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| Categories | Literature & Fiction |
| Author | David Grann |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster UK; Film Tie-In edition (November 15, 2018) |
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 144 pages |
| Item Weight | 4.5 ounces |
| Dimensions |
5.12 x 0.39 x 7.8 inches |
I. Book introduction
The Old Man and the Gun is a 2018 American biographical crime film written and directed by David Lowery, about Forrest Tucker, a career criminal and prison escape artist. The script is loosely based on David Grann’s 2003 article in The New Yorker titled “The Old Man and the Gun”, which was later collected in Grann’s 2010 book The Devil and Sherlock Holmes. The film stars Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, Tika Sumpter, Tom Waits and Sissy Spacek. Redford, then 82 years old, announced his intent to retire from acting after completion of the film (his only live-action appearance since, a small role in Avengers: Endgame, was filmed before he made The Old Man & the Gun).
The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States by Fox Searchlight Pictures on September 28, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, and Redford was nominated for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy at the 76th Golden Globe Awards.
“The Old Man and the Gun” is the incredible story of a bank robber and prison escape artist who modeled himself after figures like Pretty Boy Floyd and who, even in his seventies, refuses to retire. “True Crime” follows the twisting investigation of a Polish detective who suspects that a novelist planted clues in his fiction to an actual murder. And “The Chameleon” recounts how a French imposter assumes the identity of a missing boy from Texas and infiltrates the boy’s family, only to soon wonder whether he is the one being conned. In this mesmerizing collection, David Grann shows why he has been called a “worthy heir to Truman Capote” and “simply the best narrative nonfiction writer working today,” as he takes the reader on a journey through some of the most intriguing and gripping real-life tales from around the world.
Plot
Career criminal Forrest Tucker, a wanted man for two years since his daring escape from San Quentin State Prison in 1979, has just robbed another bank. While evading police, the 74-year-old charmer passes a woman on the side of the road with car trouble and stops to give the appearance of assisting. The ploy works as, moments later, the police drive by without noticing him. The woman, Jewel, who is grateful for his help, buys Forrest lunch at a diner. Despite introducing himself with a fake name, Forrest becomes drawn to Jewel to the point of revealing that he is a bank robber. The two later spend time together on Jewel’s farm where Forrest becomes enamored of her and her life. Forrest makes a plan to pay off the rest of Jewel’s mortgage as a surprise, but becomes frustrated after the bank tells him that this would require Jewel’s signature on some documents, negating any surprise.
Forrest goes on to conduct a string of heists, often without having to draw his gun from under his coat. Dallas Police Detective John Hunt compiles police sketches from witnesses, who describe Forrest as charming and gentlemanly. John then displays the sketches on the evening news, asking anyone with information to come forward. Shortly afterward, John’s investigation is taken over by the FBI.
A woman named Dorothy comes forward stating that she is Forrest’s daughter. Although he is no longer on the case, John agrees to meet with her. Dorothy says she was born while Forrest was in prison, making him unaware of her or his grandchild. John then talks to Forrest’s former lawyer, who says he would not be surprised if Forrest had never pulled the trigger of his gun. According to the lawyer, police reports of Forrest firing during a standoff are false, as it was simply his car’s engine backfiring. Later, during a night out with Jewel, Forrest happens to recognize John, who is with his wife Maureen. Forrest tries to boost John’s confidence, but becomes unnerved when John calls him by his name, indicating the recognition is mutual.
Later that evening, police attempt to capture Forrest as he arrives home. He flees, but again his car backfires, prompting police to shoot at him, striking him in the arm. He eludes them and makes his way to Jewel’s farm. As he arrives in the early hours of the morning, he decides not to wake Jewel and instead takes one of her horses for a ride. Forrest had never ridden a horse before, and this was on his list of things he wanted to do. While riding, several police vehicles come down the road and turn onto Jewel’s property. Forrest resigns himself to surrendering and does so. When Jewel visits him in prison, Forrest gives her a list of his sixteen previous escapes from reformatories and prisons, along with a number seventeen, which is blank. On Jewel’s advice, he does not try to escape this time and remains incarcerated until the end of his sentence.
When Forrest is released from prison, Jewel is there to pick him up. She takes him to her farm and sets up a room for him, telling him that he can stay as long as he likes. They live a quiet life for a time, but Forrest becomes restless, and one day he tells Jewel that he is going out on an errand. He calls John from a payphone, and, when John asks if he is alright, Forrest says he is “about to be” and hangs up before walking into a bank across the street. Title cards appear that state: “Forrest Tucker robbed four more banks that day. When he was finally caught, the officers on the scene noted that as they arrested him… he was smiling.”
