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Identitiy Theft 1970's Style - To Catch A Thief - The Hoax by Devorah Macdonald
The Hoax - Screenwriter William Wheeler's collaboration with director Lasse Hallstrom is a Cole's Notes on celluloid about how to lie through your teeth and convince almost everyone. It's a watchable piece of literary history from the early 70's thanks to Wheeler's capable storytelling and Hallstrom's strong skills as a director. It's also an entertaining story. One that adds a few new twists to the true story about an author who's recently - rejected manuscript spurs him to come up with a sure fire hit. In doing so, he nearly succeeds in conning the publishing world with a falsely authorized autobiography of Howard Hughes. In the process of his con, his loosely developed plan garners the appellation, Con-of-the-Century, and for himself, an infamous - nonetheless - esteemed position on the cover of Time magazine as Con Man of the Year - his cover portrait compliments of the art forger Elmyer de Hory, once the subject of an earlier Irving autobiography, Fake. Still today, Irving appears to be the poster boy for the tall tale. The official Hoax site comes with a link to The People for the Advancement of White Lies, an organization that believes "that harmless manipulation of the truth makes the world a better place." Their A salute to Clifford Irving -The Pioneer of the White Lie; offers testimonials from many who applaud Irving and give thanks for having had life enhancing experiences following his example.
Opening with a panorama of establishing images from the early 70's - protests against the war in Viet Nam; the hippies; the telex machine; the fashions; the cars; the sounds; - the film stars a likeable Richard Gere, whose portrayal of Irving hits the appropriate tones of a man inexorably caught up in his own deceit. From being on edge, to pushing the edge, Irving's machinations gain and lose control as frequently as the volley of a racket sport. Any initial reluctance on Irving's part turns to arrogance as the hoax gets away from him - causing alarm for those he involves in his charade. Friend and researcher, Dick Susskind, (Alfred Molina) at first enthusiastic and equally involved in the hoax, backs down at different points of its unravelling yet cannot escape the role of accomplice. Wife Edith (Marcia Gay Harden) begins as a background observer then becomes embroiled in the hoax by cashing an advance meant for Hughes in a Swiss account created under the pseudonym Helga. R. Hughes. The gig was soon up. Actress wannabe Nina Van Pallandt, (Julie Delpy) though not involved in the scam, is involved with Irving; and ultimately basks in the ensuing spotlight becoming infamously famous by mere dint of association. It was her moment to shine and she took to it as a moth to a flame.
Irving came upon the idea from a 1970 Newsweek cover story on Hughes titled, The Case of the Invisible Billionaire. At the time of his hoax, Hughes was living a reclusive existence punctuated with brief episodes of bizarre behaviour. Suffering from an increasingly debilitating obsessive-compulsive disorder, Hughes suffered so badly from Mysophobia (a pathological fear of germs) that he shunned any public appearances for fear of contamination; hiding himself from the outside world for more than ten years. He had not been seen publically since 1958 and many believed him to be dead. Others thought Hughes must have gone crazy from the affects of neurosyphilis, a disease he also suffered with. The combination of the two conditions were known to have severely affected his judgement which in turn, led to rumours of extreme idiosyncratic behaviour that included not cutting his hair, hand and toe nails, and staying in a darkened bedroom for months on end surrounded by Mormon guards who wore white gloves so as not to transmit germs to their reclusive boss.
Irving thought this would allow him uncontested control and the green light to develop his autobiography unhindered by the more common requirement of the involvement of the person whose life the book is about. In an interesting spin, this story suggests that Irving did receive some distant involvement from Howard Hughes by way of material sent to the author in order to manipulate his story in such a way as to send a message from Hughes to then president Richard Nixon. The reason for this is laid out in the film as follows: Hughes supports Nixon; Nixon favours Hughes; Hughes falls out of favour with Nixon; Nixon detaches from Hughes; Hughes secretively aids and abets Irving; Irving gets used; No one believes Irving's story; Irving goes to prison; Hughes gets a government contract. A fearsome Nixon begets Watergate.
... The infamous autobiography that Irving wrote is finally published in 1999 on the internet.
About the Author
Devorah Macdonald, Vancouver, British Columbia
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