Set in 1936 Chicago during the final years of the Great Depression, the film is about a grifter who steals money from a courier with his partner only for his partner to be killed as the money belonged to a rich mobster forcing the grifter to team up with a veteran con artist in creating the ultimate con against this mobster. It is a film that is a bit of a revenge film but a caper film in which two men decide to go after a man who killed an acquaintance of theirs as well as using criminal activities to gain influence in corrupting those in politics and in the law enforcement. David S. Ward’s screenplay has a unique approach to structure as it plays into the journey that both the young grifter in Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) and the veteran con man Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) take in pulling the ultimate con on the Irish-American mob boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw).
Ward’s script plays into Hooker’s motivations as he and his partner in Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones) had stolen money from a courier with help from their friend Joe Erie (Jack Kehoe) as it turned out the man was carrying $11,000 that was to be delivered to Lonnegan. Coleman planned to retire with his cut of the money only to be killed forcing Hooker to go to a friend of Coleman in Gondorff who is reluctant to go into the con game due to his own experiences and failures but becomes convinced as he assembles a team to go after Lonnegan. Ward also plays into Hooker being pursued by a corrupt detective in Lt. William Snyder (Charles Durning) as well as people working for Lonnegan even though Lonnegan does not know that Hooker is the one who stole from him. The script is also filled with twists and turns with several of Gondorff’s friends playing different roles in the con including Erie who joins in the con.
George Roy Hill’s direction is rapturous in terms of its overall presentation displaying a period during the waning years of the Great Depression. Shot on location at the Universal Studios backlot in Hollywood along with additional location shots in Wheeling, West Virgina, the Santa Monica pier carousel that stands as Gondorff’s home, and Chicago. Hill maintains a feel of the times in the usage of wide and medium shots to play into the energy as well as the sense of despair that was happening at the time. Even as Hill gives the film a look that does play into that period with its muted colors while he also uses wide and medium shots to get a scope of what it was like in Chicago as well as in the interiors such as a club that Gondorff and his team create to fool Lonnegan. Hill also maintains an intimacy in his close-ups as well as scenes where a poker game happens including a scene on a train where Gondorff acts as a boorish crime boss to play against Lonnegan while also aware that Lonnegan is a cheat. Hill’s direction highlights the detail into how Gondorff would beat Lonnegan in his own game with Hooker playing a role in this con.
Hill also plays into this sense of intrigue that occurs on whether everyone is playing each other in the con with Hooker wondering about its outcome as the FBI gets involved. The presence of the FBI does add more suspense and intrigue with Lonnegan also trying to figure out what to do and who to trust leading to this climax that is all about his own ego and thirst for power. The climax is also about Gondorff and Hooker both trying to understand what they want to do as individuals but also as partners where the stakes are big in terms of the money, they want to swindle from Lonnegan. Overall, Hill crafts a whimsical and riveting film about two men who decide to create the ultimate con against an Irish-American mobster who craves money and power.
Cinematographer Robert Surtees does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its muted colors for many of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as the usage of stylish lights for some of the scenes at night. Editor William Reynolds does excellent work with the editing for its usage of transition wipes, montages, and other stylish cuts to play into the humor and its offbeat energy. Art director Henry Bumstead, along with set decorators James W. Payne and Emile Kuri, does amazing work with the look of the sets from the building that Gondorff buys to create a fake gambling house as well as the places the characters go to. Costume designer Edith Head does fantastic work with the look of the suits the men wear in the film as well as the clothes the women wore as well as the design of the hats in those times.
The sound work of Ronald Pierce and Robert R. Bertrand is terrific for its approach to sound as it is presented on location as well as the way sound is presented from a radio during the horse races and in the effects used in some scenes in the film. The film’s music by Scott Joplin, which is adapted by Marvin Hamlisch, is incredible for its playful approach to ragtime piano music. Notably as Hamlisch brings in that sense of energy and melodic elements to the music, including his take on some standards of those times as it is a major highlight of the film.
