Nightmare Alley

Stanton Carlisle, having grown up without a family in a Christian orphanage; works in a traveling carnival. He finds himself fascinated by the geek, wondering how a person could end up so low, but he is most taken by Zeena's mind-reading show, and that she so easily dupes the crowd. When he learns that Zeena and her behind-the-scenes assistant; her alcoholic husband, Pete, once had one of the best acts on the nightclub circuit, in which they used a code to enable her "mind-reading", Stan believes that learning the code is his ticket to bigger and better things. As such, he tries to use his masculine charms on Zeena to ingratiate himself more fully into the act, while he, with an eye for young women, is actually more enamored with Molly; strongman Bruno's assistant; a fact which does not sit well with Bruno. In time, Stan not only learns the code from Zeena, but he also perfects the art of the "sell" i.e. the smooth talk used to pull the wool over people's eyes, largely using what he learned about religion while he was growing up. He and Molly then strike out, away from the carnival, with a new mentalist act; "The Great Stanton". In meeting Lilith Ritter, a psychologist, who is part of one evening's audience; he believes he has found a way to parlay the act into substantial money. But in Lilith, he has also found another of his ilk; someone not averse to larceny if it reaches her end goal.