Top 10 Things Catch Me If You Can Got Factually Right & Wrong

In the film, after Frank gets out of prison he goes to work for the FBI to help them catch other check forgers. This is actually true. Abagnale was paroled early from his 12-year sentence on the condition that he help the FBI. It’s also true, that in doing so he worked closely with the same agent who had chased him for years. We’ll learn more about him later. Today, Abagnale is a security consultant, and lectures at the FBI academy and field offices.

As the camera slowly pans out at the end of the film, the audience is presented with a number of informational title cards, one of which says that “Frank and Carl remain close friends to this day.” Most people find it hard to stay friends with an ex, let alone the man that captured you, or the criminal that you captured. But, in this case, it’s true. Frank and the FBI agent who caught him, whose real name was actually Joseph Shea, remained close friends until the agent’s death in 2005, at the age of 85.

In the film, when Frank is being deported back to the States by the FBI, he's told that his father has passed away. This sends him into a state of despair and he runs to the airplane washroom, making his escape through the toilet. He then rushes back to his childhood home to see his mother. While this definitely makes for an emotional Hollywood movie moment, almost none of it is true. Frank DID escape from the airplane, but through the kitchen gallery. Also, he didn’t go home afterwards; he was eventually re-apprehended at the airport in Montreal, Canada while waiting to purchase a ticket to Brazil.

Part of what makes “Catch Me If You Can” such an engaging and exciting film is the cat and mouse game between FBI agent Carl Hanratty and on-the-run con man Frank Abagnale Jr. However, the truth is a little different. For starters, there were many FBI agents after Frank during his criminal years. However, there was one agent who is often credited as the main force on the case and most responsible with capturing Frank. His name was Joseph Shea. However, his name was changed because Shea didn’t want his name used in the film.

Plotwise, the chase is what “Catch Me If You Can” is all about. But it’s “family” that’s at the emotional heart of the film and what drives our hero in several key moments. And, as we will see throughout this list, it’s these family aspects of the film that were the most changed from real life - including Frank being portrayed as an only child. Maybe Steven Spielberg, who directed the film, and screenwriter Jeff Nathenson, felt that siblings would detract from the story. But the truth is that Frank had two brothers and a sister.

There is no doubting the fact that Frank Abagnale was one of the most wanted criminals in the world. But was he actually ever on the FBI’s Most Wanted list? In the movie he is. However, the truth is that Frank never actually made the list. Not because the FBI didn’t want him. They most definitely did! But because the list, which made its debut back in 1950, was reserved for violent criminals only. So, Frank’s “white collar” crimes would not have put him on the iconic list.

Another big moment in the film comes when Frank meets nurse Brenda (played by Amy Adams). Frank falls for her and, in an effort to settle down and stop running, he proposes. However, when the authorities start to close in, Frank confesses everything to Brenda and asks her to run away with him. As it turns out, the relationship was slightly exaggerated. According to Frank, “The character of Brenda Strong is based on an Eastern Airlines flight attendant I dated while living in Louisiana, which fit into the story Spielberg wanted to tell about my life between the ages of 16 and 21. We were never engaged, as I was too young to even think about that .”

And here we are again with yet another family-themed entry. A key driving force for Frank in the film is his relationship with his father. He initially runs away from home after his parents divorced. In an interview with IGN, Steven Spielberg said that he “wanted to continue to have that connection where Frank kept trying to please his father; by making him proud of him; by seeing him in the uniform, the Pan-American uniform.” And that continued connection and the risks Frank takes to see his dad definitely add emotional weight to the story. The problem is that, in reality, Frank never saw his dad again after he ran away from home.

Jennifer Garner’s role as escort Cheryl Ann in “Catch Me If You Can” is brief but memorable. Meeting Frank at a Manhattan hotel, Cheryl informs Frank that a night with her will cost him $1,000. Little does she know that Frank is going to screw her before they even get into bed. Abagnale pays her with a fake $1,400 check and she gives him $400 in cash. So, how true is this interaction? Well, the events occurred in Miami, not New York. But the basic scam is all true. In fact, to quote from Abagnale’s book, “Several days later, when her bank informed her the cashier’s check was a counterfeit, she called the Dade County Sheriff’s Department, furious.”

They say that “truth is stranger than fiction.” And that’s definitely the case when it comes to the scams portrayed in the film. As the real Frank Abagnale said in November, 2001 before the film's release: “Steven Spielberg has told the screenplay writer (Jeff Nathanson) that he wants complete accuracy in the relationships and actual scams that I perpetrated”. And, although there were a few little changes made, for the most part Spielberg got what he wanted. Just like in the movie, Abagnale did impersonate an airplane pilot and deadhead on flights. He did create a fake law degree and then passed the Louisiana Bar. And he did impersonate a doctor.