See the late master magician Ricky Jay's collaborations with Chicago's David Mamet

Ricky Jay looked like a guy who played scam artists in David Mamet movies — and he did. The magician-turned-actor who died last week was something of a scam artist himself, a master manipulator who dazzled Broadway audiences, late-night talk show hosts and famous fans, including Mamet and Steve Martin, with his ability to do just about anything he wanted with a deck of cards.

Jay appeared in six movies written and directed by Mamet, the Chicago playwright made famous by “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” and “Glengarry Glen Ross,” whose movies often celebrate the art of the con: “The Spanish Prisoner” and “Heist.” Best among these is 1987's “House of Games,” in which a psychiatrist (Lindsay Crouse) finds herself in a seedy backroom poker game with a con man (Joe Mantegna) and a gun-toting cardsharp (Jay). But is the gun real? And why is the doctor there? What's going on? “House of Games” is the kind of movie where nobody can trust anybody, but you can trust Mamet to give you a heckuva ride. It's streaming on Amazon Prime.

As is “Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay,” an entertaining documentary that delves into the history of magic while providing archival clips of Jay at work. Some of those clips may or may not be unofficially available on YouTube — who is to say? Perhaps you'll find the one where Jay deals out an entire deck of cards in numerical order after shuffling it multiple times. Or the one where he cuts an ace out of the deck without looking, over and over again. Or where he throws playing cards into the thick, outer skin of a watermelon like some kind of fruit ninja. (Again, who is to say.)

Jay also worked with auteur Paul Thomas Anderson, serving as cameraman for porn king Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) in “Boogie Nights,” and as narrator for the opening and closing scenes of the cinematic high-wire act that is “Magnolia.”

Jay seemed particularly suited for the latter, in which he narrates coincidences that strain credulity: “This was not just a matter of chance,” Jay says, after telling the audience about a man who was saved from suicide by a window washer's safety net, only to be shot in the gut by an errant blast through a window. “These strange things happen all the time,” he concludes. Jay made a lot of gloriously strange things happen.

Upcoming screenings

The After Hours Film Society returns Monday, Dec. 3, to the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove, with a unique documentary from Roger Michell, the director of “Notting Hill.”

“Tea with the Dames” is just that — a teatime conversation between four British acting legends who have all earned the title of “Dame.” Judi Dench (“Skyfall”), Maggie Smith (“Downton Abbey”), Joan Plowright (“Enchanted April”) and Eileen Atkins (“The Crown”) talk about their careers, their friendship and some juicy gossip for 84 minutes.

Tickets are $10, $6 for members of the After Hours Film Society. Discussion follows the film.

Two days later, the Charlestowne 18, 3740 E. Main St., St. Charles, will present two screenings of the 1947 Christmas classic “A Miracle on 34th Street.” Tickets are $6 for the 1 p.m. matinee and $8 for the 7 p.m. show ($6 for seniors).

• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. Follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.