Adelheid Luise "Adele" Spitzeder (; 9 February 1832 – 27 or 28 October 1895), also known by her stage name Adele Vio, was a German actress, folk singer, and con artist. Initially a promising young actress, Spitzeder became a well-known private banker in 19th-century Munich when her theatrical success dwindled. Running what was possibly the first recorded Ponzi scheme, she offered large returns on investments by continually using the money of new investors to pay back the previous ones. At the height of her success, contemporary sources considered her the wealthiest woman in Bavaria. Opening her bank in 1869, Spitzeder managed to fend off attempts to discredit her for a few years before authorities were able to bring her to trial in 1872.
Introduction
Adele Spitzeder
Adele Spitzeder | Introduction
Yes, Ponzi scheme Yes, Ponzi scheme. Yes,  Ponzi schemes. Ponzi scheme
who was adele spitzeder?
user
German actress, folk singer, and con artist.
assistant
what was she accused of?
user
She was convicted instead of bad accounting and mishandling customers' money.
assistant
where was she born?
user
Berlin
assistant
apart from acting did she have other jobs?
user
Yes, she was a banker.
assistant
which bank?
user
Her own bank
assistant
how did she die?
user
Cardiac arrest
assistant
what was her debut film?
user
Deborah and Mary Stuart.
assistant
we talked about her mishandling money, was it sort of a  scheme?
user
Another contemporary source, a 1872 article in the "Münchner Neueste Nachrichten" citing her indictment, claims her first money lending activities started in the spring of 1869.
Adele Spitzeder | Spitzedersche Privatbank
One of her employees was Rosa Ehinger, whose beauty and charm Spitzeder used to attract young men to the bank. Spitzeder's business practices and accounting were unconventional and chaotic. Money was deposited in large sacks and in various cupboards. Her employees, all or almost all without training in accounting, regularly simply took money, with the accounting being restricted to recording the names of depositors and the amounts they paid in, often only signed with "XXX" by her illiterate customers. Her business relied solely on acquiring new customers quickly enough to pay existing customers with the newly acquired money. According to some sources, hers was the first known Ponzi scheme.
Adele Spitzeder | Growth of business
Because Ponzi schemes were not yet illegal, she was convicted instead of bad accounting and mishandling customers' money and sentenced to three years in prison. Her bank was closed and 32,000 people lost 38 million gulden, the equivalent of almost 400 million euros in 2017 money, causing a wave of suicides. Her personal fortune in art and cash was stripped from her. After her release from prison in 1876, Spitzeder lived off benefactors and unsuccessfully tried to act again in Altona and Berlin. She left Germany for Vienna but police there prevented her engagement, so she returned to Munich in 1878 to publish her memoir.
Adele Spitzeder | Introduction
Adelheid Luise "Adele" Spitzeder (; 9 February 1832 – 27 or 28 October 1895), also known by her stage name Adele Vio, was a German actress, folk singer, and con artist. Initially a promising young actress, Spitzeder became a well-known private banker in 19th-century Munich when her theatrical success dwindled. Running what was possibly the first recorded Ponzi scheme, she offered large returns on investments by continually using the money of new investors to pay back the previous ones. At the height of her success, contemporary sources considered her the wealthiest woman in Bavaria. Opening her bank in 1869, Spitzeder managed to fend off attempts to discredit her for a few years before authorities were able to bring her to trial in 1872.
Adele Spitzeder | Introduction
She only allowed deposits after all payouts had been processed, which often took until noon, thereby creating long queues of waiting customers that enforced the impression that they should consider themselves lucky to be allowed to give her money. Customers who reached her were treated with crass and direct language, with Spitzeder telling them that she did not call them nor would she give them any securities. Her flaunted honesty combined with her demonstrative warnings and the focus on entertaining her customers served to enhance her standing with the common people. Spitzeder made generous donations to the Church, ostensibly for charity, and partook in regular pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting.
Adele Spitzeder | Public image
After review, only assets corresponding to 15 percent of the investments were recovered. A wave of suicides by people who lost everything followed.
Adele Spitzeder | Bankruptcy and criminal charges
Contemporaneous English-language publications such as "Harper's Weekly" referred to it as the "Spitzeder swindle". In her doctoral thesis, Hannah Davies recounts the case of Johann Baptist Placht, who in 1874 was indicted for running a Ponzi scheme in Vienna and notes that contemporaries compared his business model to Spitzeder's. Unlike Placht and other fraudsters, Spitzeder never made claims of investing the money and explicitly gave no securities, which paradoxically led customers to trust her more. By October 1871, the proprietor of the hotel in which she was living and working was no longer willing to tolerate the customer traffic. Spitzeder moved into the house at No.
Adele Spitzeder | Growth of business
Additionally, 60 customers, organized by rival private banks, visited her residence and demanded all of their money back, which was more than Spitzeder had available, leading to the bank's collapse. Ehinger tried to flee with 50,000 gulden that she claimed was a gift from Spitzeder but both women were arrested and the money seized. Spitzeder's house was closed by the police and soldiers and policemen were placed on the premises to safeguard the remaining items of value and prevent acts of aggression by the populace. During her bank's existence, 32,000 customers were defrauded of 38 million gulden, roughly 400 million euros in 2017 money.
