The Sting

"You have to keep this con even after you take his money. He can't know you took him."

Small-time con artists Johnny Hooker (Redford), Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones), and Erie Kid (Jack Kehoe) hit it big when they steal from Doyle Lonnegan (Shaw), a tough mobster from New York.  Lonnegan retaliates by having Luther killed and putting a hit on Johnny.  Johnny wants vengeance, and goes to Henry Gondor (Newman), a legendary con artist.

Gondor and Johnny plan pull off the ultimate con: to steal several million from Lonnegan without retaliation.  They pull the best of the best: J.J. Singleton (Walston), Kid Twist (Gould) and Eddie Niles (Heffernan), and Gondor's girlfriend Billie (Brennan), to get the perfect plan.  Conning Lonnegan will be difficult

"I don't know what to do with this guy, Henry. He's an Irishman who doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, and doesn't chase dames. He's a grand knight in the Knights of Columbus, and he only goes out to play faro. Sometimes plays 15 or 20 hours at a time, just him against the house."
"Roulette? Craps?"
"He won't touch 'em. The croupier at Gilman's says he never plays anything he can't win."

Meanwhile, they have to stay one step ahead of a crooked cop, Lieutenant Snyder (Durning), and a blunt FBI Agent, Polk (Elcar), and the killers after the bounty on Johnny's head.


The ultimate con movie.  I could go on and on about this...

A brilliant cast.  While it is ultimately Robert Redford's film, Paul Newman shines as Henry Gondor.  There is an easy chemistry between Redford and Newman, a product of their previous collaboration (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, also directed by George Roy Hill).  Robert Shaw is a menacing Doyle Lonnegan, incorporating a limp (from an injury) into the performance.  The remaining cast is comprised of well-known actors / character actors of the time, who dive into their roles and additional personalities as part of the con.

The script and editing are superb, and keep you guessing.  You will not see the ending coming!  Each section is set up with a title card and an illustration from the film, with the song "The Entertainer" playing throughout.

The costumes are great, by the incredible Edith Head.

An incredible story, that gets better with each viewing.  Definitely worth watching!

The Sting (1973) 129 minutes
Director: George Roy Hill
Starring: Paul Newman as Henry Gondor
Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker
Robert Shaw as Doyle Lonnegan
Charles Durning as Lieutenant William Snyder
Ray Walston as J.J. Singleton
Eileen Brennan as Billie
Harold Gould as Kid Twist
John Heffernan as Eddie Niles
Dana Elcar as FBI Agent Polk