The Sting (1973)

In 1930s Chicago, a young con man seeking revenge for his murdered partner teams up with a master of the big con to win a fortune from a criminal banker.

Director:

George Roy Hill

Writer:

David S. Ward

Stars:

Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw

Top 250 #95 | Won 7 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	Henry Gondorff
Robert Redford	...	Johnny Hooker
Robert Shaw	...	Doyle Lonnegan
Charles Durning	...	Lt. Wm. Snyder
Ray Walston	...	J.J. Singleton
Eileen Brennan	...	Billie
Harold Gould	...	Kid Twist
John Heffernan	...	Eddie Niles
Dana Elcar	...	F.B.I. Agent Polk
Jack Kehoe	...	Erie Kid
Dimitra Arliss	...	Loretta
Robert Earl Jones	...	Luther Coleman (as Robertearl Jones)
James Sloyan	...	Mottola (as James J. Sloyan)
Charles Dierkop	...	Floyd - Bodyguard
Lee Paul	...	Bodyguard

Storyline

When a mutual friend is killed by a mob boss, two con men, one experienced and one young try to get even by pulling off the big con on the mob boss. The story unfolds with several twists and last minute alterations.

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Plot Keywords:

con | con man | courier | con artist | revenge | 

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Taglines:

...all it takes is a little Confidence.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1974 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

El golpe

Filming Locations:

Miller Alley, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$159,600,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zanuck/Brown Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Big Con" by David W. Maurer, originally published in 1940 and reissued in 1999, served as the source for this picture.

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Goofs

When Snyder is brought to the FBI headquarters, it is raining. But when they walk inside, their raincoats are dry.

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Quotes

Floyd: Doyle, I KNOW I gave him four THREES. He had to make a SWITCH. We can't let him get away with that.
Doyle Lonnegan: What was I supposed to do - call him for cheating better than me, in front of the others?

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Crazy Credits

The opening animated logo for Universal Pictures is in 1930s style, matching the movie's setting, instead of the 1970s version.

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Connections

Referenced in Hello, He Lied & Other Truths from the Hollywood Trenches (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Listen to the Mockingbird"
(1855) (uncredited)
Music by Richard Milburn
Played at the carousel

User Reviews

Classy bit of story telling

Small time conmen Johnny Hooker and Luther Coleman unwittingly scam a runner for Chicago main man Doyle Lonnegan. When Luther is murdered, Hooker goes on the run and seeks out Luther's old friend Henry Gondorff to help him put together a major sting to take revenge on Lonnegan. However with so much heat on Hooker and the stakes so high can they pull it off and get away clean?

Almost a follow up to Butch and Sundance, this film partners the stars of the day Newman and Redford to good effect. The story is a little less fun but still very enjoyable to watch as it builds to a great finale. The use of chapters ran the risk of fragmenting the film into bits but instead it really helps set it out and makes it more manageable. Although it is not as light hearted and jovial as the theme music suggests it still manages to flow nicely with the slightly darker drama not spoiling anything but only serving to make it feel more grown up.

The cast are all very good and make the film easy to watch. Redford comes off the best in terms of characters and his role really suits both his carefree attitude (the start of the film) but also his more serious side (the rest of the film). Newman has a lesser role that perhaps doesn't suit him quite as well, but he does have several really good scenes (the hustles) where he does very good work. Shaw's accent is a little heavy at first but I got used to it and it worked for me and he was a really good foil for Redford/Newman. The support cast including Durning, Walston, Gould, Jones and others all do good work.

The direction and use of music is really good and the sense of period is well crafted and doesn't just feel like it was painted on. I'm not sure if it deserved Best Picture or not because I don't know what the rest of the field was for that year but it is a really enjoyable film that is quite fun to watch several times even 30 years later – and isn't that the main thing?