April Fool's Flim Flam

One of Herman Melville’s last novels, The Confidence Man, begins on April Fool’s Day. A con man sneaks onto a riverboat traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. Allegedly, Melville’s inspiration was William Thompson a true-life gonif for whom the term confidence man was coined.

Another fraudster whose antics became common parlance was George C. Parker. Throughout the late 19^th and early 20^th century, his livelihood came from “selling” New York City landmarks including the Brooklyn Bridge. From his peculations, we get the phrase, “Believe that, and I have a bridge to sell you.”

Cinema embraces the scoundrel: Newman and Redford in The Sting, Frank Morgan as Professor Marvel and his Oz counterpart, the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz, W.C. Fields as Larson E. Whipsnade in You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man and, my personal favorite, The Flim-Flam Man.

In this 1967 film, George C. Scott plays Mordecai C. Jones, M.B.S., C.S. D.D – Master of Back-Stabbing, Cork-Screwing and Dirty Dealing. His portrayal embodies the larcenous soul , but soft-heart, of a confidence man. Alas, real life scammers can be less benevolent.

So tomorrow, if perchance an April Fool's practical joke comes your way remember the motto of Ken Kesey and his merry band - Never Trust a Prankster. As ever - BB

"The secret of being a top-notch con man is being able to know what the mark wants, and how to make him think he's getting it." Ken Kesey in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest