Other mistake: The reporting of the horse race used to sting Doyle Lonnegan stops as soon as the fake FBI agents raid the bookmakers. J J Singleton, who is reading the results of the race, stops when he sees the raid taking place. However, that was supposed to be a live broadcast from the racetrack itself. It should have continued. Lonnegan isn't stupid - he would pick up on something like that immediately.
The Sting (1973)
Directed by: George Roy Hill
Starring: Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Charles Durning, Robert Shaw, Dana Elcar, Robert Earl Jones
Factual error: When Hooker comes out of the diner there is a billboard advertisement to the right. It is for Ezra Brooks bourbon. Ezra Brooks brand wasn't created until 1957.
Plot hole: Doyle attends Gondorff's betting shop three times, and he listens to the announcer calling three races from three different race tracks - Narragansett in Rhode Island, Belmont in New York, and Riverside Park in Missouri. He cannot possibly miss the fact that the same announcer calls all three races! J.J. Singleton, the race caller, has an instantly recognisable voice, and Doyle wouldn't be fooled for a second. Each race track would have had its own announcer.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: There are a lot of things Doyle is processing when he's in the shop. There's a lot happening, and he has a lot on his mind, and increasing pressure and stress each time. It's quite possible that he wouldn't notice the accent of the announcer, something he has no reason to doubt.
Rubbish. During his first two visits, he sits quietly listening to the race announcements. On his second visit, he would recognize J.J. Singleton's distinctive voice and would realize something was very wrong.
Trivia: Doyle Lonnegan's limp was a result of Robert Shaw injuring his ankle. Rather than working around it, Shaw incorporated the limp into his performance.
Trivia: Producer Julia Phillips (died 2002) became the first female producer to win an Oscar for "Best Picture" for this film. The Oscar for "Best Picture" goes to the producers of the winning film since 1952. She shares the Oscar with fellow producers Tony Bill, and her then-husband Michael Phillips.
Trivia: Even though it sets the mood for the film, Scott Joplin's ragtime music was no longer popular during the 1930s.
Henry Gondorff: Pleased to meet you, kid. You're a real horse's ass.
Doyle Lonnegan: Not only are you a cheat, you're a gutless cheat, as well.
Question: What horse actually won the race that Lonigan bets on Lucky Dan to win?
Chosen answer: I watched this the other night and specifically listened for what horse won the race that Lucky Dan was running in. It is never revealed who the winner is, because while the fake announcer in the back room is calling the race, the F.B.I. agents raid the building. During the ensuing chaos, shouting, and gunfire, it is impossible to hear the broadcast over the noise.
Question: If Salino was a hit woman for Lonnegan, why did he put a hit on Hooker, who he was working with to play the track? Also, who were, and why did the hit men arrive at Hooker's apartment to kill him?
Answer: He wanted to kill the man who swindled him out of his money. He didn't know it was Hooker. Same thing with the two hit men, they didn't know the hit woman was working the same hit.
Isn't one of the hit men who got Luther (and who would also know what Hooker looked like) the big tall security dude (on the train) for Lonnigan? I thought he was one of the black and white photos. Seems to me Lonnigan would eventually know that Hooker and Kelly were the same guy?
Question: Lonnegan killed the Currier and Luther, and was trying to kill Hooker. How come nobody was looking for Joe Erie? even Snyder knew he was involved.
Chosen answer: Snyder only knew that Erie was friends with Hooker, and he wasn't on Lonnegan's payroll, just a run-of-the-mill corrupt policeman, so he didn't know Erie was involved. The Courier barely saw Erie and so may not have been able to identify him as well as he did Hooker and Luther, so Erie was unknown to Lonnegan.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Suggested correction: This isn't a mistake. The person "operating the radio" could easily have switched it off because of the commotion. Lonnegan would simply suppose this is what had happened. He is not going to instantly suspect someone is faking the whole thing.