The Sting – 1973
…all it takes is a little Confidence.
Director
George Roy Hill

Writer
David S. Ward (written by)

Producers
Tony Bill producer
Robert L. Crawford associate producer
Julia Phillips producer
Michael Phillips producer

Cast
Paul Newman – Henry Gondorff aka Shaw
Robert Redford – Johnny Hooker aka Kelly
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
Sally Kirkland – Crystal
Avon Long – Benny Garfield
Arch Johnson – Combs
Ed Bakey – Granger
Brad Sullivan – Cole
John Quade – Riley
Larry D. Mann – Train Conductor
Leonard Barr – Burlesque House Comedian
Paulene Myers – Alva Coleman
Joe Tornatore – Black Gloved Gunman
Jack Collins – Duke Boudreau
Tom Spratley – Curly Jackson
Kenneth O’Brien – Greer
Ken Sansom – Western Union Executive
Ta-Tanisha – Louise Coleman
William ‘Billy’ Benedict – Roulette Dealer (as William Benedict)
Patricia Bratcher – Manicurist (uncredited)
Chuck Morrell – FBI Agent Chuck (uncredited)

Review by Bill Slocum

Everything’s Jake In Second Trip To Well,
The fix is in, the odds are set, and the boys are ready to play for the big time, both on the screen and behind the camera in this breezy, endlessly entertaining movie classic.

Robert Redford is small-time hustler Johnny Hooker, happy to play the marks in Joliet until the murder of his mentor pushes him to go up against the nastiest mug in Chicago, Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw.) Hooker’d rather ice Lonnegan outright, but will settle for a big con with the help of a slightly wobbly but game scammer named Henry Gondorff, played as only Paul Newman can.

Newman and Redford, along with director George Roy Hill, had a lot riding on this pony, given it was a follow-up to their earlier “Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid.” To measure up, they had to produce nothing short of another classic. And so they did. “The Sting” won the Best Picture Oscar in 1973, and remains the sentimental favorite among many in choosing between the two films.

Comparing “The Sting” to “Butch Cassidy” is kind of overdone sport, and tempers, as Lonnegan would say, run hot. But you can see why “The Sting” worked as well as it did by looking at how the director and the stars played it differently within the same basic framework as “Butch Cassidy.” Newman and Redford are again outlaws and underdogs. Period detail abounds here as it did with “Butch Cassidy,” and there’s another memorable score amid the proceedings, Scott Joplin rags modernized by Marvin Hamlisch. The score even produced another hit, “The Entertainer,” to compare with “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.”

What’s different about “The Sting,” and what makes it such a classic in its own right, is the way the stars service the plot. In “Butch Cassidy,” Newman and Redford’s comradeship was the story. Here, the chemistry between the two actors is minimized in favor of spinning a yarn with enough red herrings to feed the Swedish navy. The tale here is better than “Butch Cassidy,” which is a more elegiac film with grander cinematography and funnier set pieces. “The Sting” is an edge-of-your-seat caper flick from beginning to end.

You can’t really call “The Sting” a comedy. Though there are many laughs, especially when Newman hooks Shaw during a poker game, Hill won’t let the audience relax enough for that. What this is is a con game, played on the audience, designed not to cheat but entertain by means of clever hoodwinking and constant misdirection plays.

You’ll get no spoilers from me. This is one worth sitting through with no expectations. Five gets you ten you’ll enjoy Newman and Redford, and a terrific supporting cast (one advantage over “Butch Cassidy”) that includes Charles Durning, Eileen Brennan, Dana Elcar, Harold Gould, and Mr. Hand himself, Ray Walston. There’s another familiar face from “Butch Cassidy,” Charles Dierkop, Flat Nose Curry in “Butch Cassidy” and Lonnegan’s right hand here. The best performance may be Robert Shaw’s; he exudes menace aplenty but some humanity, too, when he takes Hooker under his wing after learning he came from the same hard streets of Five Points Lonnegan sprang from.

Terrific period detail, too. The dialogue is great and feels real in its Runyonesque way, while the cons are elaborate and logically played out. Watching this a second time is especially fun because once you know how the plot goes down, you find yourself catching clues you missed the first time, and enjoying the film even more for them.

Why didn’t Newman and Redford team up again? Certainly there was another good movie for them to partner up in, but as Gondorff would have put it, only chumps don’t quit when they’re ahead.
Review by Theo Robertson
Entertaining,

THE STING can’t be described as a masterwork of cinema but that’s not really its intention. Its sole agenda is to entertain and it succeeds. Director George Roy Hill brings a heavily stylised almost comic book form to the movie. Scott Joplin ragtime score is extremely memorable but the best aspect to the film is the cast, Newman, Redford and Shaw make a good team and it’s sad they didn’t make more films together.

Please Mr Hollywood Producer do NOT do a remake with George Clooney and Brad Pitt. David S Ward’s script is good but it’s not flawless since it contains one subplot too many (The subplot about Doyle Lonnegan hiring a top hit man) which is basically unnecessary and disposable.

All in all a very entertaining film