A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
Director:
Stephen Frears
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Title: The Grifters (1990)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Anjelica Huston | ... | Lilly Dillon | |
| John Cusack | ... | Roy Dillon | |
| Annette Bening | ... | Myra Langtry | |
| Jan Munroe | ... | Guy at Bar | |
 |
Robert Weems | ... | Racetrack Announcer |
| Stephen Tobolowsky | ... | Jeweler | |
| Jimmy Noonan | ... | Bartender | |
|
|
Richard Holden | ... | Cop |
| Henry Jones | ... | Simms | |
| Michael Laskin | ... | Irv | |
| Eddie Jones | ... | Mintz | |
| Sandy Baron | ... | Doctor | |
| Lou Hancock | ... | Nurse | |
| Gailard Sartain | ... | Joe | |
|
|
Noelle Harling | ... | Nurse Carol Flynn |
Learn more
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Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
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Storyline
Lily works for a bookie, placing bets to change the odds at the track. When her son is hospitalized after an unsuccessful con job and resultant beating, she finds that even an absentee parent has feelings for her child. This causes her own job to go wrong as well. Each of them faces the down side of the grift. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
Plot Keywords:
hidden money | femme fatale | mother son relationship | con | older woman younger man relationship |Taglines:
Seduction. Betrayal. Murder. Who's Conning Who?Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Voice-over: Around the country the bookies pay off winners at track odds. It's dangerous when a long shot comes in. Unless you have somebody at the tracks to lower those odds.
See more »
Performed by Dreamworld
Words & Music by Pete Theodore and Emilie A. Bernstein (as Emily Bernstein)
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Stephen Tobolowsky and Gailard Sartain previously appeared in "Mississippi Burning (1988)." See more »Goofs
When Roy visits Lilly in her hotel room to repay his medical expenses, there is a boom mic clearly visible. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Voice-over: Around the country the bookies pay off winners at track odds. It's dangerous when a long shot comes in. Unless you have somebody at the tracks to lower those odds.
See more »
Connections
Referenced in At the Movies: Contact/This World, Then the Fireworks/A Simple Wish/4 Little Girls/The Big Sleep/Shall We Dance? (1997) See more »Soundtracks
DO YOU DO YOU LOVE MEPerformed by Dreamworld
Words & Music by Pete Theodore and Emilie A. Bernstein (as Emily Bernstein)
See more »
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See more on IMDbPro »
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
25 January 1991 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
The Grifters See more »Edit
Box Office
Opening Weekend USA:
$71,034, 9 December 1990Gross USA:
$13,446,769Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$13,446,769Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1Contribute to This Page
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An interesting film. It depicts a lifestyle I have never been aware of. The sexual tension between John Cusack and Angelica Houston was amazing. The ending is indeed surprising and Houston does a good job of displaying her mixed emotions. The criminal element is cold and calculating. It shows you how one can be very detatched if need be for his or her own survival.