# The Sting (1973), 50 years later; movies that’ve held up well **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 19, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359 "2023-03-19T14:47:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/101 "2023-03-28T21:19:06Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > The part I liked was the two women drivers who would show some cleavage when they were pulled over and get out of the ticket – until they got to Arizona and the DPS officer was also a woman. I think that was _The Cannonball Run_. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/102 "2023-03-28T21:30:31Z")
Curse this failing memory of mine. I had conflated it with the “What’s behind me…” quote. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/103 "2023-03-28T21:36:34Z")
Ok, let’s start trading _Cannonball Run_ and / or _Smokie and the Bandit_ vignettes. Anyone who liked any of them almost certainly likes and remembers all of them. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/104 "2023-03-28T22:17:04Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@DesertDog](#): > > > > The part I liked was the two women drivers who would show some cleavage when they were pulled over and get out of the ticket – until they got to Arizona and the DPS officer was also a woman. > > I think that was _The Cannonball Run_. OMG, it was Valerie Perrine! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/105 "2023-03-28T22:27:55Z")
In the _Gumball Rally,_ two guys pulled up beside the the two women in the Porsche as they drove, and tried a cheesy pickup line. The driver of the Porsche replied, “If you can catch me, you can have me,” and speeds off. We don’t know exactly what happens next and subsequently, but it’s apparent that the guys’ car could and did catch the women’s Porsche. I’d suggest that the “try the cleavage and it turns out to be a woman cop” bit is from _The Cannonball Run._ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/106 "2023-03-28T22:30:19Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > We don’t know exactly what happens next and subsequently, but it’s apparent that the guys’ car could and did catch the women’s Porsche. The Porsche ran out of gas! Almost immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/107 "2023-03-28T22:32:53Z")
Thanks, **Burpo.** Yes, you’re right. Guess it’s time for me to re-watch _Gumball Rally._ Like I needed an excuse. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/108 "2023-03-28T22:42:37Z")
I could do without the motorcyclist, but that was what everyone in school was quacking about. I re-re-watched it back around Thanksgiving. Yeah, it holds up well! How does Raul go off with the beautiful pickup girl (no, she was wasn’t driving a pick-up), make the bouncy-bouncy and get back to his car, which his partner (Tim McIntyre?) has been 200 MPH-ing in the opposite direction all that time? I don’t really care, it’s all in fun. Then he jumps into his car from hers while they’re moving (I think). BAFF! 😅 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/109 "2023-03-28T23:09:45Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > The Porsche ran out of gas! Almost immediately. I thought it broke down for some reason. The next we see of them, one of the guys they had flirted with had helped fix their car. > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I could do without the motorcyclist, Kind of a silly plot thread, but " Lapchik the Mad Hungarian" is a great name for a movie character. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/110 "2023-03-28T23:25:28Z")
I remember _Cannonball Run_ ended in a photo finish, but that the start of the race was staggered with the Lamborghini going earlier than the ambulance. Seems like JJ and Victor had some buffer, but I can’t remember how much. It’s like how _Caddyshack_ ends in a tie. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/111 "2023-03-28T23:49:40Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > The Porsche ran out of gas! Almost immediately. I always wondered whether it ran out of gas or “ran out of gas”. The Porsche driver character made sure that was ambiguous. :wink wink nudge nudge: ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/112 "2023-03-29T00:05:57Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > I remember _Cannonball Run_ ended in a photo finish, but that the start of the race was staggered with the Lamborghini going earlier than the ambulance. Seems like JJ and Victor had some buffer, but I can’t remember how much. A lot. At least 10 minutes by my reckoning. _ **Pamela:** You know what I like best about trees?_ _ **A. F. Foyt:** No, what?_ _ **Pamela:** That you can lie under them on a moonlit night with the breeze blowing and ball your brains out._ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/113 "2023-03-29T00:33:06Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I thought it broke down for some reason. The next we see of them, one of the guys they had flirted with had helped fix their car. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I always wondered whether it ran out of gas or “ran out of gas”. The Porsche driver character made sure that was ambiguous. :wink wink nudge nudge: I just found a clip and it seems the Porsche did break down and the younger woman says the one guy fixed it. Whoa! here’s the clip! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BLWoEnPqtWU/hqdefault.jpg "The Gumball Rally") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLWoEnPqtWU&t=33) > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Kind of a silly plot thread, but " Lapchik the Mad Hungarian" is a great name for a movie character. Absolutely! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/114 "2023-03-29T03:06:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > _Smokie and the Bandit_ Smokey. My favorite movie of 1977. The greatest dog in a movie, ever. Sally Field in her prime. What’s not to love? ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/115 "2023-03-29T04:18:25Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I’d suggest that the “try the cleavage and it turns out to be a woman cop” bit is from _The Cannonball Run._ The woman was Adrienne Barbeau, “Maude”'s daughter. [Stopped by the Police - The Cannonball Run - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCx4Bfk2JYY) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/116 "2023-03-29T05:22:07Z")
Thanks for that, @F.U.Shakespeare. Looks like we’ve got the “cleavage and the lady cop” question solved. But Adrienne Barbeau. Not only Maude’s daughter and an occasional Love Boat traveller, but also Brain’s (Harry Dean Stanton’s) “squeeze” in _Escape from New York_. Which might be another nominee for “movies that held up well.” Yes, it states plainly that it takes place in 1997, and even though we’re well past that and the USPF never formed and Manhattan never became a prison, then if you can ignore that, I find it to be still a gripping, edge-of-your-seat action picture. The year doesn’t matter; the inmates of Manhattan wouldn’t have cell phones or cell service anyway, even now; and if they did have cellphones, electricity to charge them is scarce in their world. Fun Fact: That’s Jamie Lee Curtis who does the opening narration (uncredited). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/117 "2023-03-29T12:08:16Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Smokey. D’oh! Thank you. > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > The woman was Adrienne Barbeau, “Maude”'s daughter. > > [Stopped by the Police - The Cannonball Run - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCx4Bfk2JYY) Officer Smiley certainly had some cleavage of her own going on there. Thanks for the cite. We here at the Dope take getting our facts straight from the source very seriously. No matter how round those facts might be. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/118 "2023-03-29T14:44:02Z")
Or full. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/119 "2023-03-29T21:09:27Z")
I saw the movie in the theater when it came out. The local film chain took the opportunity to raise the price of a movie to $2.00/ Towards the end I was angry because I liked the movie so much and it seemed that Newman and Redford had been killed off. Then of course it turned out we the audience had been conned too. It’s one of my favorite movies. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2023, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359/120 "2023-03-29T22:15:38Z")
Best line in the movie? “Flat rate.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sting-1973-50-years-later-movies-that-ve-held-up-well/981359.md?page=7)