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
Directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is the story of a pair of outlaws whose notoriety forces them to flee America to Bolivia in the hope of robbing more banks. The film is an unconventional western that play into two men trying to live a good life and make money through robbery as they also endure the changes of the West. Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin, Jeff Corey, and Henry Jones. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is an adventurous and thrilling film from George Roy Hill.
Set in the late 1890s before the turn of the century, the film revolves around a pair of outlaws whose work in robbing trains and banks suddenly takes a turn when they’re being pursued by a posse who wants them dead forcing the duo to go to Bolivia with one of their girlfriends in the hope of escape. It’s a film that play into a way of life and the emergence of change towards the end of the century forcing these two men to find another world that hasn’t caught up with these growing changes. William Goldman’s screenplay definitely play into this air of change though it begins with Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) at a small town where the former is looking at a bank while the latter is playing cards as people know about their infamy as robbers. Yet, the lack of serious work prompts many to question Cassidy’s leadership in the gang he runs as they would eventually find a train to rob. For all of its success, it would be fleeting as a second robbery would be the catalyst for not just trouble but also being pursued by a posse that is unlike anything else.
Butch and Sundance are just two men who know what to do as Butch is the man with ideas while Sundance is a man of action but they still bring out the best in each other as they also have an unlikely partnership with Sundance’s lover Etta Place (Katharine Ross) who knows about their exploits but often remains quiet until she chooses to join them on the journey to Bolivia. Much of the film’s first half is set in America while the second half is set in Bolivia where Goldman play into this idea of uncertainty but also culture shock. Still, it does give the duo an advantage in robbing banks with Etta’s help for some of the robberies where it does bring this sense of euphoria for all three but there’s also elements of paranoia as it relates to the posse that was pursuing them. The third act in Bolivia also play into Butch and Sundance’s attempt to go straight but the notoriety they had created in Bolivia has only created more trouble.
George Roy Hill’s direction is definitely engaging for the way he captures this air of change in the American West and the need for these two outlaws to go to Bolivia to maintain their idea of robbery in the old ways. Shot on various locations in Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California for the scenes in America with the scenes in Bolivia shot in Mexico, the film does play into this world of the American West as a world that was wild and free but a growing sense of law and order is emerging but also the idea that big business can control things. The film’s opening sequence is shot in a sepia-like look reminiscent of early photographs as it play into their sense of adventure but also in being men that are becoming out of step with the times. Then the film goes into color as Hill would use wide shots of the locations along with unique compositions to play into the danger as it relates to the posse that is going after Butch and Sundance. Even as the shot would be shown from their perspective where they see the posse from afar who are a determined group that isn’t fooled by any tricks. The film would also have Hill use medium shots and close-ups as it relates to the conversations between Butch, Sundance, and Etta that add to the sense of character and their motivations for a good life.
The film would include a great sequence of old-school photograph stills montage to play into the journey that the three would embark from the West to South America as it has elements of humor but also this air of adventure until they arrive in Bolivia not realizing that it’s a totally different world with some different rules. Notably as Butch and Sundance know little Spanish forcing Etta to teach them certain phrases during the robberies. The film’s third act definitely marks a shift in tone where it is darker with the added element of violence along with revelations into Butch and Sundance’s own infamy in their robberies. It also include the fact that the Bolivians are a completely dangerous whenever they feel antagonized leading to this epic showdown that is thrilling but also with a lot at stake. Overall, Hill crafts an exhilarating film about two outlaws trying to maintain their way of life in the West and in Bolivia.
Cinematographer Conrad Hall does amazing work with the film’s cinematography from the usage of sepia-like colors for the film’s opening sequence to the dreamy look of some of the exterior scenes in the day and night in the deserts along with some low-key lights for some of the interiors at night. Editors John C. Howard and Richard C. Meyer do excellent work with the editing as its usage of dissolves, montages, and transitional wipes help play into the action and humor with some rhythmic cuts to play into bits of the suspense. Art directors Philip M. Jefferies and Jack Martin Smith, along with set decorators Chester Bayhi and Walter M. Scott, do fantastic work with the look of the farm that Etta lives at as well as the places in Bolivia and the train carts in America.
Costume designer Edith Head does excellent work with the costumes as it play into the turn of the century with some stylish dresses that Etta wears as well as the uniforms worn by the Bolivian police and its military. The sound work of David Dockendorf and Bill Edmondson is terrific for the way it captures gunfire and other sound effects as well as the intense atmosphere of the film’s climatic showdown between Butch and Sundance against the Bolivians. The film’s music by Burt Bacharach is incredible as its playful usage of orchestration add a lot to the film’s sense of adventure and humor that would also include the song Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head written by Bacharach and Hal David that is sung by B.J. Thomas for a lively scene involving Butch and Etta with the new invention in a bicycle.
The film’s wonderful cast include some notable small roles from Cloris Leachman as a prostitute Butch occasionally sleeps with, Ted Cassidy as a gang member who challenges Butch’s leadership in Harvey Logan, Charles Dierkop as a gang member in Flat Nose Curry, Kenneth Mars as a marshal trying to get everyone to find Butch and Sundance, George Furth as a railroad bank worker named Woodcock whom Butch and Sundance run into, Henry Jones as a bicycle salesman, Jeff Corey as Sheriff Bledsoe who helps Butch and Sundance evade the posse, and Strother Martin as mining company boss in Percy Garris who runs a Bolivian mining company that tries to give Butch and Sundance a chance to live a straight life.
Katharine Ross is remarkable as Etta Place as a schoolteacher who runs her own farm as she is Sundance’s lover as someone who isn’t entirely fond of what Sundance does but does join him and Butch to Bolivia where she helps them rob banks until danger starts to emerge. Finally, there’s the duo of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where they both have this air of camaraderie in the way they deal with each other but also bring out the best with Newman being the man who is the thinker and trying to come up with ideas and Redford as the man of action who is also skeptical of Butch’s ideas but often follows along as Newman and Redford are a joy to watch as well as provide that air of true friendship that is often lost in films.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a magnificent film from George Roy Hill. Featuring top-notch performances from Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Katharine Ross along with William Goldman’s inventive screenplay, Burt Bacharach’s whimsical score, gorgeous visuals, and the theme of changing times in the West. The film isn’t just a western that has a lot of thrills but also play into two men trying to hold on to their ideals and way of life before the arrival of the 20th Century. In the end, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is an outstanding film from George Roy Hill.
George Roy Hill Films: (Period of Adjustment) – (Toys in the Attic) – (The World of Henry Orient) – (Hawaii) – (Thoroughly Modern Millie) – (Slaughterhouse-Five) – The Sting – (The Great Waldo Pepper) – (Slap Shot) – (A Little Romance) – (The World According to Garp) – (The Little Drummer Girl) – (Funny Farm)
© thevoid99 2018
