The Sting The Sting The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936, involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss (Robert Shaw). The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who had directed Newman and Redford in the western "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". Created by screenwriter David S. Ward, the story was inspired by real-life cons perpetrated by brothers Fred and Charley Gondorff and documented by David Maurer in his book "The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man". The title phrase refers to the
Borsalino (film) sales went through the roof. Alain Delon said he wanted a title like "Vera Cruz" which did not have to be translated all around the world. The film was a large success at the French box office, breaking records throughout the country. It had admissions in France of 4 710 381. This made it the fourth most watched film of the year, after "The Gendarme Takes Off", "Atlantic Wall", and "Rider on the Rain". It was followed by "The Red Circle", "MASH", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Things of Life", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "Donkey Skin"