THE STING had the bad fortune of being the film that won the Best Picture Oscar in the year between THE GODFATHER (1972) and THE GODFATHER PART II (1974). Perhaps because of that, this classic has somewhat faded from public view.
THE STING takes place in Chicago during the Great Depression. It is the story of Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford), a small-time grifter who mistakenly cons a numbers runner for the biggest gangster in the city (Robert Shaw). When his mentor (Robert Earl Jones) is killed in retribution, Hooker finds a down-on-his-luck purveyor of the big con named Heny Gondorff (Paul Newman) to help him get revenge.
I won't tell you any more of the storyline, because that would rob you of the opportunity to experience the twisting, turning landscape of the film on your own. Just remember nothing is ever exactly what it seems and every time you think you've got everything figured out, you are wrong.
THE STING has an amazing plot and script, but it also works because of three of the great actors of their generation are hitting on all cylinders. Newman and Redford are outstanding, shockingly bettering their chemistry in their iconic first film BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, which was made a few years previously.
As great as Redford and Newman were, this film seriously demands a reassessment of one of the most fascinating characters in film, the late, great Robert Shaw. Shaw was one of the last legendary hard-living British actors (and he was an accomplished playwright, too). Shaw drank too much, worked too hard, was an insanely competitive sportsman and an over-the-top lover. And eventually, as these things so often happen, he died too young. He had a heart attack in the late 70s at 59 years-old right as his acting career was exploding -- an explosion that can be traced directly to this role. Interestingly, this wasn't even Shaw's greatest film role, his best was as the hardened shark hunter Quint in JAWS. Shaw also played a Bond villain in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, a ruthless hi-jacker in the great, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3, a king in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, the Sheriff of Nottingham in ROBIN AND MARION and a hardened treasure hunter in THE DEEP. His STING gangster boss Doyle Lonnegan is a ruthless, greedy and surprisingly likable character and Shaw infuses him with a surprising nuance. People don't act like this anymore, and that's a damned shame. Robert Shaw was one for the ages.
THE STING is pretty damn close to a perfect movie. It is the type of movie that reminds you how powerful the art form of filmmaking can be. But don't take it from me, see it yourself.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
