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Fails the Bechdel test

The Sting

1973. Directed by George Roy Hill, written by David S. Ward.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

1 / 3

Fails

  1. Yes 1. At least two women
    9 women characters. 5 of them speak.
  2. No 2. Who talk to each other
    Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
  3. No 3. About something besides a man
    Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

Poster for The Sting

The film

Johnny Hooke and his accomplice Luther, small time grifters, unknowingly steal from Doyle Lonnegan, a big time crime boss, when they pull a standard street con. Lonnegan demands satisfaction for the insult. After Luther, is murdered by Lonnegan, Hooker flees, and seeks the help of Henry Gondorff, one of Luther's former contacts, who is a master of the big con. Hooker wants to use Gondorff's expertise to take Lonnegan for an enormous sum of money to even the score, since he admits he "doesn't know enough about killing to kill him." They devise a complicated scheme and amass a talented group of other con artists who want their share of the reparations. The stakes are high in this game, and our heroes must not only deal with Lonnegan's murderous tendencies, but also other side players who want a piece of the action. To win, Hooker and Gondorff will need all their skills...and a fair amount of confidence.

Released
25 Dec 1973
Genres
Comedy, Crime, Drama
Rated
PG
IMDb
8.2 / 10
Metascore
83 / 100
Awards
Won 7 Oscars. 19 wins & 6 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Hooker 171 lines, man
  2. Gondorff 113 lines, man
  3. Lonnegan 90 lines, man
  4. Twist 44 lines, man
  5. Snyder 31 lines, man
  6. Billie 22 lines, woman
  7. Polk 22 lines, man
  8. Eirie Kid 20 lines, man
  9. Niles 19 lines, man
  10. Coleman 16 lines
Full cast, 62 people
  • Paul Newman as Henry Gondorff
  • Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker
  • Robert Shaw as Doyle Lonnegan
  • Charles Durning as Lt. Wm. Snyder
  • Ray Walston as J.J. Singleton
  • Eileen Brennan as Billie
  • Harold Gould as Kid Twist
  • John Heffernan as Eddie Niles
  • Dana Elcar as F.B.I. Agent Polk
  • Jack Kehoe as Erie Kid
  • Dimitra Arliss as Loretta
  • Robert Earl Jones as Luther Coleman
  • James Sloyan as Mottola
  • Charles Dierkop as Floyd (Bodyguard)
  • Lee Paul as Bodyguard
  • Sally Kirkland as Crystal
  • Avon Long as Benny Garfield
  • Arch Johnson as Combs
  • Ed Bakey as Granger
  • Brad Sullivan as Cole
  • John Quade as Riley
  • Larry D. Mann as Train Conductor
  • Leonard Barr as Burlesque House Comedian
  • Paulene Myers as Alva Coleman
  • Joe Tornatore as Black Gloved Gunman
  • Jack Collins as Duke Boudreau
  • Tom Spratley as Curly Jackson
  • Kenneth O'Brien as Greer
  • Ken Sansom as Western Union Executive
  • Ta-Tanisha as Louise Coleman
  • William Benedict as Roulette Dealer
  • Robert Brubaker as Bill Clayton from Pittsburgh (uncredited)
  • Kathleen Freeman as Kid Twist's Wife (uncredited)
  • Susan French as Landlady (uncredited)
  • Bruce Kimball as Lacey the Bouncer (uncredited)
  • Alexander Lockwood as Landlord (uncredited)
  • Chuck Morrell as FBI Agent Chuck (uncredited)
  • Byron Morrow as Mr. Jameson from Chicago (uncredited)
  • Pearl Shear as Lady in Phone Booth (uncredited)
  • Arthur Tovey as Bank Officer (uncredited)
  • Guy Way as Gambling Den Boss (uncredited)
  • Jim Michael as Bartender (uncredited)
  • Jack Berle as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Nick Borgani as Tailor (uncredited)
  • Robert Buckingham as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Peter Eastman as Poker Player (uncredited)
  • Richard Elmore as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Bob Folkerson as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Sig Frohlich as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Ralph Gambina as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Clarke Gordon as Mr. Lombard (uncredited)
  • Jack Griffin as Cabbie (uncredited)
  • Bob Harks as Pedestrian (uncredited)
  • George Holmes as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Sid Kane as Cashier #2 (uncredited)
  • Mike Lally as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Tom McDonough as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Richard Niehaus as Train Passenger (uncredited)
  • Jessica Rains as Secretary (uncredited)
  • Al Roberts as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Edwin Rochelle as Gambler (uncredited)
  • Clark Ross as Man at Bar (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 137

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 321
4 to 6013
7 to 9021
10 to 12318
13 to 15016
16 to 18448
19 to 2100
22 to 2402
25 to 2700
28 to 30013
31 to 3344
34 to 36250
37 to 3900
40 to 4200
43 to 451039
46 to 48028
49 to 51018
52 to 5414
55 to 57025
58 to 60040
61 to 63028
64 to 66017
67 to 69015
70 to 7201
73 to 75022
76 to 78035
79 to 8106
82 to 84414
85 to 87010
88 to 90019
91 to 93019
94 to 96411
97 to 9905
100 to 102010
103 to 10539
106 to 10845
109 to 11101
112 to 114133
115 to 11765
118 to 12000
121 to 12300
124 to 12602
127 to 12901
130 to 13206
133 to 135019
136 to 13709

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 7 are women's.

48 lines from women, 642 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

9 women and 48 men in the cast. 5 women and 22 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

A woman speaks the first line. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 211 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 5% of the words (461), men 95% (7,967). Women have 7% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit E: behind the camera

2 of the 12 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 10% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
George Roy Hill (man)
Written by
David S. Ward (man)
Produced by
Tony Bill (man), Julia Phillips (woman), Michael Phillips (man)
Shot by
Robert Surtees (man)
Edited by
William Reynolds (man)
Music by
Marvin Hamlisch (man), Scott Joplin (man)
Costumes by
Edith Head (woman)
Cast by
William Batliner (gender not listed), Robert J. LaSanka (gender not listed)

The crew, department by department

  • Sound

    0 women, 9 men, 3 not listed

  • Art

    0 women, 5 men, 5 not listed

  • Camera

    0 women, 4 men, 6 not listed

  • Production

    1 women, 6 men, 3 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    1 women, 4 men, 4 not listed

  • Other crew

    1 women, 4 men, 4 not listed

  • Directing

    1 women, 1 men, 2 not listed

  • Editing

    0 women, 2 men

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 41 on average. Men: 46 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Eileen Brennan 41

Men

Robert Redford 37, John Heffernan 39, Jack Kehoe 39, Robert Shaw 46, Dana Elcar 46, Paul Newman 48, Charles Durning 50, Harold Gould 50, Ray Walston 59

Exhibit G: the money

It made 29.0 times what it cost.

Budget
$5.5 million
Box office
$160 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 137 scenes and 748 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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