sizzling charisma; taciturn menace

Empire wrote: 
One of those instances where everything good about Hollywood just fell into one place at the right time, it's almost impossible not to get swept up in the

vivaciousness

of The Sting as a whole.  Magnificent, timeless stuff.

Director George Roy Hill and screenwriter David Ward structure the movie episodically,

weaving together the components of the con

into such a beautifully layered web

that the viewer is hooked as easily as the mark.

With true economy of story-telling, Hill

rattles

from one scene to another, the action zipped along by Robert Redford's young buck, Johnny Hooker, and his wily old mentor, Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman).  Both men breathe

sizzling charisma

into their characters; these con men work against such nasty types that they're almost morality Robin Hoods, albeit with their fingers in the coin purse.  And that those fingers tap to a now-iconic ragtime soundtrack only adds to the feather-light comedy touch.

==============
In December 1973, A.D. Murphy wrote in Variety:
"The Sting" has all the signs of a blockbuster.  ...George Roy Hill's outstanding direction of David S. Ward's finely-crafted story of multiple deception and surprise ending will delight both

mass and class

audiences.  Extremely handsome production values and a great supporting cast round out the virtues....

Newman in a somewhat older role than normal opens the door wide to another facet of his career; his relationship with [Eileen] Brennan (in a sensational supporting role) rounds out his characterization of an old pro making his last big score.

The casting of Robert Shaw as the syndicate boss Doyle Lonnegan is a major coup:  his

taciturn menace

commands attention even when he is simply part of a master shot....
Art director Henry Bumstead and set decorator James Payne outdid themselves....
Setting up the film's period from the outset is the placement of Universal's old trademark (the lucite globe design which had been used from the middle '30s to the late '40s).

...The 127-minute film comes to a series of startling climaxes, piled atop one another with zest....it's a pleasure.

...Finally, Universal, which to date has had a record year, continues to hold a hot hand.

==================
On the Chicago Reader site, it says,
Top-notch entertainment (1973), Paul Newman and Robert Redford as penny-ante con men who set up a hilariously complex "Big Con" to fleece Irish gangster Robert Shaw out of half a million dollars in Depression-era Chicago.  The Chicago locations are well used by veteran director George Roy Hill, and the wonderful 30s movie style (lots of horizontal and vertical wipes, flipping screens, irises in and out) enhances the sense of good, harmless, nostalgic fun.

====================

On a site titled Static Mass, filmmaker Ben Nicholson wrote about The Sting, June 22nd, 2012:

The plot sees a young grifter, Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford), playing small cons in 1930's Chicago.  He blows his dough gambling and has regular run-ins with a nasty cop named Snyder (Charles Durning) but when his partner, Luther, is killed after they scam a suit who works for New York big-wig Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), Hooker wants revenge.  In order to get it, he teams up with Luther's old pal, and master of the long con, Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman)....

The Sting sets them up as the master and the apprentice, though they have a very similar drive in their desire to con bad guys.  Neither of them set their sights on Lonnegan as a mark due to the potential financial gain -- they do it because they love it, and because they loved Luther....

Newman in particular makes me laugh out loud during his drunken card game with Lonnegan aboard a train from New York to Chicago.  Knowng they need to ensnare the mark in their trap, Gondorff poses as a rich businessman and buys his way into an exclusive game of poker.  He proceeds to play the part completely drunk, brazen and obnoxious repeatedly belching and getting Lonnegan's name wrong.  ...It just cracks me up when he presses his cards to his chest and looks around suspiciously; eyeing everyone, expecting them to be attempting to see his hand.

The setting's also a real joy.  Filmed on the backlot at Universal, 1930's Chicago is recreated with a lovely nostalgic tinge -- a canvas of browns giving the film a sepia quality -- which is married perfectly with the tinkling of the piano as Marvin Hamlisch plays the famous Scott Joplin tune "The Entertainer."

...It's not about not knowing how they did it, or how it will end, but going along for the ride.  If you've not seen The Sting before, or it's been a while, I suggest you give it a watch; I was certainly glad that I did.

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Part of the fun of these reviews is, the different ideas of what's-up:  was The Sting filmed in Chicago?  Or on a Hollywood back lot?  Seemed like we had one vote each for those scenarios?  : )
Maybe some of both....

-30-