The Great Impostor 1961

As state police apprehend a man on a New England island, he reflects on the extraordinary path that led him to this moment in life, a life of deception and multiple aliases, including his birth name, Ferdinand Waldo Demara.

Demara’s journey began when he dropped out of high school and enlisted in the U.S. Army, aspiring to become an officer. However, lacking a high school diploma thwarted his ambitions. In a bold move, he fabricated credentials and succeeded in enlisting as a U.S. Marine. Sadly, his ruse was quickly uncovered. Facing dire consequences and military imprisonment, he orchestrated an elaborate fake suicide and sought refuge in a monastery, attempting to live as a Trappist monk. Despite his efforts for solitude, he was eventually compelled to return to society.

Ultimately recognized as a wanted Marine, he found himself in a military prison. Just before an early release due to good behavior, Demara cleverly persuaded the warden to share his life story. Upon release, he executed another impersonation, this time stealing the warden’s identity to secure a position as an aide to the warden of a large Texas prison. In this new life, he caught the attention of the warden’s daughter, Eulalie, who pursued him romantically. However, when an inmate from his past recognized him, Demara faced the threat of blackmail and once again was forced to flee.

He then assumed the identity of a doctor and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy. There, he developed feelings for Nurse Catherine Lacey and was deployed to a destroyer headed for the Korean War. In a nail-biting scenario, he was tasked with performing a tooth extraction on the ship’s captain and later treated numerous South Korean battle casualties, succeeding in saving their lives. His heroics turned him into a celebrated figure, leading to the establishment of a hospital to aid local Koreans.

However, the veil of his impersonation did not last long, as the real doctor learned of the international spotlight and sought justice. As a court-martial approached, Nurse Lacey and others who appreciated Demara’s goodwill rallied to support him, complicating the Navy’s decision on how to proceed. Instead of punishment, reflecting on his service’s merits, the inquiry board quietly discharged him.

Demara then took up teaching in a quiet New England town, but he found himself in trouble again, leading to another escape. As the FBI made it their mission to locate this notorious impersonator, Demara arrived at their headquarters disguised as a federal agent, on a mission to track down the one person he could not escape—himself.