Editorial Reviews
‘Beautifully told by David Grann, one of the best true-crime writers around… Nuanced and gripping’
(Evening Standard)
Praise for Killers of the Flower Moon
‘An extraordinary story with extraordinary pace and atmosphere’ Sunday Times
‘A marvel of detective-like research and narrative verve’ Financial Times
‘A riveting true story of greed, serial murder and racial injustice’ Jon Krakauer
‘A fiercely entertaining mystery story and a wrenching exploration of evil’ Kate Atkinson
‘A fascinating account of a tragic and forgotten chapter in the history of the American West’ John Grisham
And for The Lost City of Z (shortlisted for the 2009 Samuel Johnson Prize)
‘Absorbing… a wonderful story of a lost age of heroic exploration’ Sunday Times
‘Marvellous… engrossing’ Daily Telegraph
‘At once a biography, a detective story and wonderfully vivid piece of travel writing… suspenseful… rollicking… fascinating’ New York Times
About David Grann
David Elliot Grann (born March 10, 1967) is an American journalist, a staff writer for The New Yorker, and a best-selling author.
His first book, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, was published by Doubleday in February 2009. After its first week of publication, it debuted on The New York Times bestseller list at #4 and later reached #1. Grann’s articles have been collected in several anthologies, including What We Saw: The Events of September 11, 2001, The Best American Crime Writing of 2004 and 2005, and The Best American Sports Writing of 2003 and 2006. He has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Weekly Standard.
According to a profile in Slate, Grann has a reputation as a “workhorse reporter”, which has made him a popular journalist who “inspires a devotion in readers that can border on the obsessive.”
David Grann was born on March 10, 1967, to Phyllis and Victor Grann. His mother is the former CEO of Putnam Penguin and the first woman CEO of a major publishing firm. His father is an oncologist and Director of the Bennett Cancer Center in Stamford, Connecticut. Grann has two siblings, Edward and Alison
II. Reviewer: The Old Man and the Gun
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1. DAVID ROBERTSON reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
I bought this book on the back of going to see the film. I was not expecting much but my expectations were exceeded. Its a short book that looks not just at the Old Man and the Gun but at two other crime stories – True Crime is about a Polish detective who thinks that a novelist planted clues in his fiction to an actual murder. The Chameleon is about a French imposter who pretends to be a boy from Texas, only to wonder whether he is the one being conned. Its a good short read…
2. ALI reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
Have become an obsessed David Grann fan, buying and reading a number of his books recently, including this one! This book is like a novella, just a short collection of 3 fascinating stories. I’m glad I read it, but in retrospect, this could have been a borrow from the library and I could have saved some bucks. The highlight for me being the first story, The Old Man and the Gun. The other two stories, though true crime, mmm, well, remember those lengthy true crime syndicated stories in the papers 20 years ago? that’s where they belong. So, all that being said, not recommended to buy, but a yes to the read.
3. SCOTT reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
“Society prepares the crime; the criminal commits it.” — historian Henry Thomas Buckle
This book’s title and cover art play up the connection to that small gem of a film The Old Man and the Gun – starring the triumvirate of Oscar winners Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, and Casey Affleck – but that sort of turned out to be a bit of a disservice. Oh, by all means watch the film if you get the chance – I think Redford intends to be his swan song in a starring role performance, since he’s now in his mid-80’s(!) – but that somewhat fictionalized screen adaptation turned out to be better than the actual true story presented here. On paper, it was just sort of bland. However, the two remaining (and darker) tales rounding out this collection – ‘True Crime,’ about a quietly tenacious Polish police investigator methodically investigating a difficult homicide case that involves a slippery and arrogant suspect; and ‘The Chameleon,’ about a weirdo adult French con artist who repeatedly / successfully impersonated young teenagers throughout Europe for over a decade, but got himself stuck in an unfavorable situation once he attempted a particularly audacious swindle in America – were much more interesting, and provided some insight into the mind of sociopathic or psychopathic criminals.
4. SANDI reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
My search for the story of The Old Man and the Gun lead me to two separate books. This one and also The Devil and Sherlock Holmes. Both books are short stories analogies.
The Old Man and the Gun has just been released as a Robert Redford movie, said to be his last. After reading the story, I find it a fitting way for Redford to end his acting career.
Based on a true story, Forest Tucker ended his life of crime the way he started it years before, robbing a bank. He was a bank robber and an escape artist. For 50 years, until last caught in 1999, Tucker was either robbing banks or doing his time, and planning another escape. Having escaped 18 times, incarcerated at seventy-nine years old, frail and showing his age, he still indicated that he had one more escape in his future.
Two other short stories accompany The Old Man and the Gun in this book. I enjoyed one of them, the other one not so much. Reading this book did elevate the author, David Gann, in my eyes, for his work in non-fiction, and encourage me to read more by him.