The casting by William Batliner and Robert J. LaSanka is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Sally Kirkland as a showgirl that Hooker goes out with early in the film, Ken Samson as a Western Union executive, Paulene Myers as Luther’s wife Alva, Joe Tornatore as a mysterious gunman, Lee Paul as a bodyguard of Lonnegan, James J. Sloyan as Lonnegan’s right-hand man Mottola, Dimitra Arliss as a diner waitress Hooker befriends in Loretta, Jack Kehoe as Hooker’s friend Erie Kid who joins Hooker and Gondorff in the con, and Dana Elcar as a FBI agent pursuing Gondorff. Other notable small roles as members of Gondorff and Hooker’s team include John Heffernan as Eddie Niles who pretends to be a casino cashier, Harold Gould as the veteran conman Kid Twist who would fool Lonnegan as a financier working with Hooker, and Ray Walston as J.J. Singleton who would get the racing results and help make the announcements.
Robert Earl Jones is superb as Luther Coleman as Hooker’s partner/mentor who has decided to retire only to get himself in trouble with Lonnegan and his business. Eileen Brennan is excellent as Billie as a brothel madam whom Gondorff is in a relationship with as she helps Gondorff and Hooker in the con as she also finds way to be involved and outsmart Lonnegan. Charles Durning is brilliant as Lt. William Snyder as a corrupt detective who is pursuing Hooker over some counterfeit money unaware that Hooker stole from Lonnegan as he is also a bully to others as he shares Lonnegan’s views on maintaining power. Robert Shaw is phenomenal as Doyle Lonnegan as an Irish-American mob boss that is eager to become legitimate through his connections as he becomes upset that someone stole money from him as well as endure some humility that he is unable to deal with.
Finally, there is the duo of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in spectacular performances in their respective roles like Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker. Newman’s performance has this air of charm and humor as a man who has been through the con game for years yet is inspired to do this to humiliate Lonnegan who he sees as a threat where Newman also brings a lot of laughs during a poker game where he acts like a buffoon. Redford’s performance as Hooker is the more serious of the two as someone that wants to avenge Luther’s death as well as learning more about the con game where he also learns about the tricks of the trade. Newman and Redford together has this rapport where they know how to play off one another, where they know what the other person thinks as well as the sense of trust that they have in one another as they are major highlights of the film.
The Sting is an outstanding film by George Roy Hill that features the tremendous leading performances of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, lively visuals, David S. Ward’s inventive screenplay, and a fun music soundtrack by Marvin Hamlisch. It is a caper film that is full of energy, wit, and suspense while also being this study of two men trying to outwit a powerful criminal and show him some humility. In the end, The Sting is a magnificent film by George Roy Hill.
George Roy Hill Films: (A Night to Remember) – (Period of Adjustment) – (Toys in the Attic) – (The World of Henry Orient) – (Hawaii (1966 film)) – (Thoroughly Modern Millie) – Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid - (Slaughterhouse-Five) – (The Great Waldo Pepper) – (Slap Shot) – (A Little Romance) – (The World According to Garp) – (The Little Drummer Girl) – (Funny Farm)
© thevoid99 2025
(Co-Winner of the Palme d’Or w/ The Hireling at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival)
Directed by Jerry Schatzberg and written by Garry Michael White, Scarecrow is the story of an ex-convict who teams up with a former sailor on a road trip to start a partnership. The film is an unconventional road movie that pairs two very different men who bond during a road trip as they each look to find something for themselves. Starring Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Eileen Brennan, and Richard Lynch. Scarecrow is an offbeat yet engaging film from Jerry Schatzberg.
The film revolves around two very different men who are both going east as they team up to form a partnership where they deal with their different personalities and desires in life. It’s a film that doesn’t play by the conventions of a road movie since the two leads in this temperamental ex-convict and an energetic ex-sailor who don’t know each other as they meet on a road as they’re both trying to go east. Along the way, the two go into a series of misadventures and stops in a few cities where they both deal with their disparate personalities and goals. For the temperamental Max (Gene Hackman), he is eager to start a car wash business as he had been planning for years. For the former sailor Francis (Al Pacino), he hopes to go to Detroit to meet the child he had just discovered as he joins Max on the journey while hoping to work with him washing cars.
