The 1947 film "Nightmare Alley", shows a carnival performer holding a silver dollar as part of his act. The film is based on William Lindsay Gresham's 1944 novel of the same title. A carnival worker becomes a mentalist and, with his girlfriend, become big time stage performers. Later he become a spiritualist minister and tries to trick a wealthy man into giving him money to build a church. 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.

The film stars Tyrone Power as Stanton Carlisle, Joan Blondell as Zeena Krumbein, Coleen Gray as Molly, Helen Walker as Dr. Lilith Ritter. The book and film introduced the slang word "Geek", an alcoholic carnival performer "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." The Geek is the underlying character of the film, which asks the question: "How does a man become a Geek?" Stanton Carlisle finds out. Stanton Carlisle works for a travelling carnival in the 1930's. Zeena Krumbein is a fortune teller who Stanton works with. Molly is a young pretty girl who wears a skimpy costume as "Electric Girl." Zeena and her husband Peter know a voice code, however, Peter is a drunkard who can no longer work. Stanton gets Peter drunk and Peter does a "cold reading" on Stanton which greatly impresses him. Peter dies and Zeena teaches Stanton and Molly the code. Stanton works briefly with Zenna, but then he and Molly head for Chicago's Sherman Hotel to put on a mentalist act, using the voice code. Stanton tells Zeena that he was destined for the "big time", "I was made for it." Stanton then becomes a spiritualist minister or "spook worker" and convinces some wealthy people that he can contact their deceased relatives. Stanton has been seeing Dr. Lilith Ritter, a psychologist, who gives him personal information on some of her patients. He tries his scheme on Mr. Grindle, using Molly to impersonate Grindle's secret lost girlfriend. Molly is reluctant to do the impersonation and Grindle is not fooled. Stanton runs away, leaving Molly, sees Lilith, leaves with some cash, and discovers that Lilith has swapped small notes for the large ones, leaving him a few hundred dollars. Stanton starts drinking, becomes a hobo, and winds up at a travelling carnival. He asks for a job and the manager offers him a position as a geek. Stanton replies "I was made for it."

Stanton uses the voice code to tell blindfolded Zeena what is in his hand. It appears to be a United States Silver Dollar Peace type, made from 1921 to 1935.

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

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