Adele Spitzeder | Bankruptcy and criminal charges
She was arrested again in 1880 for attempting to open a new bank without having the necessary permits but later released without charges. Spitzeder performed as a folk singer, living off friends and benefactors, but she never left her criminal life completely behind her, resulting in further trials and periods of incarceration. She died of cardiac arrest on 27 or 28 October 1895 in Munich.
Adele Spitzeder | Introduction
In need of a new companion, Spitzeder placed an advertisement in the local newspapers for a "Gesellschafterin" ("lady's companion"), a code that was known to refer to women seeking a female romantic partner. Out of a large number of applicants, she chose a French woman who however apparently did not understand the code and thus left her house after only a few weeks. Shortly afterwards, Rosa Ehinger moved into the house next door with her mother. Originally from Augsburg, Ehinger had dreams of becoming an actress, so Spitzeder, 19 years her senior, took the young woman, who soon started working in her bank, in and showered her with lavish gifts.
Adele Spitzeder | Personal life
Spitzeder cultivated an image of a resolute, pious woman concerned for the public welfare. During banking hours at her house in Schönfeld Street she was often seen sitting on an elevated leather chair in the middle of her banking office wearing a red nightgown and a cross around her neck, demonstratively signing notes for the money she received. In the halls of the building, cutouts of the negative articles from the "Münchner Neueste Nachrichten" were posted in an attempt to demonstrate that she had nothing to fear from such coverage. The long lines of waiting customers were often entertained by musical groups playing outside the bank and she provided free meals and drinks at the tavern "Wilhelm Tell" next door.
Adele Spitzeder | Public image
Spitzeder soon had to borrow money from moneylenders to maintain her lifestyle. In late 1869, she met a carpenter's wife in Munich's Au district, then the city's poor neighborhood. After gaining her trust, Spitzeder claimed she knew someone who would pay the woman a return of 10 percent each month on her investments. The wife gave her 100 gulden and immediately received 20 gulden, two months of returns, with the promise of another 110 gulden within three months. According to a contemporary story in "Harper's Weekly", Spitzeder also placed an advertisement in the city's major newspaper, the "Münchner Neueste Nachrichten", asking to borrow 150 gulden with the promise of 10 percent interest after two months.
Adele Spitzeder | Spitzedersche Privatbank
Her "masculine" behavior is generally highlighted, such as her cigar smoking and surrounding herself with beautiful young women. Unable to restrict her lifestyle, she began to live at the expense of her creditors and accrued significant debt in Hamburg and Zurich while working there. In 1868, she returned to Munich with her girlfriend Emilie to await job offers from theatrical agents but did not receive any she wanted. Dejected and penniless, she only had her mother's stipend of 50 gulden to live on. The money, however, was not sufficient to pay for her lifestyle of residing in hotels and inns with her girlfriend and six dogs.
Adele Spitzeder | Acting career
They told him the money was cursed and they were going to cleanse the money of the curse." According to Dietrich, the mediums were attempting to scam the man with an old switch con in which they take the money and bundle it up. The mediums then tell the victim of their scam to take the bundle home and put it in his freezer and not to look at the money for 30 days. After 30 days, when he looks in the freezer he will realize they switched the bundles and his bundle contains no money. By then the con artists are long gone with the victim's money.
Dorothy Dietrich | Debunker
She was arrested on 13 February 1880 with her new companion, Marie Riedmayer, who had cared for her after her release from prison. However, the local prosecutors determined that people who were still willing to give her money after all that had happened did not need to be protected and Spitzeder was released.
Adele Spitzeder | Later life and death
To circumvent the official ban on lending money, she allowed her workers to take money from the bank and lend it to customers under their own name. Some of her workers used this opportunity to enrich themselves, such as Franz Wagner, a scribe with a monthly salary of 60 gulden, who later bought a house for 59,000 gulden. The success of the Dachauer Bank led to customers withdrawing large amounts of funds from other banks, especially the Sparkassen, threatening their existence. The Munich Sparkasse's leadership first discussed the competition by Spitzeder in May 1871, having lost some 50,000 gulden to her bank.
Adele Spitzeder | Clashes with authorities and competition
On 7 November 1872, Munich's police also issued a lengthy statement detailing the bank's lack of reliability.
Adele Spitzeder | Clashes with authorities and competition
From 1871, the authorities tried to find legal reasons to stop her business but since she was fulfilling her obligations to her customers as promised, she avoided official intervention. While the city of Munich began taxing her as a "Bankier 2. Klasse" ("second class banker"), she avoided calls to be entered into the register of companies at this time. In 1872, the Munich Commerce Court decided that she had to enter her business in the register of companies, revising its earlier decision, which included rules about proper accounting. Since the court's ruling only applied to her money-lending business, she instead stopped lending and focused on taking in money.
Adele Spitzeder | Clashes with authorities and competition
Sylvia Dudek, an art professional, discusses seeking funding to open her own gallery with her gardener, Carl before her husband Mark arrives home, stashing two briefcases away in the basement and a bedroom closet, depositing the money from one in a safe. Later that evening they have a dinner party with Mark's colleague and co-conspirator in an industrial espionage scheme. Sean brings his girlfriend Christina with him, and they have a polite evening marred by awkward moments brought about by Sean's rudeness. John arrives claiming to be a new neighbour and a consultant, he is initially turned away by Sylvia but is invited in after complimenting her taste in fashion and presenting an expensive bottle of wine.
