The Sting II

The Sting II is a 1983 American comedy film and a sequel to The Sting, again written by David S. Ward. It was directed by Jeremy Paul Kagan and stars an entirely original cast including Jackie Gleason, Mac Davis, Teri Garr, Karl Malden and Oliver Reed.

The Sting II
DVD cover
Directed byJeremy Paul Kagan
Produced byJennings Lang
Written byDavid S. Ward[1]
Starring
[1]
Music byLalo Schifrin
Songs:
Scott Joplin
Louis Chauvin
CinematographyBill Butler
Edited byDavid Garfield
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Studios
Release date
  • February 18, 1983 (1983-02-18) (Los Angeles & New York City)
  • [1] ([1])
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$6,347,072[2]

Plot

The Great Depression is over. King of the con men Fargo Gondorff is released from prison and reassembles his cronies for another con, out to avenge the murder of his lifelong pal Kid Colors.

Gondorff's young protege Jake Hooker attempts to pull a scam on wealthy "Countess Veronique," who instead pulls one on him and turns out to be a grifter herself named Veronica.

Coming up with a boxing con, Gondorff's goal is to sting both Lonnegan, the notorious banker and gangster who wants revenge from a previous con, and Gus Macalinski, a wealthy local racketeer. One or both of them is behind Kid Colors' death.

Hooker pretends to be a boxer who is about to throw a big fight. Macalinski is not only hoodwinked into losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, he is talked into changing his original wager by Lonnegan. While one gangster takes care of the other, Gondorff and Hooker head for the train station with a bag full of money, tickets out of town and a final twist from Veronica.

Cast

Continuity

This film's continuity to the first movie is disputed:

  • At the time of the film's release, Director Jeremy Paul Kagan claimed, "The Sting II is inspired by and is an expansion of the first Sting, rather than a continuation. The principal characters of Fargo Gondorff and Jake Hooker are based on two very famous real-life con men, and are totally different from the two characters in the original."[3] Furthermore, the first names of the two lead characters have changed: Henry Gondorff has become Fargo Gondorff, and Johnny Hooker has become Jake Hooker.
  • However, characters in this film make specific references to events in the first film (the entire plot is driven by Lonnegan's desire to avenge his losses to Gondorff and Hooker in the first film), which would indicate this film was meant to be a direct sequel.

Songs

Reception

The Sting II holds a 0% at Rotten Tomatoes.[4]

Music

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for the Best Musical Score composed by Lalo Schifrin.

Home media

The Sting II was released on DVD in 2004 by Universal.

The Sting II was referenced in "The Great Money Caper", a 2000 episode of The Simpsons, in which Abe Simpson suggests that a scam will work because it was featured in The Sting II, "so nobody knows about it", implying that no one has seen the film.

The film was also referenced in "Car Periscope", the eighth episode of season eight of the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm (2011), when characters Larry David and Jeff Greene are weighing up an investment opportunity:

Larry: ...It's a great idea, but really, who is this guy? Why should we trust him? This could be a big, elaborate con game for all we know... You know, look at The Sting. That's elaborate.
Jeff: I never saw it. I saw The Sting II.
Larry: You didn't see The Sting?
Jeff: No, but The Sting II, Jackie Gleason -- pretty good.
Larry: You saw The Sting II? What kind of idiot sees Sting II and not Sting I?
Jeff: I don't remember back then, but I'm just telling you I didn't see Sting I. I saw Sting II.
Larry: You must be the only person in the world who saw Sting II and not Sting I!

References
  1. The Sting II at the American Film Institute Catalog
  2. The Sting II at Box Office Mojo
  3. Gaul Lou. (1983, February 18). "Sequel lacks 'Sting' of the original", Beaver County Times
  4. "The Sting II" at Rotten Tomatoes
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