6 Best Snake Oil and Traveling Con Man Movies

By Vlad Zakh · May 1, 2026

A traveling con man’s seductive patter and moral hollowness make for sharp satire. Leap of Faith has a faith healer whose staged miracles start coming true, Elmer Gantry has a charismatic salesman becoming a revivalist preacher, and The Apostle has a disgraced preacher starting over in Louisiana. Paper Moon, Marjoe and The Rainmaker round out the six.

Leap of Faith (1992)

TMDB ★ 6.1

A travelling faith healer's elaborate con is threatened when his staged miracles start coming true.

Directed by Richard Pearce · 1h 48m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Apostle (1997)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A disgraced, volatile preacher flees his past to start a new congregation in a small Louisiana town.

Directed by Robert Duvall · 2h 14m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Elmer Gantry (1960)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A charismatic, opportunistic con man ingratiates himself into a travelling evangelist's revival ministry.

Directed by Richard Brooks · 2h 26m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Sky Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Paper Moon (1973)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A small-time con man and a sharp-tongued orphan girl team up to swindle their way across Depression-era America.

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich · 1h 42m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Marjoe (1972)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A former child evangelist candidly exposes the theatrical manipulation behind travelling revival preaching.

Directed by Sarah Kernochan & Howard Smith · 1h 28m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, DocuramaFilms Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Rainmaker (1956)

TMDB ★ 6.8

A charming con man promises a drought-stricken farming family he can bring rain, and much more.

Directed by Joseph Anthony · 2h 01m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Snake Oil and Traveling Con Man Movies

Leap of Faith (1992)

The Apostle (1997)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

Paper Moon (1973)

Marjoe (1972)

The Rainmaker (1956)

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