True or False in "Catch Me If You Can" 

I am a die-hard fan of "Catch Me If You Can". This film is so imaginative that I think many details of it are fabricated. So, which plots are artistically processed? Which plots are based on historical facts?

1. Is the TV program in the movie? True!

"Catch Me If You Can" is based on Frank Abagnale Jr.'s 1980 autobiography of the same name. For 40 years, the authenticity of this book has been questioned by readers.

So, is Frank Jr. blowing his own trumpet?

The show called "To Tell the Truth" was a real thing, broadcast live from 1969 to 1978, in New York. In 1977, Frank Jr. was the guest of the show once.

In the movie, they restored the venue, the decoration, the opening credits and the opening music. They also used special effects to include the host and the live audience. In the film, the host of the show introduced Frank Jr.'s lines by using the original voice of that year.

At that time, Frank Jr. had not really started writing his autobiography, so the team of the TV show got real material about his prison case. Therefore, the scams he said should be based on evidence.

But why all the victims denied being cheated? Frank Jr. believes that the victims are protecting their reputation; in other words, they are afraid of being embarrassed.

2. Is the original family in the film? True!

In 1948, Frank Jr. was born in New Rochelle, New York. His full name is Frank William Abagnale Jr. His father was a wealthy stationery merchant with four children.

New Rochelle is close to Long Island Strait, where the businessmen like to go fishing at sea. The film faithfully adopted the logo of the New Rochelle Rotary Club: a huge rudder plate pattern. It can be seen from the following scene that Frank Sr. is the 58th member. In fact, this is true.

However, Frank Sr. became addicted to fishing, which led to the gradual breakdown of his relationship with his wife Paula.

Does Paula covet enjoyment as much as in the movie? On the contrary, the real Paula is a positive woman. She majored in accounting and always sought for a career. In my opinion, this adaptation is somewhat outdated and rigid.

Frank Jr.'s parents divorced when he was 14. He chose to live with his father because he felt that he would be freer.

What the film does not say is that Frank Jr. has always questioned his choice after he became an adult. He even felt that this was the beginning of his crime life. In an interview, he said: "My parents' divorce impacts on me dramatically. In order to survive, I must grow up quickly."

I think the film should describe some remorse of Frank Jr., because it will make his character more real and relatable.

3. Is it true that he escaped from the landing gear of a plane? True!

There is an impressive escape scene in the film, and I once doubted its authenticity. However, I didn't expect that this was indeed Frank Jr.'s "masterpiece".

In 1969, he was arrested in Montpellier, France, his grandmother's hometown. At that time, a French Air stewardess, who had dated him, recognized him and called the police immediately. Then, 26 countries asked for his extradition, and finally he was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and was extradited to the United States.

After landing, he escaped from the footrest of a British VC-10 passenger aircraft, which was turning to a taxiway at New York's Kennedy International Airport.

Thanks to the darkness, he managed to climb over the airport fence, and he had enough time to change his clothes, calmly ran to the bank, took 20,000 dollars in cash from the safe under his name, bought a ticket, and fled to Sao Paulo, Brazil overnight.

Indeed, the real life is more exciting than movies.

Of course, there is one plot of the film that is a little pompous. When Carl kept asking Frank Jr., "How did you get your lawyer's license in Louisiana?" Frank Jr. answered casually, "It took two weeks."

But in fact, it took him eight weeks.

4. Did Frank Jr. really appear in the film? True!

Frank Jr. has a big say in the preparatory stage of the film. As a consultant, he even thought Leonardo DiCaprio was not qualified to play him. But did he really appear in the movie?

Near the end of the film, Carl finally found the French printing house of Frank Jr. and seriously warned him that he would be shot if he escaped from the gate!

So Frank Jr., played by Leonardo DiCaprio, obediently obeyed his orders, put on handcuffs, and followed Carl out of the gate to the singing alley. The French police came to arrest Frank Jr. but mistakenly thought he was going to escape, so they tended to fire.

A grey haired sheriff, wearing a cap and a woolen cloak, stepped out of the car.

And thus we could see such an emotional and surprising scene: after 33 years, Frank Jr. in the flesh arrested himself in the film.

This scene takes place in the 120th minute of the film. You can find it out and have a closer look.