Trivia: The real Frank Abagnale Jr. was held in the French prison (Perpignan's House of Arrest) for approximately six months. His term was shortened from twelve months. When released (extradited to Sweden), he was ill because he had been forced to live in a damp, dark cell, naked and allowed only bread and water. In Sweden where he was tried and convicted he was kept in a comfortable Swedish prison. However, upon completion of his prison term in Sweden, he was next to be extradited to Italy. The Swedish government believed in prison reform and was afraid of the treatment he would receive in an Italian prison. As a result, Sweden revoked Frank's passport so it could intentionally have him extradited to the U.S. Once in the US, he was protected and couldn't be tried in the foreign countries where he perpetrated his fraudulent schemes. The book about his life contains a more accurate depiction than the film and was written 10 years prior to its release.
Suggested correction: Incorrect. Abagnale served three months in a French prison, not six. He then served two months in a Swedish prison. He was ordered to recompense Swedish victims of his crimes but never did. The book about his life was published over 20 years before the film was released, not 10. The book and movie are both almost completely inaccurate; most of Abagnale's stories of his crimes and frauds were greatly exaggerated or completely made up. Journalists started discovering these lies in the late 1970s.
Trivia: Frank Abagnale's father was, in real life, a straight honest law abiding citizen, and not the shonky con-man as depicted in the movie.
Trivia: The real Frank Abagnale plays one of the French policemen.
Trivia: Towards the end of the movie, when Hanratty is briefing his staff on a fraud suspect, written on the bottom left corner of the chalkboard behind Hanratty is "Steven and Tom's 4th project." "Steven" refers to the film's director Steven Spielberg and "Tom" refers to Tom Hanks, who played Carl Hanratty, and "4th project" refers to their future collaboration for the film Band of Brothers.
Trivia: It turns out that the movie "Catch Me if You Can" and the book it's based on aren't true after all. Many journalists, most notably Alan C. Logan, discovered that most of Frank Abagnale's stories about his crimes and cons were either heavily exaggerated or completely made up. This is not new information, as journalists discovered lies about his criminal life as far back as the late 1970s. He also has frequently lied throughout his life about his non-criminal life and accomplishments.
Trivia: In one deleted scene, Frank Abagnale Jr. dresses as a security guard and stands outside a bank's night deposit box, so people will give money to him instead of putting it in the box. During filming, despite the cameras, real people came up to Leonardo DiCaprio and tried to give him their money.