Garry Michael White’s screenplay doesn’t just play into the different personalities of Max and Francis but also these two guys who are likely to be the last group of guys that should work together. Yet, they come together due to the fact that they have no one else to work with as Max is a man who likes to plan things and needs to go to Pittsburgh to get the money that he needs. For Francis, Max is someone he can latch on to as he is someone that needs an older brother figure while Max realizes he needs Francis to control his temper as he often gets into fights which is why he went to prison for six years. Francis has spent a lot of years in sea as he is often carrying a box where it’s a gift to the child he has never known as he hopes to meet the kid and do the right thing. Though there’s moments where the friendship is tested, the two realize how much they mean to each other as they hope to reach the dream of doing something good for themselves.
Jerry Schatzberg’s direction is quite simple as it plays into two guys going on the road from the American west to the east as it’s an offbeat road film where two guys travel by being passengers in other cars or ride trains from city to city. It’s a film where Schatzberg does use a lot of wide shots for some of the film’s locations that is set in places like Detroit and Denver while maintaining something that is intimate with its usage of close-ups and medium shots. The film also has a looseness as it relates to the humor where there’s a scene of Max talking to a woman while Francis is trying to carry a door as he would slip. Schatzberg would also maintain some tension as it relates to the second act where Max and Francis are in prison where the latter befriends a fellow convict where things eventually go very wrong. Yet, it plays not just into the development of the two men as individuals but also as friends where they do whatever it takes to help each other. Even when they’re both directionless while yearning to reach the dream for a better future for themselves. Overall, Schatzberg creates a very witty yet enchanting film road film about two different men going on a journey to find a better life.
Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography as it is filled with gorgeous colors and lighting for some of the interior scenes in the bars as well as scenes set at night along with some naturalistic images for the daytime exterior scenes. Editor Evan Lottman does nice work with the editing as it‘s quite straightforward while featuring some rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s intense moments such as Francis‘ encounter with a fellow convict. Production designer Albert Brenner does excellent work with the look of the home of Max’s sister as well as the prison he and Francis would go to following one of their antics.
Costume designer Jo Ynocencio does terrific work with the costumes as it‘s very low-key and casual to play into the personalities of the two characters. Sound editors Edward Beyer and Robert M. Reitano do superb work with the sound to play into some of the chaotic moments involving the two men at bars and other places they go to. The film’s music by Fred Myrow is wonderful for its mixture of folk and country to play into the humor as the soundtrack includes pieces from Aretha Franklin and Mike Nesmith of the Monkees.
The film’s amazing cast includes some notable small performances from Richard Hackman as a prison officer, Rutanya Alda as a woman in a camper that gives Max and Francis a ride, Eileen Brennan as a woman Max gets into a tiff with at a bar, Dorothy Tristan as Max’s sister Coley, Ann Wedgeworth as a friend of Coley who flirts with Max, and Penelope Allen as Francis’ ex-wife whom Francis is trying to reach as she finally appears late in the film. Richard Lynch is terrific as a convict named Riley who would befriend Francis in the middle of the film as well as gain the ire of Max.
Finally, there’s the duo of Gene Hackman and Al Pacino in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Max and Francis. Hackman brings an aggression and quirkiness to his role as Max as someone that is easily antagonized while trying to get things through. Pacino brings a childlike quality to Francis, who also has a nickname in Lion, as well as someone eager to grow up as Pacino brings a lot of humor to his role. Hackman and Pacino also have this chemistry together that is just fun to watch as they both bring unique personalities into their roles while creating something that is more of a brotherhood than a friendship as they are among the film’s highlights.
Scarecrow is a remarkable film from Jerry Schatzberg that features top-notch performances from Gene Hackman and Al Pacino. It’s an odd yet exhilarating road film that manages to be engaging and very funny thanks in part to Garry Michael White’s script and the gorgeous visuals of Vilmos Zsigmond. In the end, Scarecrow is a marvelous film from Jerry Schatzberg.
