Film partnerships are something that cinema has thrived on throughout the years from Laurel and Hardy to Abbott and Costello. During the early years of the 1970s, two films cropped up in the Oscar nominations that had Robert Redford and Paul Newman topping the bill. An established star, Newman was one of the top Box Office stars of the 1960s thanks to his roles in The Hustler and Cool Hand Luke. Meanwhile Redford was an up-and-coming name who would later usurp Newman as the top draw at the Box Office. As well as sharing this incredibly talented duo; both films are directed by George Roy Hill and often feel like pastiches of the genres they inhabit.
This assertion is certainly true of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, a film that is in many ways a send-up of the Western genre. Unlike other Westerns, Butch and Sundance doesn't take itself too seriously and instead often pokes fun at how silly some of the plot devices in these sorts of movies often are. Incredibly loosely adapted from the story of its titular outlaws, the film focuses on Butch and Sundance as they escape from America and try to start a new life in Bolivia. Butch and Sundance is a film of two halves, the first a fairly standard Western in which our central figures carry out a number of train robberies. After being tracked down by a group of determined lawmen, Butch and Sundance decide to abscond into Bolivia in order to lead new lives. They are joined by Etta Place, Sundance's teacher girlfriend, who realises that the boys aren't going to be able to rob banks in Bolivia until they learn Spanish. The sequences in which the pair attempt to learn Spanish are some of the film's funniest and they lead to some more memorable moments as Butch and Sundance become Bolivia's Most Wanted. I found the romantic subplot of Butch and Sundance incredibly endearing as it's clear that Butch has eyes for Etta. The sequence in which they ride around on a bicycle, to the strains of 'Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head', is a sweet moment in another wise action-packed adventure. Obviously, Butch and Sundance is famous for its closing sequence, a freeze frame shot in which we are to assume what happens to the duo. Though it's clear what the outcome will be, what's less clear is why I grew to love these men who essentially rob to make their living.
Part of the reason for empathising with these bank robbers is due to William Goldman's fantastic script which presents the bank robbers in a vulnerable way. Usually in a western we root for the lawman, but here Butch and Sundance are a couple of endearing figures who are just trying to make a living the only way they know how. Both characters aren't as macho as they'd have you believe, with Butch never having fired a shot in his life and Sundance not knowing how to swim. In addition, it's great to see a strong female character in Etta and it's easy to spot why both men are completely in love with her. I personally felt that the first half of the film dragged, but once the trio reached Bolivia things really started to get going and ultimately I believe Goldman deserved his Best Screenplay Award. Conrad L Hall was similarly deserving of his Best Cinematography Oscar primarily due to the different techniques he employs throughout the film. As well as the aforementioned freeze frame shot, Hall makes the film stand-out by having its first five minutes shot in a sepia tone before returning to a traditional colour print. The scenes in which the trio journey to Bolivia by boat are also well-presented via a series of still-frame shots which almost feel like a set of holiday photos. Another memorable aspect of Butch and Sundance is the song 'Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head' which became a hit as a result of the film and was another Oscar winner alongside the movie's score. I did feel that Katharine Ross was incredibly compelling as this sweet schoolteacher who decided she wanted to live a little and used her gifts to becoming an accessory to a series of bank robberies. But ultimately, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid belonged to Newman and Redford who played their roles to pure perfection. There was undeniable chemistry between the pair that made it easy to believe why these two trusted each other so much. Similarly it was easy to see why Hill turned to the duo again for a subsequent film that concerned another criminal duo, this time a pair of 1930s conmen.
But, whereas Butch and Sundance saw Redford and Newman share the screen, The Sting presented Redford's Johnny Hooker as the leading man. The opening twenty or so minutes of The Sting introduced us to Hooker, a fairly adept conman who pulls of an operation, not realising that he's stealing from notorious crime boss Doyle Lonegan. After blowing the money he stole and realising his lifes at risk, Hooker flees to Chicago and meets up with world-weary conman Henry Gondorff, played by Newman. Though the two are initially reluctant partners they eventually invent a scheme to steal millions of pounds from Doyle, partly as revenge for the murder of their mutual acquaintance Luther Coleman. Both introduce themselves to Doyle aboard a train, using aliases, and manage to convince him that they are bookie and disgruntled employee respectively. After Gondorff, posing as the bookie, manages to out-con Doyle, Hooker convinces him that they can take the bookie to the cleaners by rigging a horse race. From there all of the characters try to outdo one another, with the plot taking another turn with the introduction of Lieutenant Snyder, a corrupt officer who has a vendetta with Hooker. There are a couple of twists along the way that not even I saw coming whilst Hooker finds a brief romance with a down-to-Earth waitress. Just like with Butch and Sundance, the final scene ends with a shoot-out but unlike the duo's earlier film this one is played as just another con.
I did find it odd that Hill recruited Redford and Newman only to have them share a minimum amount of scenes together. Though they're working on the same con together, Redford spends most of his time with Robert Shaw's Doyle and Newman is often seen in another room. When they do share scenes together, their chemistry is still brilliant but to me these segments are few and far between. However, they do highlight how art imitates life with Newman's Gondorff being the world weary master to Redford's Hooker who still has a lot to learn After The Sting, Redford's star would surpass Newman's and sadly the pair didn't work together on the big screen again. As far as the film as a whole goes I thought it was visually brilliant, especially thanks to William H Reynold's Oscar-winning editing as he used plenty of unique methods to cut between scenes. In fact everything from the period detail, to the costumes and the Al Jolson score set it apart from other films being made at the time. Similarly, David S Ward's brilliantly crafted story keeps the audience guessing as we find we've been conned as much as the majority of the characters in The Sting. But, despite an entertaining story and a unique visual style, I didn't personally think The Sting had much going on below the surface. Though Butch and Sundance was presented in a similarly flippant style, the romantic plot involving Etta gave it a bit of depth and made the characters feel sympathetic. Despite enjoying their exploits, I didn't think Gondorff and Hooker were particularly well-rounded individuals and I didn't really connect with them as characters. Therefore I do wonder why The Sting went on to win the Best Picture prize at the 1974 ceremony, something I will address in my next post.
As for Redford and Newman, their careers would take different twists and turns during the rest of the decade. Additionally they would both go on to achieve success at the Oscars during the 1980s, something I'll explore in my first post looking at the Oscar ceremonies from that decade. But for now its goodbye to the 1970s, a decade that arguably had the most amount of quality nominees of all time.
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