Con Watch: The Sting (1973)

Watched:  04/18/2026

Format:  DVD from the Library

Viewing:  Second

Director:  George Roy Hill

The Sting (1973) reunites the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid team of Robert Redford, Paul Newman and director George Roy Hill for a 1930's period piece film about a small-time grifter who - when a grift leads to seeing the mob kill a friend - teams up with Paul Newman's veteran conman in order to pull one over on a mob boss played by Robert Shaw.

It's a clockwork script that has a steel-trap ending that's tough to beat.  The closest I can point to in structure from movies I was around for is probably the 2001 remake of Ocean's 11.  

There's not a ton of character building in the movie, the runtime spent on the execution of the long con - we don't even see the planning, just the Rube Goldberg plan in motion.  And that's plenty.  Redford gets the most screentime and characterization, but even that isn't exactly a script that makes you wonder how his character grew and changed.  What we see of who he really is feels a little thin, but that's not really the point of the film.  But Redford's charm and Newman's charisma can pretty much carry anything.

It's a tough one to talk about because I sure don't want to spoil it.  But you can count me in on the folks who watched it and had a great time.  That said, I do think this sort of thing has been imitated enough that in 2026, you can spot some of the bells and whistles in advance when in 1973, there was more novelty to something this intricate.

Taking place less than 40 years after the time the of the film's story (1936), there's enough of old city locations left that look right that would now need to be CG'd together here 90 years after the story and 53 years after the movie's release.  But, the combo of 1930's styling, cars, etc... and new Hollywood cinematography and scripting is pretty great.  

Of course all of this is buoyed along by Newman and Redford.  Other notables include Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, and the father of James Earl Jones - Robert Earl Jones.  

If I'm not writing much here, don't take it as a negative - take it as a "hey, there's a chance you're reading this and haven't seen it, so here's an invitation to go watch it".  It's a ridiculously fun film.