© thevoid99 2015
Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry, The Last Picture Show is the story of a group of teens who deal with their lonely surroundings as they also meet aging souls as they would contemplate their own future. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich and screenplay by Bogdanovich and McMurtry, the film is a look into a world where the old values of America starts to fall apart as it’s set into a small town in the middle of Texas circa 1951. Starring Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Timothy Bottoms, Cloris Leachman, Ellen Burstyn, Eileen Brennan, Ben Johnson, Randy Quaid, and Clu Gulager. The Last Picture Show is an entrancing yet somber film from Peter Bogdanovich.
Set in this small yet lonely Texas town in the early 1950s in the span of nearly a year, the film explores the lives of three teenagers as well as various adult figures dealing with their environment in a world that is changing around them. Leading the pack is a high school senior in Sonny Crawford (Timothy Bottoms) who is unsure of what to do after high school as he spends much of his time hanging out at a pool hall, a diner, and other places in his small town with nothing to do. With his friend Duane (Jeff Bridges) and Duane’s rich girlfriend Jacy (Cybill Shepherd), Sonny spends nearly a year trying to figure things out where he has an affair with his coach’s lonely wife Ruth Popper (Cloris Leachman) while Jacy is eager to lose her virginity to Duane while her mother Lois (Ellen Burstyn) warns her about being with someone like Duane. All of which plays into a world of uncertainty in this small town that is just dying.
The film’s screenplay by Peter Bogdanovich and Larry McMurtry explore this world where even though it is set in nearly a year from October of 1951 to September of 1952. It feels like a film that is set into a very different time period where much of the loose morality of the 1960s and early 1970s come into play as Sonny, Duane, and Jacy would all deal with growing pains as they’re eager to leave the small town they’re in. Especially as there’s a world that is filled with so much change that these three want to be a part of but Sonny is still attached to the small town as he is guided by the town’s local figure Sam the Lion (Ben Johnson) who owns the diner, the pool hall, and movie theater that the people often go to. With Duane in tow, Sonny would often get into mischief as it showcases their lack of direction where their friendship would get complicated to do Duane’s immaturity which eventually played into his break-up with Jacy who wanted more.
The script also plays into the role of peer pressure as Jacy is eager to be with the crowd as she would skinny-dip while wanting to lose her virginity so that she can be with a popular boy in school. It would play into her own development as a young woman as she is guided by her mother Lois about the trappings of love affairs and such as well as being with someone like Duane. Yet, Lois is a woman that is lost in her own marriage and affair as it reveals that she did love someone and has regretted leaving that man while Ruth is a woman in an unhappy marriage as she deals with loneliness where Sonny helps her out and lead to their affair. Ruth, Lois, and Jacy are three of four women who play into Sonny’s life as the other is the diner waitress Genevieve (Eileen Brennan) who is a weary observer, like Lois and Sam, that has seen a lot in the small town and knows what is going on as she would also guide Sonny into finding his way. Even if it means leaving the small town that he has lived for all of his young life.
Bogdanovich’s direction opens and ends with this eerie image of the small Texan town where it feels like a ghost town with hard winds being heard and tumbleweeds passing by. It sets the tone of a film where it has this feel of aimlessness but also something that is quite entrancing where it is set in a crucial moment in time where everything is black-and-white with little contact of the world outside of this small town. Bogdanovich creates some unique shots to play into this emergence of a new world of sexuality that is emerging where Jacy is quite hesitant in some parts of the film but is also eager to fit in with the crowd such as the skinny dipping sequence. There’s also some very chilling scenes where Sonny, Duane, and their friends try to get the mute boy Billy (Sam Bottoms) to lose his virginity to a prostitute as it starts off comically but ends up being very somber where Sonny and his friends feel bad about what happened with Duane not owning up to his mistake.
Much of the direction is shot with some unique wide shots and some medium shots plus a few close-ups to play into the drama that is unfolding as Sonny deals with growing pains and temptation as it concerns Jacy. Especially as things become much grimmer in its third act as parts of this small town is starting to die while the sense of uncertainty starts to loom. Much of it would include some revelations about the town and the people that Sonny has known where he isn’t sure if he has to escape or just be part of it for good. Overall, Bogdanovich creates a very haunting yet intoxicating film about a group of people living in a desolate town in the middle of Texas.