5. DAN reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
The Old Man and the Gun by David Grann
Forest Tucker was an 82 year-old bank-robber who once spent time in Alcatraz and had escaped prison fourteen times before. In 1999, he pulled his last bank heist. Ironically he was well off and did not need to rob the bank. He was caught after the heist and given a thirteen year sentence that would have him released in his mid 90s. He died in prison in 2004. He was portrayed in 2010 in a film by Robert Redford in the film of the same name.
In another story, we learn of a Polish author and egomaniac who wrote a sordid fictional book about murder and other grizzly crimes. When the book didn’t sell well, he decided to commit a grizzly murder similar to that described in his novel.
In the last story we learn of the Frenchman Frederic Bourdin, called the Chameleon, who says he impersonated hundreds of people in his forty years. His targets included missing children. He went to jail multiple times including a six year prison sentence in Texas in a particularly egregious case. Ironically the family of the missing child in Texas went along with their son’s return because they may have had something to do with their real son’s disappearance. Multiple films of have been about Bourdin.
4 stars. Overall this short book was a good read. Grann is also the author of the blockbuster book ‘Killers of the Flower Moon‘.
6. MIKE reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I have read some of the author’s previous longer works. This one provided the reader with three vignettes on true crimes. I vaguely remembered the stories. Grann provides a factual look at the crimes with interviews with the perpetrators. I was looking for a light read and found a very short, well written book. It was exactly what I was looking for at the time.
This book is a great book for fans of quirky true crime. It is not an in depth look, but it is much deeper and more factual than what is published in the press and put out on the news. I recommend it for any true crime fan who is looking for a quick read.
7. JEN reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
This review is for the audiobook read by Mark Deakins.
This short book (three hours in audio) goes through 3 true crime essays. The Old Man and the Gun follows a bank robber and escape artist who, even up to his 70s, doesn’t feel like retiring. True Crime follows the story of a murder that has an uncanny resemblance to a rather disturbing book. Finally, The Chameleon follows the story of a Frenchman who assumes the identity of a variety of personal, including assuming the identity of a missing boy and ingratiating himself in the boy’s family.
The stories were all well written, interesting, and varied. The stories read similar to fiction with enough detail but nothing extraneous These could not have been elongated into a full novel, so the novella/essay format was perfect. No complaints of the narrator as well. Overall 3 interesting stories of true crime that made my work commute a little more interesting.
8. JANE reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
I have never read true crime book’s. This author was recommend by a friend, so I decided to give it a try. Three different tales are in this book, and each one interesting. I read this book in one day, it is not a thick book, at about 130 pages. I enjoyed each of the stories, and was enthralled by the lives and choices of the three criminals. I don’t know if I will ever become a true crime fan, I prefer to comfort myself that a terrible story is just a story, but I enjoyed this book and gladly recommend it.
9. ADAM WEBB reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
David Grann has a history of telling the ugly truth about true crime. His first book, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” was the story of a series of killings on the Osage Nation in Oklahoma and how the FBI became our national police force. In this short but interesting volume, he tells us the ugly truth about three real-life criminals.
In the title story, he tells us the story of serial bank robber and escape artist Forrest Tucker. Even late into his life, he was robbing banks as a gentleman burglar who never actually showed a gun but insisted he had one. And then once he found himself in prison, he’d find a way out. His life story became Robert Redford’s last film as a professional actor (which was filmed, in part, in my hometown).
In the second story, we meet Polish intellectual and novelist Kristyan Bala. After the suspicious death of a Polish businessman, a detective hears of a novel by Bala called “Amok,” which features a gruesome murder with striking similarities to the actual death of the businessman. The detective, known by his coworkers as “Jack Sparrow,” believes that the writer hid his confession to the murder in his novel.
In the final story, we meet infamous French impersonator Frédéric Bourdin. Abused as a child, he turned himself into a chameleon, mostly because he still looks like a child. He’s blended in in scores of places where children would be, and even manages to escape arrest by claiming to be a missing Texas teenager. Each time he’s arrested, he claims that he’s just looking for the love he never had as a child.
Each of these stories show both the humanity and depravity of these men. Grann shows us that while these three men are human, they are also deeply problematic and dangerous. He shows us that we are all capable of acts like this, even if we don’t realize it. All we can do is choose whether we will or won’t.
10. JACK reviews for The Old Man and the Gun
“The Old Man and the Gun” A short book 130 pages I picked up because I like David Grann’s writing. This book contains three stories. The first, The Old Man & the gun, about a polite charming well dressed elderly bank robber. There is a movie about his life starring Robert Redford.
The second story, True Crime is about a Polish writer who writes an extremely violent , profane book about a psychopathic killer, that has some unusual ramifications.
The third story, which you can read for free on the internet is called the Chameleon. About a French imposter who impersonated numerous people including children with some unexpected results.
Grann is a narrative nonfiction writer who is one of the best in the profession. His books are always engaging and well researched, and best of all hard to put down.
III. The Old Man and the Gun Quotes
The best book quotes from The Old Man and the Gun by David Grann
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