Money (2016 film) | Plot
Adele was born in St. Louis to Adolph Burgdorfer and Mary Elizabeth Frederick, both of whom were immigrants from Germany. Before moving to Los Angeles at the age of 16, she worked in a movie theater, where she got to watch countless films. Once she arrived in L.A., she got a job selling tickets at a theater in Hollywood; she worked as a treasurer for several theaters during this time period.
Adele Buffington | Early life
Spitzeder was released from prison on 9 September 1876 in poor health, being hemiplegic and unable to walk stairs on her own. During and after her stay in prison, those who had profited from her abandoned her and the newspapers that previously defended her made money by publishing exposés about her. However, some former customers, despite their losses, helped her; she found a place to stay with the widow of a judge and was given money. Her doctor prescribed her a stay at the sanatorium in Bad Wildbad where she went at her benefactors' expense. Shortly after arriving, she was surrounded by fans and received publicity in local newspapers.
Adele Spitzeder | Later life and death
No longer able to find work in Germany, she left for Vienna but the authorities there forbade any contact between her and the theater's director. Unable to perform under her own name, she began composing music and performing as Adele Vio. In 1878, she published her memoir entitled "Geschichte meines Lebens" (Story of my life). In it, she had formulated plans for after her release from prison, such as opening a brewery in the Au, a large restaurant in western Munich, and a horse racing track near Nymphenburg Palace, none of which came to fruition. After releasing her memoir, she again began to give out promissory notes that now contained explicit warnings that she was not providing any security and that the creditor has to be willing to waive any rights of reimbursement if she was not able to pay them back.
Adele Spitzeder | Later life and death
Writing about the film, François Truffaut observed: Truffaut had to get the rights from Jean Hugo, Victor Hugo's direct descendant. He gave his consent after reading a treatment on the condition that Victor Hugo did not appear on screen. Finance was originally sought from Warner Bros but they turned it down as being too literary. The film was financed by United Artists. The original budget was five million francs so the script was simplified to focus more on Adèle. Although Truffaut had once promised the role to Catherine Deneuve, he wanted a new star to play the lead. He screen tested Stacey Tendeter then was impressed by Isabelle Adjani's performances in "La Gifle" (1974) and on stage, and decided to cast her.
The Story of Adele H. | Production
Money Isn't Everything is a 1925 British silent romance film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Olive Sloane, Lewis Gilbert and Gladys Hamer. The film was made at Cricklewood Studios by Stoll Pictures, and was based on a novel by Sophie Cole.
Money Isn't Everything | Introduction
During the initial months there, she lived in a motel with the $300 budget that her mother had given her; she continued receiving cheques from New York and lived "from paycheck to paycheck" to the point of stealing bread from a basket in a restaurant to survive. One day, she went to a Hollywood Boulevard bank to cash a few cheques, including one her mother had sent to help with the rent, but it was rejected because it was out-of-state and she was not an American citizen. Theron argued and pleaded with the bank teller until talent agent John Crosby, who was the next customer behind her, cashed it for her and gave her his business card.
Charlize Theron | Beginnings (1991–1996)
Spitzeder's banking services quickly became the talk of the town in Munich's poorer communities thanks to favorable word-of-mouth advertising and soon, more people gave her their savings. In 1869, she officially founded the Spitzedersche Privatbank. Because her customers were mostly workers from the northern outskirts of Munich, especially the town of Dachau, her bank also came to be known as "Dachauer Bank". Some farmers sold their farms to live off the interest alone. Many lower-class Christians mistrusted the Jewish moneylenders, preferring to bank with a Christian, and she soon had to rent additional rooms in her hotel to accommodate her up to forty employees.
Adele Spitzeder | Growth of business
She lived in Bad Wildbad for ten months where she started writing music for the pianino. She met the director of a theater in Altona who offered her a guest role but she was received negatively. The local "Altonaer Generalanzeiger" newspaper commissioned the production of small whistles which they sold as "Spitzeder-whistles" for people to use at her next performance. Spitzeder however refused to act on the stage in Altona again and left the town for Berlin where people waited in anticipation to see the famous fraudster. However, before she could perform, the Berlin police prevented her performance and forced her to depart the city the same day, so she returned to Munich.
Adele Spitzeder | Later life and death
Joining the party in the garden he appears well-mannered, cultured and knowledgeable but soon reveals he is aware of the men's espionage and their payoff of five million dollars in cash as well as various personal details. He threatens them with a gun and tells them he intends to cut off Sean's fingers one at a time unless the money is brought to him. Mark and Sean protest their innocence before John grabs Sean's hand, at which point he confesses that his share is in the basement. Christina retrieves the briefcase, taking a small stack of bills for herself. John demands the rest of the money, then cuts off Sean's index finger.
Money (2016 film) | Plot
That year, she made the film "A Fool and His Money", probably the first to have an all-African-American cast. The film is now at the National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the American Film Institute.
Alice Guy-Blaché | Introduction
brought Adele Spitzeder's story to the stage as a play for marionettes in the 1870s. In 1972, Martin Sperr wrote a television movie that was directed by Peer Raben and starred Ruth Drexel as Spitzeder. The play "Die Spitzeder" by Sperr was first performed on 11 September 1977. In 1992, the Bayerischer Rundfunk broadcast the documentary "Adele Spitzeder oder das Märchen von den Zinsen" ("Adele Spitzeder or the fairy tale about the interest") by . Xaver Schwarzenberger adapted the story again as a television movie titled "Die Verführerin Adele Spitzeder" ("The seducer Adele Spitzeder"). It was produced by the Bayerischer Rundfunk and the ORF, starred Birgit Minichmayr as Adele Spitzeder and was first broadcast on 11 January 2012.
