The Sting
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The Sting was a 1973/1974 big caper movie based in the 1930s and centered around a convoluted plot by two professional "grifters" (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss (Robert Shaw). The story is based in part on a real life con game orchestrated by "Count" Victor Lustig.
The film is divided into distinct sections with old-fashioned title cards. It is noted for its musical score -- particularly its theme song, "The Entertainer" -- a piano rag by Scott Joplin, which was lightly adapted for the movie by Marvin Hamlisch.
A major box office success, it was the highest grossing film of 1974, taking in more than US$160 million.
A belated sequel, The Sting II appeared in 1983.
Primary cast:
- Paul Newman : Henry Gondorff aka Shaw
- Robert Redford : Johnny Hooker aka Kelly
- Robert Shaw : Doyle Lonnegan
- Charles Durning : Lt. William Snyder
- Ray Walston : J.J. Singleton
- Eileen Brennan : Billie
- Harold Gould : Kid Twist
- John Heffernan : Eddie Niles
- Dana Elcar : FBI Agent Polk
- Larry D. Mann : Mr. Clemens
- Sally Kirkland : Crystal
- Jack Kehoe : Joe Erie
Award wins:
- Academy Award for Best Picture
- Academy Award for Directing - (George Roy Hill)
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures - (George Roy Hill)
- Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay - (David S. Ward)
- Academy Award for Best Art Direction - (Henry Bumstead & James W. Payne)
- Academy Award for Best Costume Design - (Edith Head)
- Academy Award for Film Editing - (William H. Reynolds)
- Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation - (Marvin Hamlisch)
Award nominations:
- Academy Award for Best Actor - (Robert Redford)
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography - (Robert Surtees)
- Academy Award for Sound - (Ronald Pierce & Robert R. Bertrand)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture - (David S. Ward)
- WGA Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen - (David S. Ward)