have seen in "The Long Con".

Firstly, a con (also called swindle, hustle, scam, or grift) works by using the mark's (victim's) own greed to lure money or valuables away from him/her. There is a widely known maxim in the world of the grift that "You can't cheat an honest man.".

A "short con" is an opportunistic scam to take the mark for all the money on his/her person. One of the most common forms of short cons is the "pigeon drop" (mentioned by Cassidy in the episode).

The pigeon drop usually involves two grifters, working together. The first ("the catch") approaches the "pigeon", or mark, with a bag or other package containing a large amount of cash. The catch claims to have found it, and enlists the mark's help in deciding what to do with it. Upon inspection of the cash, there is almost always some indication that it is the product of illegal activity, thus unlikely to be claimed. At this stage the second grifter ("the shill"), will pretend to have overheard and offer assistance. The shill generally claims to know someone, usually an attorney, who will know what to do. A phone call is made, and the mark is told that they can split the money three ways, but cannot spend it for a certain period while the attorney attempts to find the rightful owner. The pigeon is asked to withdraw a sum of money as a show of "good faith", or of evidence of financial independence during the waiting period. The grifters appear to add equivalent sums to the package. The pigeon is then "dropped". There are a number of ways for the scammers to leave the mark with a bag full of newspaper scraps.

The other short cons that Cassidy mentions are the "Lookie-Loo" and the "Tulsa Bag Scam", most likely a variation of the Pig In A Poke con.

The short con that Sawyer and Cassidy pull on the preppies at the service station is known as The Block Hustle, a variation on the famous Rocks In A Box scam. The Block Hustle is especially effective here because Cassidy, acting as the shill, convinces the prepsters that the necklaces are legit. It's amazing how many normal, law-abiding citizens will toss their morals in the trash if they think they're getting a good deal.

A "long con", sometimes known as a "big con", is a much more plannified, complex con, intended to take the mark for a substantial portion of his/her net worth. It usually consists of a team of grifters working together and often involves elaborately rigged false decors ("The Big Store"). The most famous types of long con are The Wire, The Rag, and The Pay-Off.

Sawyer's long con on Cassidy is a type of love con, also known as a sweetheart scam; interesting in that he intentionally reveals to her from the very beginning that he is, in fact, a con man. This is extremely rare in the world of the grift, for obvious reasons. He leads her on, apparently teaches her the tricks of the trade, and then, at the very end, pulls a bait-and-switch manuever on Cassidy, sending her to Sioux City with a big bag full of nothing.

*a bell rings*

Well, ladies and germs, that's all the time we have for today. Your homework is to write a 1500 word analysis of one of the following films:

The Getaway - Sam Peckinpah, 1972, starring Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw

The Sting - George Roy Hill, 1973, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford

House Of Games - David Mamet, 1987, starring Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna

The Grifters - Stephen Frears, 1990, starring Anjelica Huston, John Cusak, and Annette Bening

Thank you, and remember, the perfect con is one in which the mark never realizes he/she has been conned.

[Noav Sigless]

Note to self: Never give camelsmoker money.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Sounds to me like camelsmoker should be Creative Consultant for one of my future screenplays.

Excellent research there, cs. Anyone who types in P-e-c-k-i-n-p-a-h on this forum is a smokin buddy of mine.

[sam31269]

Thank you for the lesson, smoker. When do the advanced classes start? And can I sign up? And by the way, I am a HUGE John Cusak fan, and my paper will be ready tomorrow. Can I throw in a little Serendipity, as it also seems to apply to Lost?

[camelsmoker]

Noav, I'd never dream of doing anything illegal. However, if you just decided to give me money, then that's entirely up to you...

TCS, thanks for your comments. I'm definitely a Peckinpah fan, and The Getaway IMO ranks as his second-best film (not quite equalling the brilliance of The Wild Bunch, one of the greatest films of all time, IMHO).

[threadjack]
BTW, I see you are in Canoga Park. I grew up in Woodland Hills, went to El Camino Real H.S. What about you?
[/threadjack]

ETA: sam31269, I'm working on lesson #2, watch this space.

[camelsmoker]

*clears throat*

Welcome back, ladies and germs. Today perfesser camelsmoker will be giving Lesson #2 - Portrait Of A Grifter.

