Obtaining property by false pretenses is the obtaining of property by intentionally misrepresenting a past or existing fact.
The elements of false pretenses are: (1) a false representation (2) of a material past or existing fact (3) which the person making the representation knows is false (4) made for the purpose of causing (5) and which does cause (6) the victim to pass title (7) to his property [3] False pretenses is a statutory offense in most jurisdictions; subject matter covered by statute varies accordingly, and is not necessarily limited to tangible personal property - some statutes include intangible personal property and services. For example the North Carolina false pretense statute applies to obtaining "any money, goods, property, services, choses in action, or any other thing of value ..."[4] Under common law, false pretense is defined as a representation of a present or past fact, which the thief knows to be false, and which he intends will and does cause the victim to pass title of his property. That is, false pretense is the acquisition of title from a victim by fraud or misrepresentation of a material past or present fact.
False Pretenses is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring Irene Ware.
When Mary Beekman (Irene Ware) loses her waitress job, after a fight with her loutish boyfriend, trucker Mike O’Reilly (Edward Gargan) she stands at a bridge on a windy night, losing her pay check through a windblown and leans over the guardrail of the bridge to catch it.
Socialite Kenneth Alden (Sidney Blackmer) catches her, thinking she wants to jump the bridge. He’s lost everything, which isn’t already mortgaged. Both down on their luck, they assume that the other is there to jump off the bridge.
Instead, Mary has an idea. If Ken sells shares to a syndicate of his wealthy friends, in a phoney beauty product, they’ll have enough money for some clothes to pass Mary off in society, long enough to meet and marry a wealthy bachelor. Then, they can pay everyone back, with interest.
The con might work, except that Ken has too much integrity to marry for money, to Clarissa (Betty Compson) (he loves since years) and, Mary is beginning to see his point, when she falls for Pat (Russell Hopton) who has secrets of his own.
False Pretenses in film, may refer to: