THE FLIM FLAM MAN aka ‘Mordecai C. Jones’ (George C. Scott) plied his gab & grab ‘trade’ in 1967, aided by ‘Curley’ (Michael Sarrazin), amiable on-the-lamb apprentice. Directed by Irwin Kershner, the script by William Rose (Genevieve, The Ladykillers, It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, The Russians Are Coming) was based on a novel by Guy Owen. In a year marked by tense dramas set down South—Bonnie And Clyde, Cool Hand Luke, In The Heat Of The Night, Hurry Sundown, Reflections In A Golden Eye—the larking charm and essential wistfulness of this backroads tale was relegated to the Afterthought County Line: placing 77th, the $3,525,000 gross lost the bet against pot stakes of $3,845,000. A shame; this tease of hucksterism Americana style deserved better.

MORDECAI: “Ours is an avaricious society.” CURLEY: “What’s it mean?” MORDECAI:”Avaricious? Just fancy for greed.”  CURLEY: “Everybody’s not like that.”  MORDECAI: “It’s a matter of degrees. Every thermometer’s gotta register somethin’.”

Hazy summer in the rural South. Helping an older fella who’s been forcibly ejected from a moving freight train, footloose Curley finds that sly fox Mordecai is a confidence man who takes advantage of people’s greed gene with a variety of well-honed tricks. Mordecai recognizes need, and Curley, while decent, is also desperate, flat broke and having deserted from the Army. They make payday hay with local yokels, the law (area sheriff and military MPs) in pursuit. The ant in the proverbial sugar bowl comes when Curley takes an understandable shine to pretty ‘Bonnie Lee Packard’ (Sue Lyon), who likewise falls for him. But her honesty can’t abide his cheerfully corrupt mentor or their racket. Forks in the road are there to be taken.

Shot on location in central Kentucky, the atmosphere factor works in tandem with a choice supporting cast and there’s a plum undercoat of bucolic lyricism from Jerry Goldsmith’s disarming music score. With a ripe character to dig into, makeup assisted to look older (he was 38), cynicism-weathered and carny-show disreputable, Scott’s in ace form: this makes a neat broad comic cousin to his satire scoops in Dr. Strangelove and The Hospital and the less-seen amusements of Not With My Wife, You Don’t! and Movie Movie. Sarrazin, 26, one of the more effective of the 60’s crop of ‘sensitive rebel’ types, got a major boost with this picture; he’s quite good. Known for personifying concupiscent sexpots in Lolita and The Night Of The Iguana, as well as the same year’s Tony Rome, the tres seductive Sue Lyon, 20, is refreshingly allowed to be sweet and serious for a change.

The first third, which includes a wild chase scene, is on the ‘zany’ side, then it wisely settles into gentler mode, with some touching reveals interspersed with chuckles. You’re left with a warm smile.

“There always comes time for hasty migration. Study the birds, lad.”

Adding folksiness to just the right degree without going overboard into caricature or insult: Harry Morgan, Slim Pickens, Jack Albertson, Albert Salmi, Alice Ghostley, Woodrow Parfrey and Strother Martin. 104 minutes.