Grifters come in all shapes and sizes; their backgrounds are as varied as that of their potential marks. There is no common socio-economic factor, no religious belief or political stripe- not even sexual orientation. No, the only common factor among all grifters is their natural ability to manipulate those around them. A grifter is, above all, a highly gifted liar.

Grifters are social creatures, but are in reality sociopaths. We have seen Sawyer at work in "Confidence Man", and though I am not a psychiatrist, it is clear that he suffers from antisocial personality disorder, a trait all grifters share. In that episode, he let himself be tortured, and in "The Long Con" showed indifference to the consequences of his actions. I much prefer talking about the mechanics of Sawyer's cons than his motives, so I'll leave that to the resident lost-tv shrinks.

Nota bene: Sawyer walked away from his High-Yield Investment scam after he saw the couple's young son. This indicates that he has a conscience, anathema to any grifter who is serious about his/her craft.

A true grifter feels justified in taking a mark's money. The best grifters have their marks literally thrusting their money at them, asking the grifter to take it. This is the adrenaline rush that the grifter craves. Grifters like Sawyer who work High-Yield Investment scams, or other financial scams such as Debenture Trading, or Boiler-Room Marketing are usually highly intelligent, have excellent memories, and may be self-educated, as would seem to be Sawyer's case.

Grifters will often refer to their scams as "games", because to a grifter it is exactly that - an amusing and challenging game. In "Confidence Man", there is a scene in which Sawyer is at a restaurant with his marks. When the husband shows reluctance, Sawyer gets up to leave, saying something about having another investor lined up. This is known as "The Tear-Up", alluding to the often-used trick of tearing up the mark's check in front of him. When the husband says, "Wait", we see Sawyer smile. That is the moment that Sawyer, like all grifters, lives for.

The game is afoot.

*a bell rings*

Well, ladies and germs, I hope your analyses are almost completed. They will be due by next Wednesday 9/8c.

Next lesson: Anatomy Of Sawyer's Gun Con

[The Central Scrutinizer]

[threadjack]

camelsmoker, The Wild Bunch is perched on my personal Top Ten List, as well as being the Best Western ever made, imo. Just as fascinating, as well as being one of the best hours you could hope to spend in front of a television, is the Making-of documentary that comes with the Wild Bunch DVD.

I love the reverence and care that goes into salvaging and restoring Sam's films on DVD. Peckinpah was such a personal wreck and that made studios less than enthusiastic about giving him ultimate creative control, but I truly appreciate the way history has wised up and begun to give us the brilliant films of Peckinpah, along with such wonderful extras to go along with them. Straw Dogs and its bonus material could provide the basis for 2 or 3 Psychology courses, for instance.

Sadly, I missed the revival tour of a restored print of Major Dundee last year, because my girl had just had surgery and I was staying with her. I hope it makes the rounds again. The year before that, I did finally get the pleasure of catching Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia down at the Siskel Center. Well worth the trip.

Ahhhhh, the Siskel Center mention above may give you a clue as to my whereabouts. I'm actually in Chicago. My 'Garage in Canoga Park' location is a nod to the Great Frank Zappa, who wrote and staged the Rock Opus Joe's Garage, which began in a...garage in Canoga Park and starred none other than....The Central Scrutinizer as the narrator.

[/threadjack]

Sorry for the diversion. I will be watching either House of Games, the first and best of Mamet's con movies, or The Getaway (original) this weekend. I'll be primed for analysis soon.

Hopefully, you can shed some light on the Spanish Prisoner con, which is one of the more complex grifts ever devised.

[camelsmoker]

TCS, D'oh! I can't believe I didn't make the Central Scrutinizer-Joe's Garage connection! Wasn't there a song about "bald-headed John"? Good stuff, Zappa was inspirational.

Anyhow, I will definitely post a breakdown of The Spanish Prisoner con, although I must disagree with you by saying that it is really not all that complex, and can be done by a single grifter. More on this later...

[timbo910]

Camelclucker? Is this what you do when you aren't catching anti-cluck thread conspirators? I am hoping that you know all this stuff because you have to think like the criminal to catch the criminal. That is the only reason you know all this info, right?

[jagermyster70]

Hey Camelsmoker, excellent reading thus far....and also agree with your movie listing. All in my top 50....