Main Cast: Tony Curtis, Edmond O'Brien, Arthur O'Connell, Gary Merrill, Joan Blackman, Karl Malden
Release Year: 1961
Country: US
Run Time: 112 minutes
Plot
The Great Impostor is the true story of chameleonlike Canadian Ferdinand Waldo DeMara Jr., well-played by Tony Curtis. Unable to decide what he wants to do with his life, DeMara goes about pretending to be other people, hoping to eventually "find himself." He poses as a Harvard professor, a Trappist monk, a prison warden, and a navy physician, and manages each time to get away with the artifice. The film wavers uncertainly between tense drama and frothy comedy, with comedy finally winning out. Karl Malden co-stars as Father Devlin, the young DeMara's spiritual advisor, while Joan Blackman is the nominal (and hardly visible) heroine. The real Ferdinand DeMara (if indeed there was a real Ferdinand DeMara) can be seen in a supporting role in the 1960 melodrama The Hypnotic Eye. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Something of a precursor to the later Catch Me If You Can (although both films deal with separate real-life figures), The Great Imposter is an enjoyable, if fairly lightweight, drama that raises intriguing questions that it doesn't really answer. Some people will undoubtedly be bothered by the lack of a weightier approach to this story; after all, Demara is not only committing fraud, he is placing people's health and/or lives in jeopardy by doing so. In addition, the psychological questions implicit in such a personality -- and the effect these would have on those closest to him -- are not really explored, even when they are briefly raised. However, Imposter is pretty upfront about its intentions, which is to tell a good story without going into too much detail about the consequences, and at this it succeeds admirably. The screenplay is deftly constructed, and Robert Mulligan's direction is swift, yet leaves enough room to linger occasionally so that the dramatic impact can be built up. Tony Curtis is quite good as this "Teflon" character, changing guises and personalities as the need dictates. Edmond O'Brien is also quite good, and the tooth scene between him and Curtis is a definite high point. Karl Malden and Raymond Massey also score as a couple of religious figures who figure prominently. If one can accept the tone and scope that the filmmakers have established in telling this story, one is likely to have quite a good time. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Henry Bumstead - Art Director, Alexander Golitzen - Art Director, Joseph E. Kenny - First Assistant Director, Robert Mulligan - Director, Frederic Knudtson - Editor, Henry Mancini - Composer (Music Score), Bud Westmore - Makeup, Robert Burks - Cinematographer, Robert Arthur - Producer, Julia Heron - Set Designer, Waldon O. Watson - Sound/Sound Designer, Frank H. Wilkinson - Sound/Sound Designer, Liam O'Brien - Screenwriter, Robert Crichton - Book Author
Based on Robert Crichton's 1959 book by the same name, The Great Impostor is a 1961 movie based on the life of the well-known impostor Ferdinand Waldo Demara. Starring Tony Curtis and Edmond O'Brien, it only loosely follows Demara's real-life exploits.
