Delightful trickster

The Sting is remembered for Paul Newman’s roguish charm and the Chicago of the Depression era. A celebration of violence: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The passing away of Paul Newman triggers memories of The Sting (1973), in which he shares screen space with Robert Redford. Set in the 1930s depression era Chicago, the movie tells the tale of an elaborate confidence trick played by Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) and Johnny Hooker (Redford) on a crime syndicate boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). For Hooker, it is an opportunity to take revenge on Lonnegan who, notorious for his ruthlessness in eliminating those who cross his path, has had Hooker’s friend Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones) killed. Hooker is a small time con man who now teams up with a sympathetic Gondorff, who is a notorious Chicago confidence trickster.... [read full story]