Adele Spitzeder | In popular culture
After Spitzeder's arrest however, Ehinger disavowed her and denied having any romantic relationship with her. Ehinger even tried to argue that the payment of 50,000 gulden was damages for the reputational damage she suffered because of the rumors about her homosexuality, but she was ordered to repay the sum in full.
Adele Spitzeder | Personal life
Money Talks is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Norman Lee and starring Julian Rose, Kid Berg and Judy Kelly. It was made at Elstree Studios by British International Pictures. A separate French-language version "Lost Money" was also released.
Money Talks (1932 film) | Introduction
She enlists the help of a medical resident, Dr. Jabari Jordan, to forge the documents, but struggles to produce the $2,000 he demands without raising suspicion. Reduced to desperate measures, Katie contacts her estranged father in search of the required money. He sees through her façade and refuses to help, pleading with his daughter to come clean publicly. With nowhere else to turn, Katie asks Jennifer, who agrees without hesitation, but is unable to withdraw it in full from the bank on such short notice. Presented with only a portion of the amount he was promised, Jordan withholds the forged documents Katie urgently needs until she can pay the remainder.
White Lie (film) | Plot
Adele Buffington (born Adele Burgdorfer, and sometimes billed as Jess Bowers) was an American screenwriter of the silent and sound film eras of Hollywood.
Adele Buffington | Introduction
This delightful contemporary comedy-western in fact is that most precious of commodities these days: a movie that actually cheers you up and leaves you feeling better when you come out than when you went in." "TV Guide" wrote in a retrospective review, “Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, Barbra Streisand, Steve McQueen, and Dustin Hoffman formed First Artists, and this was their premier offering. It wasn't as terrible a movie as the first reviews of it indicated, but since so much was expected, anything less than brilliance was a letdown.” The film currently has a 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Pocket Money | Reception
Fools and Their Money is a lost 1919 silent film comedy directed by Herbert Blaché and starring Emmy Wehlen. Maxwell Karger produced and it was released through Metro Pictures.
Fools and Their Money | Introduction
Money, Money, Money is a lost 1923 silent film drama directed by Tom Forman and starring Katherine MacDonald. It was produced by B. P. Schulberg under his production company Preferred Pictures and released through Associated First National, soon to be First National Pictures.
Money, Money, Money (film) | Introduction
During her trial, the court's president emphasized the intimate relationship between both women, who shared a bed "breast to breast". The relationship continued into Spitzeder's banking career which Stier was actively supporting, with the "Münchner Neueste Nachrichten" soon reporting on "two tricksters that take people's money". However, the romantic relationship ended abruptly when after a fight Stier left the premises head over heels; the reason for their fight is unknown to this day. The end of the relationship depressed Spitzeder who locked herself in her rooms and only recovered because her customers, wishing to be able to invest in her bank again, cared for her until she recovered.
Adele Spitzeder | Personal life
Wanting to follow in her parents' footsteps and against her mother's wishes, Spitzeder studied with Munich actresses Konstanze Dahn and Charlotte von Hagn. In 1856 or 1857, she debuted at the Hofbühne in Coburg to great acclaim playing Deborah and Mary Stuart. In her memoirs, she claims that the Duke of Coburg and the Duke of Württemberg both praised her talent. Since there were no vacancies at Coburg, she left the Hofbühne to take an engagement at Mannheim before returning to Munich for a few guest roles at the National Theatre. Despite being offered a contract to play there, she knew that she would only be tasked with playing supporting roles due to fierce competition and thus decided to instead work at the theater of Brno.
Adele Spitzeder | Acting career
Lew sends Rita to get the money from Ralph. But Lew's plans turns awry when Herbert interrupts and kills Florence. When Rita comes back she finds Herbert struggling with Lew and shoots him dead. She later finds that the money she brought from Ralph is fake. Lew goes to Isobel and Ralph to ask them about the real money. In the meanwhile Rita tips the police. Soon police comes and arrests Lew, Ralph and Isobel. Lew is released on the verdict of Rita who had hidden the real money herself.
Three Way | Plot
Sucker Money is a 1933 American Pre-Code film directed by Dorothy Davenport and Melville Shyer. The film is also known as Victims of the Beyond in the United Kingdom.
Sucker Money | Introduction
The 2011 HBO TV-movie "Too Big to Fail" is, in the words of Jesse Eisinger, "extraordinarily revealing about the financial crisis" but not always in a helpful way. For example, Eisinger says, "The government gave the banks money but didn't get voting rights and didn't prevent the banks from using the money to pay dividends or bonuses. They wrote what was essentially a blank check...It's left to the hapless PR woman...to wonder why, if the government is saving these institutions, it couldn't impose any limits on how the money be used." Another film in this genre is J. C. Chandor's "Margin Call".
Financial thriller | Introduction
The Woman without Money () is a 1925 German silent film directed by Fritz Kaufmann and starring Grete Reinwald, Margarete Kupfer, and Rosa Valetti.
