Kickass Movie Scene List #93: The Sting

Two programming notes: first off, I had this scheduled for 11:30PM for some reason, you get it a few hours early. Second, I realize that the titles of these entries was a little misleading - this isn't a list of my favorite movies, it's a list of my favorite movie scenes. Carry on.

This week's final scene comes to us from the classic Newman/Redford con movie The Sting. If you haven't seen it, do so now, it's easily in my top twenty.

We good? Okay, let's proceed.



A Friendly Poker Game

The con starts with a bang. Aboard the lavish 20th Century Limited, Henry Gondorff (Newman) poses as Shaw, an annoying drunken bookie. He elbows his way into a private poker game run by the mark. First, he finds out exactly who he's dealing with - while acting like a annoying drunk.

The play is to really make Lonnegan hate him, leaving him open to a con where Lonnegan will try to get even.

The best way to do this? Out-cheat the cheater, of course.


The entire scene crackles with tension. Lonnegan already hates 'Shaw' about 30 seconds into the game, but after the cheat? He wants blood. The way that Newman seals the deal by switching from the gin-swilling jerk to the dead serious "you won't be able to get a game of jacks!" hustler is fantastic. Truly must-watch stuff.