Catch Me If You Can

Character mistake: Carl, carrying his gun, goes up the outside staircase before entering Frank's apartment. When he encounters the frightened cleaning woman, he flashes his F.B.I. badge at her to identify himself. However, he only shows her the back of the black I.D. wallet, which has no markings on it.

raywest

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: This was undoubtedly an intentional choice by the filmmakers. Given that most of Carl's work takes place in an office, it's entirely plausible that he would feel nervous when stepping into the field to apprehend a suspect. The scene emphasizes his anxiety through several deliberate actions: he fumbles for his gun, incorrectly displays his badge, and even holds it upside down if you look closely. These details subtly underline Carl's unease in high-pressure situations.

jshy7979

Factual error: In a telephone conversation scene between Frank and Handratty, Frank is using a phone that has a plug type receiver. The phones in that era were all hard wired.

More mistakes in Catch Me If You Can

Paula Abagnale: Just tell me how much he owes and I'll pay you back.
Carl Hanratty: So far, it's about 1.3 million dollars.

More quotes from Catch Me If You Can

Trivia: Frank Abagnale's father was, in real life, a straight honest law abiding citizen, and not the shonky con-man as depicted in the movie.

More trivia for Catch Me If You Can

Question: I may have missed this, but why does Frank tear the labels off bottles?

Answer: He was taking the labels off the bottles to make fake checks, using the logos as this is the one thing that he could not create on the checks. The MICR printer was only used to print the routing and account numbers and the emboss the checks.

This is incorrect. Frank exclusively makes Pan Am checks until his arrest in France. A logo from a ketchup bottle or peanut butter jar would be far too large for a check. Instead, as shown, Carl examines Frank's wallet, which is filled with labels taken from various items—supporting the more accurate explanation provided in the other answer.

jshy7979

Answer: He does it so he will have things in his wallet. As he has no identity of his own and steals or creates others, filling his wallet with labels is fulfilling a subconscious desire to be normal and have an identity.

Grumpy Scot

More questions & answers from Catch Me If You Can

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