The Sting (1973) * * * *

Directed by:  George Roy Hill

Starring:  Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Harold Gould, Eileen Brennan

You won't find too many movies like The Sting, which manages to keep everything straight through meticulous, gleeful story construction.     The plot throws you curveballs, then fastballs, and then the breaking stuff.    It is a joy to watch unfold.    How exactly does a poker player dealt four threes manage to turn his hand into four jacks and defeat his equally devious opponent who was dealt four nines?    This is the type of movie where you don't ask because it spoils the mood.

There is so much plot in The Sting that even attempting to recap plot points without sounding either too vague or confused would be a fool's errand.    Let's just say, two con men friends Henry Gondorf (Newman) and Johnny Hooker (Redford) target burly, mean Irish gangster Doyle Lonnegan (Shaw) for a con.    They want to fleece as much out of him as they can before either he, the cops, the feds, or any combination of those figure out what's happening.    We like Gondorf and Hooker and we don't like Lonnegan, so we won't mind seeing him getting his.    There is some motivation of revenge by Hooker and Gondorf, but it doesn't much matter anyway.     We see guys go to work on a villain whom we wouldn't mind seeing brought down a peg, and we sit back and gleefully witness it.

With seemingly endless streams of money in depression era Chicago, the guys go to work, setting up a room to appear as a high class gambling joint where people bet on horse races announced over the radio.    Well, they may or may not be actual races, and as in every movie featuring con artists doing their thing, all isn't as it seems.    When developments occur that may hinder the con, was it already considered part of the strategy to deal with them?    Being a con man involves a great bit of acting as someone else and thinking on the fly as you lure the prey in.    Lonnegan, who is gruff, no-nonsense, and will not hesitate to kill anyone, is nobody's fool, but even he is enraptured by the thought of easy money on supposedly fixed races.

As a fledgling screenwriter myself, I find one of the biggest challenges is keeping plot points straight. Loose ends need to be tidied up somewhere.    How writer David S. Ward was able to meet that challenge with his script for The Sting is miraculous.     He must have given himself a great number of pats on the back.    But what makes The Sting so worthy is how fun it is.    With stylish production values and an adapted score by Marvin Hamlisch (Scott Joplin's The Entertainer is a theme), the movie never takes itself too seriously.    The actors are truly enjoying the experience.    Newman can hardly play any of his scenes without a knowing, sneaky grin.    The rest of the remarkable cast plays it pretty much the same way.     The only character with any hint of melancholy is Redford's, who is lonely and takes comfort in the company of another seemingly lonely diner waitress.    Would it shock anyone to know this subplot also pays off in a stunning revelation?     Not in this movie you wouldn't.