Petty scammers

Ray Winkler is a petty thief who recently got out of prison and works as a dishwasher. A cunning criminal plan is ripening for him - to acquire premises near the bank building and, together with accomplices, dig a tunnel to the cash vault. For cover, a confectionery is opened in the room. Ray French’s wife enthusiastically embarks on a new business and achieves tremendous success: everyone likes her cookies, there are customer lines in the store. Therefore, when the bank robbery plan fails, the whole company decides to direct its efforts to the confectionery business. A year later, Winklers are the richest people in New York, but French is haunted by the thought of his own ignorance. She offers a handsome young man named David to become her mentor and teach her manners and knowledge of literature and art. He, feeling the possibility of making good money on a simple-minded woman, agrees.

• The plot of the film partially repeats the plot of the crime comedy of 1942 " Fraud and Co. " Allen is a fan of that film and before the “Little Scammers” he already made several references to him in his work. For example, in his earlier film “ Broadway Danny Rose, ” the protagonist tells the woman: “Your philosophy of life is not philosophy at all, it's some kind of script for the film“ Fraud and Co., don’t you? ”

• 2001 - nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical (Tracy Ullman).
• 2001 - US Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Elaine May).
• 2001 - nomination for the American Comedy Awards for the funniest actress in the movie (Tracy Ullman).

• Small Scammers on the Internet Movie Database
• Minor scammers on allmovie  
• Small Scammers at Box Office Mojo
• Subjective notes about films. Review by Alexey Exler