The Woman without Money | Introduction
A society friend of the Hardys tells Edith that Richard's speculation will not be profitable and he knows a better one; Tori/Arakau then offers to double her money in one day if she gives it to him to invest in the suggested enterprise. Edith, wanting to live lavishly and unwilling to wait for Richard to realize his speculation, takes the $10,000 the Red Cross has raised from her bedroom safe and gives it to Tori/Arakau. The next day, however, her horrified friend tells her his tip was worthless and her money is completely lost. The Red Cross ladies have scheduled the handover of the money to the refugee fund for the day after that.
The Cheat (1915 film) | Plot
As troubles in her marriage and finances began to appear, Cooper found she resented the role of 'The Director's Wife'. On the advice of a friend, she took to the stage for the first and only time, but received disastrous reviews. Cooper decided she didn't like stage acting and began considering film offers again. A little film company called 'D. M. Film Corporation' offered her a role in a pictured title "Is Money Everything?". It only offered $650 a week and would film in Detroit, but Cooper took the part, anyway, for the money. The movie received horrible reviews, and she found herself overwhelmed again by her personal troubles.
Miriam Cooper | Final films
The "Münchner Neueste Nachrichten" started a new attack on Spitzeder in the fall of 1872, repeating the warnings of the authorities, explaining the possible ways the government might intervene and prophesying the immediate demise of the bank. In November 1872, the withdrawals clearly exceeded the investments, forcing Spitzeder to limit withdrawals to an hour between six and seven in the morning, with no withdrawals on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The police persuaded 40 of her customers to present their claims to the district court, which then ordered a review of the bank's books. On 12 November 1872, a five-person inquiry commission arrived at the bank to perform a court-ordered review.
Adele Spitzeder | Bankruptcy and criminal charges
The next day, she discovers that the man who hired her no longer works for the company. The man convinces her to steal a portfolio from the office for him but rewards her by making a crude pass that she rebuffs. She plans to return to Wittenberge the next day and falls asleep with her door open. Philipp walks in, awakens her and renews his offer. She accepts. He involves her in a series of unethical moneymaking schemes using evidence of malfeasance to scam money out of competitors. Philipp tests her loyalty by asking her to make various deposits totaling €75,000, but actually gives her €100,000.
Yella (film) | Plot
Edith goes to Tori/Arakau to beg for a loan of the money, and he agrees to write her a check in return for her sexual favours the next day. She reluctantly agrees to this, takes his check and is able to give the money to the Red Cross. Then Richard announces elatedly that his investments have paid off and they are very rich. Edith asks him for $10,000, saying it is for a bridge debt, and he writes her a check for the amount with no reproof.
The Cheat (1915 film) | Plot
When he learns why she needs the money so badly, he arranges for his assistant, the "Runt" (George E. Stone), to masquerade as an insurance adjuster to give her $6000 he borrowed from Manleder. The money had initially been intended to pay off a blackmailing Mona (Joan Woodbury), who claims she is Blackie's wife. When Mona shows up and demands the money, Diane realizes that Blackie is her benefactor.
Confessions of Boston Blackie | Plot
Spitzeder withstood the pressure levied against her by the authorities and the "Münchner Neueste Nachrichten" for a while, mainly because banking laws and financial regulations were non-existent and because a few years prior, Bavaria had introduced legislation that allowed almost any business to operate with almost no oversight. In February 1872, an attempt by the "Münchner Neueste Nachrichten" to discredit her made a lot of customers ask for their investments back, but also brought a rise in new customers. In March 1872, Munich's police director had to admit that the attack, which the police had hoped would end Spitzeder's business, had failed.
Adele Spitzeder | Bankruptcy and criminal charges
A Fool and His Money is an American silent comedy film from 1912. It is either the first film or one of the earliest films with an all-African American cast. It was directed by a Frenchwoman, Alice Guy-Blaché, who is widely considered the first female film director. The plot involves people becoming wealthy and taking on an aristocratic lifestyle. The film was rediscovered by California engineer David Navone, who found four reels of early 1910s films in a trunk he purchased at an estate sale. He gave them to the American Film Institute (AFI). It was preserved by the AFI's National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the Library of Congress Motion Picture Conservation Center.
A Fool and His Money (1912 film) | Introduction
It Happened to Adele is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Van Dyke Brooke and starring Gladys Leslie, Carey L. Hastings and Peggy Burke.
It Happened to Adele | Introduction
Among the first recorded incidents to meet the modern definition of Ponzi scheme were carried out from 1869 to 1872 by Adele Spitzeder in Germany and by Sarah Howe in the United States in the 1880s through the "Ladies' Deposit". Howe offered a solely female clientele an 8% monthly interest rate, and then stole the money that the women had invested. She was eventually discovered and served three years in prison. The Ponzi scheme was also previously described in novels; Charles Dickens' 1844 novel "Martin Chuzzlewit" and his 1857 novel "Little Dorrit" both feature such a scheme. In the 1920's, Charles Ponzi carried out this scheme and became well known throughout the United States because of the huge amount of money that he took in.
Ponzi scheme | Introduction
She refused to disclose as to what the money was for and she faded into obscurity immediately after lawyers secured her release.
Maria Licciardi | Bribing pentiti
On March 4, 2014, prior to If/Then's final dress rehearsal, Krupin posted to Instagram and Twitter a photo of a satirical insert supposedly intended for the show's Playbills. The insert played on John Travolta's mispronunciation of Idina Menzel's name as "Adele Dazeem" at the Oscars just two days prior. Although the photo was posted as a joke, several news and entertainment outlets picked up the social media posts and reported them as if the insert was genuine. One even erroneously reported that the insert could be seen in "Tweets from the audience," when in fact nothing was handed out to the audience at the invited dress rehearsal, and preview performances did not begin until the next evening.
Janet Krupin | Controversies
The Money Habit is a 1924 British silent crime film directed by Walter Niebuhr and starring Clive Brook, Annette Benson and Nina Vanna. It was based on a novel by Paul M. Potter. The screenplay concerns a man whose mistress helps him con a financier into buying a worthless oil well.
The Money Habit | Introduction
The film was a financial failure, the first movie in CinemaScope to lose money. Dunne said he thought "it was too larded with Shakespeare".
Prince of Players | Reception
She was under contract as a stage actress to the Comédie-Française who refused to release her from her contract. It became a legal dispute but in the end Adjani was able to play the part.
The Story of Adele H. | Production
"The Story of Adèle H." was a modest financial success in France, where it sold 752,160 tickets. It was considered a box office disappointment.
The Story of Adele H. | Box office
She explained "so we knew what the money shot was, and worked everything else up towards that." Kendall and Elmaloglou were unable to hear Eames call out "cut", so they continued "really going at it" resulting in the final take.
Episode 7202 | Filming
By 1871, Spitzeder was in possession of multiple millions of gulden and artwork valued at several million. According to a contemporary report in "Harper's Weekly", at the height of her fortune in 1872 she was considered to be the wealthiest woman in Bavaria.
Adele Spitzeder | Growth of business
Attending Hunter's Prep School alongside her classmates Mavis, Reina, and Pauline, Adele tries her best to live her life as normally as possible, which does not prove to be an easy feat.
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! | Plot
The film opens on Debbie Tisdale (Louisa Krause)'s 30th birthday. Her gift is supposed to be a small inheritance of $50,000 from her estranged father Boyd (Chelcie Ross), but she soon learns that Boyd, under the influence of his younger wife Rose (Robin Weigert), has cut Debbie out of his will. Debbie suspects foul play; Boyd suffers from dementia and could have easily been manipulated. After a failed negotiation, Debbie and her boyfriend Steve (Brendan Sexton III) kidnap Boyd and head north, where they break into an elegant lake house, empty for the season. Once there Debbie forms a plan to access to her inheritance by darker means.
New Money (2017 film) | Plot
In the 2008 film, Meryl Streep sings the song.
Money, Money, Money | Introduction
Robert Pardi of "TV Guide" gave the film a middling review, writing: "In this blast at the privileged classes, yet another young social climber discovers the bitter accuracy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's observation about the very rich: "They are different from you and me"... But this expose doesn't elicit much sympathy for characters whose big dreams amount to little more than lust for a better grade of cashmere." Contactmusic.com gave the film a negative review, writing: "Not only does the provocative title of "Tart" mislead us, but the packaging features a lithe Dominique Swain on its covers, her schoolgirl skirt blowing up to expose her panties...
Tart (film) | Reception
Lost Money (French:L'argent par les fenêtres) is a 1933 French-language British comedy film directed by Norman Lee and starring Kid Berg, Judy Kelly and Julian Rose. It is the French-language version of the comedy "Money Talks" which had been made by Elstree Studios by British International Pictures.
Lost Money (film) | Introduction
Edna Fiedler, 44, of Olympia, Washington, on June 25, 2008, pleaded guilty in a Tacoma court and was sentenced to two years imprisonment and five years of supervised release or probation in an Internet $1 million "Nigerian check scam". She conspired to commit bank, wire and mail fraud against US citizens, specifically using Internet by having an accomplice ship counterfeit checks and money orders to her from Lagos, Nigeria in November 2007. Fiedler shipped out $609,000 fake check and money orders when arrested and prepared to send additional $1.1 million counterfeit materials. Also, the U.S. Postal Service intercepted $2.1 billion in counterfeit checks, lottery tickets and eBay overpayment schemes with a face value of $2.1 billion.
Scam letters | Penalty
A gang of criminals, led by sociopath Max Brandt (Zachary Scott), escape from France and set up a counterfeit operation to make British £5 and American $1 notes in the cellar of a large English country house now owned by Louie Bernard (Mervyn Johns). Brandt forces Bernard, who worked for the British Government during WW2 making foreign counterfeit currency, to make the master die plates by holding his daughter, Carole (Peggie Castle), an artist, as a hostage. When Bernard finds out that Brandt has tried to rape his daughter and has killed his housekeeper, Gerta (Chili Bouchier), because she witnessed the attempted rape, he anonymously posts one of the forged £5 notes to the police with a letter describing the counterfeit operation.
The Counterfeit Plan | Plot summary
Dirty Money () is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, directed by Denys Arcand and released in 1972. It was the first feature-length narrative film directed by Arcand. The film stars René Caron and Luce Guilbeault as Rolland and Berthe Soucy, a couple who are financially struggling. Rolland's wealthy uncle Arthur (Léo Gagnon) comes for a visit and offers them a gift of money to help out, but withdraws the offer after they quibble with the amount; after he leaves, Rolland and Berthe decide to go to his house and rob him. Unbeknownst to them, however, their reclusive tenant Ernest (Marcel Sabourin) follows them with a criminal plan of his own.
