Nightmare Alley 1947

With a bit of coaching from a seasoned vaudevillian , Stan Carlisle (Tyrone Power'The Rains Came')) becomes Stanton the Great, spiritualist, seer, con man a bit like a John Edwards. His tutor is Zeena(Joan Blondell 'Grease'), a soft-hearted carny seduced by Stan's clean good looks and smooth spiel, seduced into giving up long-withheld trade secrets.

Pete is her partner from the old days, a sad-eyed down-on-his-luck alcoholic whose best years are behind him. Stan's wants to get Zeena to give up the privileged knowledge of their 'Mind Reading act, after an accident claims the life of Zeenas Husband the Pair go Into business, This Noir is about the Danger of Believing your own Hype,
The Origins of the word 'Geek' surface in this film and let me say it bares little resemblance to' Revenge of the nerds' rather that of a frenzied lowest form of Human life ,a zombie fed on alcohol , whos mental deficiency has reached the lowest it can go, it plays an important role in the film, and sheds not only a dim craggy light on a type of macabre carnival life forgotten but the modern practice of taking advantage of grief stricken and lonely people through spiritual means

Top Noir here..

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039661/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1