Hoping that box-office lighting might strike twice, George Roy Hill again joined forces with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who star as con men Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker in THE STING. In the Chicago of the 1930s, Johnny's partner, Luther (Robert Earl Jones), is fatally wounded by a victim of one of their scams who turns out to be powerful syndicate boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Eager for revenge, Johnny takes a tip from his dying partner and seeks out mutual friend Gondorff, a consummate master of the long con. Gondorff rouses himself from his alcoholic inertia and agrees to help Johnny take down the despicable Lonnegan, conscripting an army of grifters ready to avenge their friend's death. The labyrinthine plot, which is stuffed with false leads, red herrings, and a double-cross-a-minute, involves a fake bookie joint, a very persistent FBI agent, a bunch of corrupt cops, and one shifty dame. An extremely entertaining film, the Oscar-winning film transcends the genre through the superb acting of the three leads, the keen attention to the re-creation of period detail, and a fiendishly intricate script that cons audiences completely. The wonderful score, which became immensely popular, featured Marvin Hamlisch's orchestral transcriptions of Scott Joplin's piano rags; the film led to a revival of interest in the composer. The film is one of the most entertaining films of the 1970s and lives up to its hype on repeat viewings.
These things rarely come off, but the reteaming of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford and their director George Roy Hill proved to be a glorious triumph, and this period romp raced away with seven Oscars. Newman and Redford play conmen who, after the death of an old chum, set about fleecing dangerous mobster Robert Shaw out of a fortune. The sting itself is as audacious as it is elaborate, but the real pleasure comes from the easy, charismatic playing of the two leads, the lovingly created 1930s settings and Marvin Hamlisch's inspired reworking of Scott Joplin's music. The excellent supporting cast includes Charles Durning, Eileen Brennan and Ray Walston.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Bright, likeable, but overlong, unconvincingly studio-set and casually developed comedy suspenser cashing in on star charisma but riding to enormous success chiefly on its tinkly music and the general lack of simple entertainment.
Radio Times
Halliwell's Film Guide
