Can a movie made in 1973 be a classic?\u00a0 Hell yeah!\u00a0 The Sting, to my mind, is one of the last identifiable big studio system type movies.\u00a0 Everything about it exudes quality.\u00a0 The cinematography, music, actors, sets, sound and script show attention to detail and professionalism.\u00a0 The only thing that sets it apart from earlier productions is a little profanity that wouldn\u2019t have gotten past the Hayes Code censors of twenty years earlier.<\/p>\n
The plot is grifters versus mobsters in 1930s Chicago.\u00a0 Revenge for a murdered grifter has the two stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford partnering to orchestrate a \u201cbig con\u201d against a vicious mobster played by Robert Shaw.\u00a0 Supporting cast includes Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan and a host of familiar faces.\u00a0 George Roy Hill directed it and the ragtime music of Scott Joplin suffuses it from beginning to end and reinforces the feeling that you are immersed in an earlier era.\u00a0 I cannot think of a false note in the whole movie.\u00a0 Newman is at his best.\u00a0 Redford is very good and Shaw chews up the scenery with his best Irish gangster characterization.\u00a0 His mannerisms are fantastic.\u00a0 One of his best bits has one of his henchmen asking if it\u2019s worthwhile hunting down the grifters who stole such a small amount of his money.\u00a0 Shaw\u2019s on a golf course and he points to another golfer and says to the hitman, \u201cYa see that fella?\u00a0 He and I went to fifth grade together.\u00a0 If he finds out that a two-bit grifter got away with stealing from me I\u2019m gonna have to have you kill him and every other small timer from here to Atlantic City.\u00a0 Yafalla (which means do you follow)?<\/p>\n
The plot is intricate involving Newman\u2019s crew of con-men, Shaw\u2019s gang, hired hitmen from out of town, local police and even FBI agents after Newman.\u00a0 There are twists, turns and surprises.\u00a0 The movie combines comedy, action and some drama in a fast-paced and highly entertaining way.\u00a0 It\u2019s an homage to the gangster movies of the 1930s that feels like it could have been written by O\u2019Henry or Ring Lardner.\u00a0 But there\u2019s a modern feel to the pessimistic tone of the ending.\u00a0 When Newman asks Redford what he\u2019ll do with his cut, he says he doesn\u2019t want it.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d only lose it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Give it a try if you\u2019ve never seen it.\u00a0 Highly recommended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Can a movie made in 1973 be a classic?\u00a0 Hell yeah!\u00a0 The Sting, to my mind, is one of the last identifiable big studio system<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[239,238,237,1],"tags":[43,191,210,215,211,1338,212,214,213],"class_list":["post-1124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","category-classic-movie-reviews","category-reviews","category-uncategorized","tag-movie-review","tag-ocf-classic-movie-review","tag-paul-newman","tag-ragtime","tag-robert-redford","tag-robert-shaw","tag-robertshaw","tag-scott-joplin","tag-the-sting"],"yoast_head":"\n