The 1947 film "Nightmare Alley" is about a carnival pitchman who becomes a mentalist and, with his girlfriend, become big time stage performers. Later the man becomes a spiritualist minister and tries to trick a wealthy man into giving him money to build a church. The film is based on William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel of the same title. The film stars Tyrone Power as Stanton 'Stan' Carlisle, Joan Blondell as Zeena Krumbein, Coleen Gray as Molly, and Helen Walker as Lilith Ritter.
A character known as "The Geek" plays an important role.

At one point a carnival performer holds up a silver Peace Dollar as part of his act.

A travelling carnival is in operation and the midway appears.

The "Ten in One" is the area reserved for magic acts and freak shows, however there are no carnival freaks in this film.

Zeena runs a mentalist act where people write questions on cards and she she answers the questions without reading the cards. She uses Egyptian images on her signs.

"The Geek" is an alcoholic carnival performer, a "wild man" or "missing link", who bites the heads off of chickens and snakes and is paid with "a bottle a day and a dry place to sleep it off."

Zeena has taught Stanton a spoken code where certain words have second meanings.

Zeena and Stanton have become lovers until he discovers Molly.

Molly is a young pretty girl who wears a skimpy costume as "Electra" who sits in an "electric chair" and allows electric currents to pass between her fingers.

As Zeena's assistant, Stanton holds up a coin for her to identify.

Stanton used the voice code to tell a blindfolded Zeena what item he is holding. The coin appears to be a United States Silver Dollar of the Peace type minted from 1921 to 1935.

Stanton terminates the performance.

A county sheriff appears and tells the manager that he has orders to close the show.

Stanton does a "cold reading" where he gets the sheriff's attention and then telling him things about his life, work, and family.

Molly is impressed by Stanton's handling of the sheriff and they become lovers. They leave the carnival and head to Chicago to put on a mentalist act.

The Hotel Sherman was a real hotel in Chicago at the time the film was made.
Stanton is now billed as "The Great Stanton".

Molly collects cards on which patrons have written questions and uses the voice code to convey the questions to Stanton.

Stanton's answer implies that the woman, Lilith Ritter, has asked a trick question. Stanton tells Molly that he is going to become a spiritualist minister or "spook worker" and will claim to contact people's deceased relatives. Molly doesn't like the idea but Stanton uses love to convince her. Stanton also starts having a nervous breakdown due to stress. Stanton goes to see Lilith at her office.

Lilith is a "consulting psychologist" and she gives Stanton some information about a patient. During his mentalist performance he tells the patient that he sees her deceased daughter. He quickly convinces the woman to donate money to his "church". Lilith then gives Stanton information about a wealthy businessman named Ezra Grindle who is still in love with a girl named Dorrie who died thirty years ago. Stanton meets Grindle and convinces him that he can produce Dorrie from the spirit world. Grindle gives Stanton $150,000 in cash to build a spirtualist church. Stanton takes the money to Lilith's office and asks her to hold it for him.

Stanton convinces Molly to appear as Dorrie during a visit to Grindle's residence.

When Grindle touches Molly she becomes frightened and Grindle discovers the deception. Stanton and Molly flee the house and then separate. Stanton visits Lilith and tells her what happened. She gives him the $150,000 in an envelope and he leaves.

Stanton looks at the money.

He discovers that Lilith has pulled the "Gypsy Switch" and that the bills are one dollar bills.

The bills are standard Mexican Revolution motion picture stage or prop bills.
For more information on these bills please visit: Mexican Revolution Currency Notes

Stanton visits Lilith who convinces him that he is having a nervous breakdown and should be hospitalized. She telephones a hospital and Stanton runs off. He sees a newspaper headline which states that the police are looking for him. He starts drinking and starts wandering.

Stanton, now a drifter or hobo, gives a "cold reading."

He winds up at his old carnival and asks the manager for a job as a fortune teller.

Tyrone Power as Stanton 'Stan' Carlisle
Joan Blondell as Zeena
Coleen Gray as Molly
Helen Walker as Lilith Ritter
Taylor Holmes as Ezra Grindle
Director: Edmund Goulding
Writers: Jules Furthman, William Lindsay Gresham (novel)