The Sting

The Sting was an Oscar winning caper film from 1973 based in the 1930s and centered around a convoluted plot by two professional "grifters" (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss (Robert Shaw). The story is based in part on real life con games documented by David W. Maurer in his book The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man.

Primary cast:

• Paul Newman : Henry Gondorff aka Shaw
• Robert Redford : Johnny Hooker aka Kelly
• Robert Shaw : Doyle Lonnegan
• Charles Durning : Lt. William Snyder
• Ray Walston : J.J. Singleton
• Eileen Brennan : Billie
• Harold Gould : Kid Twist
• John Heffernan : Eddie Niles
• Dana Elcar : FBI Agent Polk
• Larry D. Mann : Mr. Clemens
• Sally Kirkland : Crystal
• Jack Kehoe : Joe Erie

Award wins:

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• Academy Award for Best Picture
• Academy Award for Directing - (George Roy Hill)
• Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures - (George Roy Hill)
• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay - (David S. Ward)
• Academy Award for Best Art Direction - (Henry Bumstead & James W. Payne)
• Academy Award for Best Costume Design - (Edith Head)
• Academy Award for Film Editing - (William H. Reynolds)
• Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation - (Marvin Hamlisch)

Award nominations:

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• Academy Award for Best Actor - (Robert Redford)
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography - (Robert Surtees)
• Academy Award for Sound - (Ronald Pierce & Robert R. Bertrand)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture - (David S. Ward)
• WGA Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen - (David S. Ward)

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