Cinema Sunday: The Sting

After three weeks and four movies, this week Cinema Sunday's "Journeys to Past & Future" looks back to the past to the year 1936 during the Great Depression.  

The Sting is a 1973 American caper film about a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss (Robert Shaw).

The "sting" is the moment when a con artist finishes the "play" and takes the mark's money. If a con is successful, the mark does not realize he has been cheated until the con men are long gone, if at all. 

In Joliet, Illinois,  Johnny Hooker cons $11,000 in cash from an unsuspecting victim with the help of his Luther Coleman. 

Unfortunately, Hook's mark was a numbers racket courier for vicious crime boss Doyle Lonnegan who ain't about to let the theft of even a measly $11,000 go unanswered. 

Lonnegan's men murder both the courier and Luther, and Hooker flees for his life to Chicago.

Hooker finds Gondorff, a once-great con man now hiding from the FBI, and asks for his help in taking on Lonnegan. Gondorff reluctantly agrees to help. 

Lonnegan is coming to Chicago but the long con begins before he's in the city limits.  Going by the name of Shaw, Gondorff cons his way into a high stakes poker game on Lonnegan's train.  "Shaw" is an irritating fucker who gets under Lonnegan's skin even before he takes him for $15,000.  

Lonnegan doesn't know what Hooker looks like it's his turn to prime the pump for the con. Identifying himself as "Kelly", a disgruntled employee of Shaw's, he reveals to Lonnegan to the extent of Shaw's criminal operations and his desire to take the asshole down. 

So here's the deal, sparky: Gondorff and his extended crew has created a phony off-track betting parlor that "Shaw" owns and operates.  "Kelly" tells Lonnegan he has a contact in the Chicago Western Union who feeds him the results of horse races before they are known in the parlor. "Kelly" doesn't have enough dough to place bets big enough to really hurt "Shaw" and put him out of business. 

Which is where Lonnegan comes in.  

Lonnegan wants some proof of what "Kelly" is selling so there's a lot of hustling and finagling to show off a bustling gambling parlor and the Western Union office where "Kelly" gets is inside scoop.  

Meanwhile the heat is still on for Hooker.

1) Cop from Joliet is looking to bust him.

2) Lonnegan's got hired killers looking for Hooker. 

3) The damn FBI enters the picture, wanting Hooker to roll over on Gondorff so the feds can finally  bust him. 

4) Hooker as "Kelly" is dancing as fast as he can to keep Lonnegan on the hook for the long con.

Hooker is under a lot of pressure.  

As to what happens next, well...

You just need to watch the damn movie.

The Sting is a fun ride as characters duck and weave around the truth, shifting identities and making complex plans. 

I will spoil this much: Lonnegan gets fucked. That's not a really big surprise but the fun is watching this multi-facteted long con unfold. 

Robert Redford is absolutely charming as Hooker, free wheeling and living too close the edge. Paul Newman as Gondorff is essentially Hooker but older, a bit worn down but damn if he can't resist one last con. 

If you like a comic crime caper where the criminals are the heroes, The Sting is absolutely perfect. 

Next week, Cinema Sunday moves back to the future with a  movie that presents the end of the world and answers the question, "What happens next?"