The Grifters (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Grifters is a noir
fiction novel by Jim Thompson
, published in 1963.
. At the start of the novel, he gets hit in the stomach with a baseball bat when a simple con goes wrong. He seems to be well but when Lilly - his mother - visits him for the first time in almost eight years, he starts to deteriorate. She calls for a doctor, who informs her that he is internally hemorrhaging. Roy is taken to hospital, where he begins to recover after several days.
While at the hospital, his mother meets Moira Langtry, the woman that Roy is currently involved with. They take an instant dislike to each other. Lilly hires a nurse, Carol Roberg, in the hope that Roy will give up Moira for Carol. Roy then leaves the hospital and stays at Lilly's apartment where Carol looks after him. When they are about to have an affair, Roy discovers that Carol was in a concentration camp when she was younger.
In the meantime Lilly is at the race track working for an organization headed by gangster Bobo Justus. He comes to meet her and he takes her back to his apartment. He proceeds to beat her for a serious mistake she made several months back. In the process, the back of her hand is burned badly. She goes back to her apartment where she has a fight with Roy, and tells him to give up grifting. Roy goes back to work for the day and meets his new boss Perk Kraggs who takes a liking to him. He offers him a job as a sales manager. Roy is unsure if he should take it or not.
He goes away with Moira to La Jolla for the weekend. She realizes that he is a con man when she sees him conning a group of people on the train. She tells him that they should work together but he refuses. She gets into a fury and he slaps her. He leaves, thinking that it is the end of the relationship.
He later decides to take the sales job and to quit grifting. He is then contacted by the police and he is informed that his mother has committed suicide
. He presumes that Moira killed her. However, when he goes out to see the body, he notices that the burn on her hand is not there. He realizes that the body is Moira's and that his mother is still alive.
In the meantime, his mother has broken into his apartment and is stealing all his money. He comes back and catches her in the act, and tells her that he won't let her take it for her own good; he wants her to quit grifting as well. In desperation, Lilly attempts to seduce Roy, who recoils in disgust. When he is taking a drink, she hits him with her purse. Unintentionally, she breaks the glass which cuts his neck, causing him to bleed to death. She briefly breaks down after realizing she has killed her own son, but regains her composure and takes the money.
Lilly Dillon: She was very young when she had Roy, and is therefore only in her 40s. She was an inattentive, callous mother to Roy, and yet still feels that he owes her. She is on the long con. She often feels, especially at the end of the novel, that there is no way out of grifting for her.
Moira Langtry: She was involved with Roy and is involved in the long con. She doesn't get along with Roy's mother. She wants to team up with Roy, as she thinks that her successful career of grifting is nearly over as she is getting older.
directed by Stephen Frears
. John Cusack
, Annette Bening
and Anjelica Huston
played the principal roles. It has a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes
out of 27 reviews.
Noir
Noir is the French word for black. It may refer to:- People :* Noir , Danish Dj & Producer. Owner of Noir Music...
fiction novel by Jim Thompson
Jim Thompson (writer)
James Myers Thompson was an American author and screenwriter, known for his pulp crime fiction....
, published in 1963.
Plot summary
Roy Dillon is a 25-year-old con artist living in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. At the start of the novel, he gets hit in the stomach with a baseball bat when a simple con goes wrong. He seems to be well but when Lilly - his mother - visits him for the first time in almost eight years, he starts to deteriorate. She calls for a doctor, who informs her that he is internally hemorrhaging. Roy is taken to hospital, where he begins to recover after several days.
While at the hospital, his mother meets Moira Langtry, the woman that Roy is currently involved with. They take an instant dislike to each other. Lilly hires a nurse, Carol Roberg, in the hope that Roy will give up Moira for Carol. Roy then leaves the hospital and stays at Lilly's apartment where Carol looks after him. When they are about to have an affair, Roy discovers that Carol was in a concentration camp when she was younger.
In the meantime Lilly is at the race track working for an organization headed by gangster Bobo Justus. He comes to meet her and he takes her back to his apartment. He proceeds to beat her for a serious mistake she made several months back. In the process, the back of her hand is burned badly. She goes back to her apartment where she has a fight with Roy, and tells him to give up grifting. Roy goes back to work for the day and meets his new boss Perk Kraggs who takes a liking to him. He offers him a job as a sales manager. Roy is unsure if he should take it or not.
He goes away with Moira to La Jolla for the weekend. She realizes that he is a con man when she sees him conning a group of people on the train. She tells him that they should work together but he refuses. She gets into a fury and he slaps her. He leaves, thinking that it is the end of the relationship.
He later decides to take the sales job and to quit grifting. He is then contacted by the police and he is informed that his mother has committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. He presumes that Moira killed her. However, when he goes out to see the body, he notices that the burn on her hand is not there. He realizes that the body is Moira's and that his mother is still alive.
In the meantime, his mother has broken into his apartment and is stealing all his money. He comes back and catches her in the act, and tells her that he won't let her take it for her own good; he wants her to quit grifting as well. In desperation, Lilly attempts to seduce Roy, who recoils in disgust. When he is taking a drink, she hits him with her purse. Unintentionally, she breaks the glass which cuts his neck, causing him to bleed to death. She briefly breaks down after realizing she has killed her own son, but regains her composure and takes the money.
Principal Characters
Roy Dillon: A 25-year-old short con operator. He has a dysfunctional relationship with his mother. He didn't go to college, but left home when he was 18. He was taught how to con people by a man named Mintz.Lilly Dillon: She was very young when she had Roy, and is therefore only in her 40s. She was an inattentive, callous mother to Roy, and yet still feels that he owes her. She is on the long con. She often feels, especially at the end of the novel, that there is no way out of grifting for her.
Moira Langtry: She was involved with Roy and is involved in the long con. She doesn't get along with Roy's mother. She wants to team up with Roy, as she thinks that her successful career of grifting is nearly over as she is getting older.
Film Adaptation
In 1990, the novel was adapted into a filmThe Grifters (film)
The Grifters is a 1990 neo-noir film directed by Stephen Frears and produced by Martin Scorsese. It stars John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening and is based upon The Grifters, a pulp novel by Jim Thompson.-Plot:...
directed by Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears is an English film director.-Early life:Frears was born in Leicester, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s...
. John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
, Annette Bening
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...
and Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston is an American actress. Huston became the third generation of her family to win an Academy Award, for her performance in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, joining her father, director John Huston, and grandfather, actor Walter Huston. She later was nominated in 1989 and 1990 for her acting in...
played the principal roles. It has a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
out of 27 reviews.