[Dobian]

I saw Catch Me If You Can Last week. I actually read the book back in the 80's, and thought at the time, "This would make a great movie". I was really surprised when I heard they made a movie about it, because the book was written so long ago (and I figured was out of print), I couldn't imagine someone actually remembered it. The movie is pretty close to the book, although they emphasize his relationships with his family and with his pursuer more in the movie than in the book. In the book, he's just too busy having fun with his secret life to care about anything else.

The Pan Am part is the same as I remembered it from the book. The way did the checks and the fake i.d., etc. Same with his stint as the doctor. In the book, he poses as a college professor, while in the movie, they have him pulling that trick while he's in high school (though he may have done it there too). In the book, he explains that he passed the Bar after the third try. After the first two tries, he would get the test back with the correct answers and explanations, and he would simply memorize the correct answers - some of which would be recycled on the next test. This was glossed over in the movie. In the book, he gets caught in Sweden, and spends time in a prison that's more like a country club. This wasn't included in the movie (due to time limitations, I'm sure). He thought it would be the same deal in France, and was sorely mistaken. The book ends with him escaping through the toilet trap in the airplane. Good book, good movie.