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The Sting
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The Sting (1973) More at IMDbPro »

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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.
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.
The Sting (1973) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)
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Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
George Roy Hill
Writer (WGA):
David S. Ward (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Sting on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 January 1974 (Argentina) more
Genre:
Comedy | Crime | Drama more
Tagline:
Recapture "the STING Experience". REMEMBER HOW GOOD THE FEEL WAS THE FIRST TIME (re-release) more
Plot:
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 7 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 6 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(42 articles)
Marvin Hamlisch Talks 'The Informant' and his Return to Film Scoring with Variety
 (From BroadwayWorld.com. 17 November 2009, 10:47 AM, PST)
AFI Fest 2009: Something’S Gonna Live, North By Northwest
 (From Alternative Film Guide. 26 October 2009, 12:41 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Everything's Jake In Second Trip To Well more (181 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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 the 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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patricia Bratcher ... Manicurist (uncredited)
Susan French ... Landlady (uncredited)
Bruce Kimball ... Lacey the Bouncer (uncredited)
Chuck Morrell ... FBI Agent Chuck (uncredited)
Guy Way ... Gambling Den Boss (uncredited)
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Directed by
George Roy Hill 
 
Writing credits
(WGA)
David S. Ward (written by)

Produced by
Tony Bill .... producer
Robert Crawford Jr. .... associate producer (as Robert L. Crawford)
Julia Phillips .... producer
Michael Phillips .... producer
 
Cinematography by
Robert Surtees (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
William Reynolds 
 
Art Direction by
Henry Bumstead 
 
Set Decoration by
James W. Payne  (as James Payne)
 
Makeup Department
Jim Gillespie .... assistant makeup artist (uncredited)
 
Production Management
Ernest B. Wehmeyer .... production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Dismukes .... second assistant director
Ray Gosnell Jr. .... first assistant director (as Ray Gosnell)
Sergio Emmanuele Anastasio .... trainee assistant director (uncredited)
John Slosser .... dga trainee (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Robert R. Bertrand .... sound (as Robert Bertrand)
Ronald Pierce .... sound
Michael Colomby .... sound re-recording mixer: restoration remix (uncredited)
 
Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock .... special photographic effects
 
Stunts
Steven Burnett .... stunts (uncredited)
Mickey Gilbert .... stunts (uncredited)
Scott Gourlay .... stunts (uncredited)
John Moio .... stunts (uncredited)
Dean Smith .... stunt double (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head .... costumes
Andrea E. Weaver .... costumer: women (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Marvin Hamlisch .... music adaptor
Scott Joplin .... composer: piano rags
Billy Byers .... music arranger (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Charlsie Bryant .... script supervisor
Jaroslav Gebr .... title artwork
John Scarne .... technical consultant
John Longenecker .... intern: AFI (uncredited)
Eileen Peterson .... unit publicist (uncredited)
John Scarne .... card dealer double: Paul Newman's hands close-ups (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
129 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
UK:A (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:PG (video rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | South Korea:15 | Brazil:Livre | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1974) | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12
Filming Locations:
Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA more
Company:
Zanuck/Brown Productions more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Richard Boone was the first choice for the role of Lonnegan. Oliver Reed was offered the role but refused to test for it (he would later play Lonnegan in the sequel). Stephen Boyd was also considered. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: There's a double yellow line in the street outside the merry-go-round, just after Hooker arrives in Chicago. more
Quotes:
Henry Gondorff: What's your problem?
Doyle Lonnegan: I'm putting half a million dollars on Lucky Dan to win, third race at Riverside Park.
Henry Gondorff: Can't lay that off in time. A bet like that could break us.
[Hooker stares at him incredulously]
Doyle Lonnegan: Not only are you a cheat, you're a gutless cheat as well.
Henry Gondorff: What are the odds?
Eddie Niles: Four to one.
Henry Gondorff: Take all of it!
more
Movie Connections:
Spoofed in "The Simpsons: Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington (#3.2)" (1991) more
Soundtrack:
RAG TIME DANCE more

FAQ

What part did the Erie Kid play in the first con that earned him a share of the money?
Any recommendations for movies similar to "The Sting"?
Why didn't Lonegan know who Hooker was, despite having ordered him killed?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
53 out of 68 people found the following comment useful.
Everything's Jake In Second Trip To Well, 29 December 2004
9/10
Author: Bill Slocum (slokes@optonline.net) from Norwalk, CT USA

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.

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