The Sting is part comedy and part drama, borrowing elements from multiple eras to create a unique, nostalgic, hybrid world that never existed. The action takes place in 1936 but incorporates ragtime tunes from three decades earlier. Director George Roy Hill convinced composer Marvin Hamlisch to adapt the music of Scott Joplin, and somehow it ended up the ideal choice. Joyful and melancholy. Somber yet syncopated. The genius of Joplin is given a long-overdue spotlight, and in 1973, “The Entertainer” (featured as the main theme) soared to #3 on Billboard’s pop chart. When Hill came aboard as director, he found the masterful screenplay by David S. Ward to be a bit on the dark side, so he endeavored to lighten the tone through stylized cinematic devices and situational humor. Illustrated title cards announce the nine sections of the plot like a silent movie, and their detailed artwork evokes Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post covers from the 1920s. Transitional wipes and old-school, iris dissolves add period flavor to the cinematography and editing as well.

The Sting is the perfect caper story, where audiences root for grifters to outsmart corrupt bankers and crooked cops. A rogues’ gallery of indelible characters operates with the precision of a well-oiled machine. Paul Newman and Robert Redford are paired once more, after the success of 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, resulting in one of the biggest hits of all time. The Sting made $156 million at the box office in the U.S. alone. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $805,703,244 in ticket sales today. Our grifters would be proud.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

It’s a shame that Newman and Redford never teamed up for a third film. Like Crosby and Hope or Martin and Lewis, their on-screen chemistry is palpable. On top of the two stars, a peerless ensemble elevates the entire cast to high-roller status, headed by Robert Shaw, who disappears into every role he plays. A consummate actor, Shaw’s career ended far too soon when he passed away at 51. He left his mark in this film, as well as A Man for All Seasons and Jaws, among others. Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, Robert Earl Jones, Dana Elcar, and Dimitra Arliss also leave lasting impressions. There really isn’t a bad apple in the bunch.

The story begins with a standard con job on the streets of Jolliet, Illinois, and ends with an elaborately staged, phony, off-track betting parlor in Chicago. A trio of grifters—Johnny Hooker (Redford), along with Luther (Robert Earl Jones), and Erie (Jack Kehoe)—pull off a pigeon drop, only to discover they nabbed $11,000 in the process. What they don’t know is their victim was the courier for a notorious crime boss, the corrupt banker Doyle Lonnegan (Shaw), who has Luther killed in revenge for the theft. Johnny Hooker escapes from Lonnegan’s hitmen and from crooked police lieutenant William Snyder (Durning), who wants a cut of the take. Hooker then makes his way to Chicago and locates Henry Gondorff (Newman), a once-great card shark, now past his prime. Together, they concoct an elaborate scheme, known as “the wire,” where they enlist the aid of a large group of con artists to construct a phony, off-track betting parlor. The goal is to lure Lonnegan into their web and take him down. The twists and turns along the way lead to such a satisfying conclusion, it’s not worth spoiling. Suffice it to say, if you haven’t seen this movie, you’re in for a real treat. I remember audiences cheering at the outcome. If you have seen it, it’s still a joy to watch these brilliant players at work.

Robert Redford, Harold Gould, and Paul Newman.

The Sting is total escapism from start to finish. It manages to make crime and conmen likable and even glamorous in a nostalgic era that never was. With a winning cast, a clever script, a perceptive director, and a unique style, it delivers an entertaining yarn that wins audiences over to this day.

The Sting