Episode 719: The Grifters (1990)

Noirvember 2024 ends with a bang as we delve into Stephen Frears' electrifying neo-noir The Grifters. Adapted from Jim Thompson’s novel by screenwriter Donald Westlake, this razor-sharp film stars Anjelica Huston as Lily Dillon, a veteran con artist manipulating the odds at the racetrack. Her uneasy reunion with estranged son Roy (John Cusack) and his cunning girlfriend Myra (Annette Bening) sparks a volatile triangle of deception and betrayal in the high-stakes world of grifting.

Mike is joined by crime fiction experts Andrew Nette and Jedidiah Ayres to untangle this web of cons and double-crosses. Plus, executive producer Barbara De Fina and producer Peggy Rajski reveal what it took to bring this stylish, unsettling tale to life.