10 Best Con Man Movies

The world of the con man and the world of the magician is separated only by a stage and, in the case of street performers, not even that. So many tricks that once amazed audiences of centuries past were later repurposed to cheat them out of money. Christopher Nolan knew this, and was wise enough to cast magician, coordinator and amateur historian Ricky Jay as the performer stars HightJackman and Christian Bale both work for at the start of The Prestige.

As Jay famously made it clear, the cups and balls routine has been used to stun and to con - being met with wonder or rending of garments, depending on what they put on the line. And The Prestige itself, with its dueling magicians whose feud spans the globe, is a con and a magic trick in and of itself, setting up audiences with a series of facts and realities before inverting them.

Putting aside its sci-fi additions to a story about obsession, it's equally about pulling one over on someone. Or, as Jackman says, "It was the look on their faces."