Dirty Money (1972 film) | Introduction
Bank robber Zeki Müller has just been out of prison. Upon his release, he goes to retrieve the money he stole in order to repay a debt, but his friend buried it in a construction site. During Zeki's time in prison, the construction project was completed and his money is now buried beneath the new gymnasium at the Goethe Gesamtschule. In order to obtain the money, Zeki applies for the vacant position of a deceased janitor. However, due to a misunderstanding, he is given a job as a substitute teacher. Elisabeth "Lisi" Schnabelstedt is a student teacher at the Goethe Gesamtschule, her former high school, because she has guardianship over her younger sister, Laura.
Fack ju Göhte | Plot
This resulted in the deposits written on those slips by bank customers entering his account rather than the accounts of the legitimate customers. In a speech, Abagnale described an occasion when he noticed the location where airlines and car rental businesses, such as United Airlines and Hertz, would drop off their daily collections of money in a bag and then deposit them into a drop box on the airport premises. Using a security guard disguise he bought at a local costume shop, he put a sign over the box saying "Out of Service, Place deposits with security guard on duty" and collected money in that manner.
Frank Abagnale | Bank fraud
9 Schönfeld Street near the Englischer Garten which she bought for 54,000 gulden of her customers' money. Including bank employees, there were 83 people who worked from her house, many of whom were brokers who received a five-to-seven percent commission for each new customer. She soon expanded her business and started buying and selling houses and land throughout Bavaria, buying 17 houses in prime locations in Munich alone. By 1871, she received 50,000 to 60,000 gulden each day, although she had lowered her returns paid to 8% per month. Despite the size of her business, the bank had no premises of its own and all business was done first out of her hotel rooms and later her house.
Adele Spitzeder | Growth of business
As described in a film magazine, Mildred Carr (Clayton) is a working class wife who has saved her money and marries Lew Alden (Baxter), a struggling business man. After five years of married life, a financial crisis occurs so Mildred loans her husband her savings apparently through a third party, which causes Lew to leave her when he discovers the fraud. She goes back to work and, after he regains his losses, he asks her forgiveness and they make up.
Her Own Money | Plot
Initially successful, in 1772, she tried to recoup her loans, but her money was tied up in the West Indies. This was a setback, and by the time of her death in 1781, she had lost most of her money.
Frederica Louise Ernst | Introduction
A young woman named Odile (Anna Karina) meets a man named Franz (Sami Frey) in an English language class. She has told him of a large pile of money stashed in the villa where she lives with her aunt Victoria and Mr. Stolz in Joinville, a Parisian suburb. Franz tells his friend Arthur (Claude Brasseur) of the money, and the two make a plan to steal it. Franz and Arthur go to the English class, where Arthur flirts with Odile and asks her about the money. Odile goes home and finds the money in Stolz's room. She then meets Franz and Arthur, and they go to a café, order drinks, and dance.
Bande à part (film) | Plot
Inside a lively casino near the French Riviera ("Overture"), con-artist Lawrence Jameson is tricking wealthy women out of their money with the help of his "bodyguard" Andre ("Give Them What They Want"). Muriel Eubanks and a few other women express their devotion and amorous feelings for Lawrence, who has conned them ("What Was a Woman To Do"). Andre warns Lawrence about a highly successful con-artist known as "The Jackal", who is said to be visiting the area. Later, aboard a train, Lawrence watches an American named Freddy Benson (who he figures is The Jackal) swindle a woman, but notes that Freddy makes much less money than Lawrence does.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (musical) | Act 1
The film proved to be one of the most financially successful films directed by a woman.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson | Introduction
In the Money is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Frank Strayer from an original screenplay by Robert Ellis. Starring Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Lois Wilson, and Warren Hymer, the film was produced and distributed by the common tandem duo of Poverty Row studios, Invincible Corp. and Chesterfield Motion Pictures. It premiered on November 7, 1933.
In the Money (1933 film) | Introduction
Money is a 1921 British silent comedy film directed by Duncan McRae and starring Henry Ainley, Faith Bevan and Margot Drake. It is an adaptation of the 1840 comic play "Money" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
Money (1921 film) | Introduction
The film begins "in medias res", with the suspects getting caught and being interrogated. Then it flashes back to three years earlier and the film continues forward from there, interspersed with occasional bits from the interrogation. Three years before getting caught, Bridget Cardigan (Diane Keaton) lived a comfortable upper middle class life until her husband Don Cardigan (Ted Danson) was "downsized" from his position and sank into debt. The paycheck for Selina, the housecleaner, bounces again. Selina confronts Bridget and suggests she take a job as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. On her first day on the job, Bridget hatches a scheme to steal worn-out dollar bills slated for destruction.
Mad Money (film) | Plot
Her Own Money is a 1922 American silent comedy film directed by Joseph Henabery, starring Warner Baxter and Ethel Clayton. Based upon a play, it was originally filmed in 1914 and featured Baxter in a small part. It is unknown whether the 1922 film currently survives.
Her Own Money | Introduction
A 29-Cent Robbery is a 1910 American silent short drama produced by the Thanhouser Company. The film features the debut of Marie Eline in the main role as Edna Robinson, a young girl who foils an attempt by a robbery to loot her family's home. All the thief manages to take is her toy bank, containing 29 cents. Edna ends up taking it upon herself to catch the thief after the police fail in the task. It was reviewed positively by critics and was viewed across the United States. The film was the first split-reel by Thanhouser, containing this short and "The Old Shoe Came Back" on a single reel.
