The Prestige - "A Prestige Digitation"

This is another fine addition to any magician's movie collection. Just as "The Illusionist" this movie portrays magicians in that elegant time when stage magic was ruled as king of entertainment. The cast is beyond magical. Hugh Jackman as the fatally flawed protagonist, leads the cast which includes Christian Bale (Batman Begins) as the antagonist magician, the incomparable Michael Caine as the mentor, and the beautiful Scarlett Johansson as the love interest. A special appearance is that of David Bowie who hauntingly portrays genius inventor, Nikola Tesla.

This mysterious story is that of two rival magicians in turn-of-the-century London in a battle to produce the greatest trick. This overt rivalry eventually leads to disfigurement of one of the magicians and eventually murder. This is a movie that is full of twists, turns, obsession, deceits and lies. The ending came as a complete shock to me and was totally justified through clues given to the audience throughout the film. Watch it closely and you may discover the secrets before the ending. I enjoyed this film immensely and will add it to my library.

The Three Card Monte

A gang know as the Cracker Parker three-card monte mob worked this con in the early 1950's until the late seventies. The three card monte has been in use on the streets of major cities for decades. It is also common to magicians demonstrating the effect of switching the cards unbeknownst to the audience members. If you should come across anyone playing this game and asking you to bet, just keep walking. This video shows some well qualified magicians recreating how the scam is actually run. It a re-creation of the Cracker Parker script, with the parts of the various shills highlighted. Whit Haydn as "the Mark," Gazzo as "the Dealer," and Billy McComb as "the Smoother." Notice his pick-pocketing routine in the end. The magicans playing the shills are: R. Paul Wilson, Jeff Thomas, Zach Dubnoff, Chef Anton, and Adam Schiff. This is an out-take from the "School for Scoundrels DVD on Three-Card Monte."