Cinematographer Robert Surtees does brilliant work with the film‘s black-and-white photography as it has this very timeless look to the film where it plays into that sense of a ghost town in its location in Texas as well as some unique lighting schemes and such to play into the mood of the drama. Editor Don Cambern does excellent work with the editing as it features bits of stylistic uses of jump-cuts and dissolves to play into the sense of dramatic energy in the film as well as the sense of aimlessness.
Production/costume designer Polly Platt and art director Walter Scott Herndon do amazing work with the set pieces from the look of the town in its desolate setting as well as the pool hall and movie theater while the costumes are terrific to play into the personality of the characters. Sound editor James M. Falkinburg does superb work with the sound from the way wind sounds to some of the moments in the film’s locations along with the film’s music as much of it is played on location as it features pieces by Hank Williams and other artists in country and pop music of the times.
The casting by Ross Brown is fantastic as it features some notable small roles from Sharon Taggart as Sonny’s girlfriend Charlene early in the film, Bill Thurman as Ruth’s husband, Gary Brockette as the popular senior Bobby that Jacy wants to be with, Sam Bottoms as the mute boy Billy that always hung around Sonny and Sam the Lion, Clu Gulager as Lois’ lover Aibilene who would later meet Jacy in a very haunting moment, and Randy Quaid as a rich kid named Lester who would take Jacy to the skinny-dipping party. Eileen Brennan is excellent as the kind-hearted waitress Genevieve who often serves Sonny and the other locals as she would help Sonny around and give him some guidance and food. Ellen Burstyn is superb as Jacy’s mother Lois who tries to warn her daughter about dating someone like Duane as she is embroiled in an empty affair of her own as she comes to term with her own regrets and what she doesn’t want her daughter to do.
Ben Johnson is amazing as the town leader Sam the Lion as this old man that had seen everything as he also displays some sentimentality about how simple things were in the past as he is aware of changing times as he guides Sonny into doing what is right. Cloris Leachman is radiant as the lonely housewife Ruth Popper as this middle-aged woman who has been neglected and depressed as she finds solace in the company of Sonny as there is a moment at the end of the film that is just astonishing as she is just riveting to watch. Cybill Shepherd is brilliant as Jacy Farrow as this young woman who is eager to fit in with the rest of her classmates as she is in love with Duane while becoming frustrated with her lack of prospects as she tries to come to terms with what she wants to do with her life.
Jeff Bridges is superb as Duane as an aloof young man who likes to party and such as he has very little idea into what Jacy wants while being forced to grow up and think about his own future. Finally, there’s Timothy Bottoms in an incredible performance as Sonny Crawford where Bottoms brings a boyish quality to a young man unsure of what to do as he begins an affair with a middle-aged woman while dealing with the tasks he’s given as well as temptation as it’s a truly mesmerizing performance from Bottoms.
The Last Picture Show is a tremendous film from Peter Bogdanovich. Featuring a brilliant ensemble cast as well as an astonishing look and presentation, it’s a film that explores a world that is truly American but cut-off from the rest of the country. Especially in a world that is changing where the youth of this small town is forced to make decisions about what to do with this new world that is emerging. In the end, The Last Picture Show is a phenomenal film from Peter Bogdanovich.
Peter Bogdanovich Films: Targets - (Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women) - (Directed by John Ford) - (What’s Up Doc?) - Paper Moon - (Daisy Miller) - (At Long Last Love) - (Nickelodeon) - (Saint Jack) - (They All Laughed) - (Mask (1985 film)) - (Illegally Yours) - (Texasville) - (Noises Off) - (The Thing Called Love) - (To Sir, with Love II) - (The Price of Heaven) - (Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Women) - (Naked City: A Killer Christmas) - (A Saintly Switch) - (The Cat’s Meow) - (The Mystery of Natalie Wood) - (Hustle (2004 film)) - (Runnin’ Down a Dream) - (She’s Funny That Way) - The Great Buster: A Celebration
© thevoid99 2014