A 29-Cent Robbery | Introduction
She spent several weeks in jail in 1875 after taking out multiple loans secured with the same collateral, but her conviction was overturned on appeal.
Sarah Howe (fraudster) | Early life
While still at Swarthmore, in 1972, she attended the London School of Economics, studying the philosophy of science with Imre Lakatos, an important Popperian philosopher.
Adele Diamond | Early life and education
Although Adele fails in many respects, she eventually accepts her daughter's plans and decides to help her.
Anywhere but Here (film) | Plot
The accusation is that she received this money so that she would become an undeclared lobbyist for their own business concerns. In the end the accusations did not lead to charges.
Marja Tiura | Introduction
Money is a 1991 Canadian-French drama film directed by Steven Hilliard Stern. The film centers around a young rich man's revenge on his late father's associates who have stolen his inheritance money.
Money (1991 film) | Introduction
Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" said, "Not that money lacks advantages, and not that the basic idea behind this silly little picture couldn't be brightly kicked around. But that hasn't been done in the hodge-podge of farcical situations here contrived, nor in the witless and unbeguiling acting of the juvenile principals. Joyce Reynolds is dewishly sophomoric as the girl who thinks money is a curse (even after she is given $1,000,000 by a dying millionaire) and Robert Hutton is merely collar-addled as her contrary-minded spouse. Against such childish opposition, Cecil Kellaway and Ernest Truex, two old hands at ripping up farce scripts and scenery, pretty well have their reckless ways.
Always Together | Reception
The actress also found it difficult to film Adele's hospital bed scenes. She struggled to keep still and gained a new-found respect for "Holby City"s guest actors who play patients. It also made her more attentive while filming with them. Following her procedures Adele is left in a coma. When she wakes up she begins to recover from her ordeal. Adele later returns to work, but on her first day she treats a patient she knows. Mo worries that Adele has returned too early after her attack when she gets too involved in the patient's case.
Adele Effanga | Attempted murder
Alison Graham of the "Radio Times" wrote; "After watching Gwyneth Hughes’s fact-based drama "Doing Money", I went home stifled by a cloud of misery that couldn’t be dispersed, even by the repeats of ancient "Big Bang Theories" I watched long into the evening just to try to flush the horror from my system. I found "Doing Money" so overwhelming – the true story of Ana, a young Romanian woman working as a cleaner in Britain who was abducted by a trafficking gang from a street in Wood Green London and forced into sex slavery. I was harrowed as she was repeatedly brutalised into submission by a series of men who treated her savagely." Viewers described the film as "horrific", "disturbing", "harrowing" and "heartbreaking."
Doing Money | Reception
Not a single man in the country was the possessor of huge accumulations of money".
Rebecca Harding Davis | Early life
Dinner for Adele () is a 1977 Czechoslovak comedy detective film directed by Oldřich Lipský. Alternative titles were Adele Hasn't Had Her Dinner Yet, Nick Carter in Prague and Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet.
Dinner for Adele | Introduction
Until her arrest, she fraudulently acquired 342 billion yen from 12 financial institutions, including non-commercial banks.
Nui Onoue | Investment Fraud
Kristina Vladimirovna Svechinskaya (, born February 16, 1989) is a former Russian money mule hacker. While studying at New York University, in 2010 she was accused of a plot to defraud British and U.S. banks and usage of false passports. According to charges, Svechinskaya used a Zeus Trojan horse to attack thousands of bank accounts and opened at least five accounts in Bank of America and Wachovia, which received $35,000 (£22,000) of stolen money. It is estimated that with nine other people, Svechinskaya had skimmed $3 million in total. The upcoming Russian film "Botnet" is partially based on Svechinskaya's story.
Kristina Svechinskaya | Introduction
"How Did This Get Made?" began after Scheer and Raphael saw the movie "". Later, the pair talked to Mantzoukas about the movie and joked about the idea for starting a bad movie podcast. , "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" has never been covered on the podcast.
How Did This Get Made? | History
Jonathan assumes that her name begins with an "S" because of her S-shaped keychain.
Deception (2008 film) | Plot
In September 1880, the "Boston Daily Advertiser" began publishing articles attacking the Ladies' Deposit as a swindle, which led to a run on the bank by its depositors. By October the scheme had collapsed and Howe was charged with multiple counts of fraud. She was convicted and served three years in prison.
Sarah Howe (fraudster) | Ladies' Deposit
Dodson hits banks all over Beverly Hills and Hollywood, Los Angeles, funneling most of the money to pay off Fortune. However, during one of his robberies, the teller includes a dye pack, which explodes in his car. After another robbery, Tina recognizes him and engages him in conversation before he can leave the bank. When she invites him to a party, he leaves in her car, abandoning Pauline. The police discover Dodson's car in the bank's parking lot and issue a warrant for his arrest based on the dye splashed in it. However, the teller backs out of identifying him in a line-up.
Electric Slide (film) | Plot
Both Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah were attached early on to the project and writers began designing the characters specifically around the two actresses.
Mad Money (film) | Release
When she helps herself to some of the counterfeit money, it gets the attention of the police and the mobsters. It all ends in a free-for-all, between the police, Arabs, and mobsters, in disguise. Finally, she has to decide whether she loves him or his money.
The Big Money (film) | Plot