The Sting Trivia That Will Challenge Even Big Fans

If The Sting is one of those movies you never get tired of rewatching, a trivia round about it just makes sense. It has the kind of story people love unpacking, the kind of characters people remember, and the kind of details that are easy to miss the first time around. That makes it perfect for both casual fun and a real fan challenge.

Below is a collection of The Sting trivia questions to test how well you remember this classic caper, from the main players to the clever details that make the movie so memorable.

Easy The Sting trivia questions

  1. What year was The Sting released?
    Show Answer
    1973
  2. Who directed The Sting?
    Show Answer
    George Roy Hill
  3. Who plays Johnny Hooker?
    Show Answer
    Robert Redford
  4. Who plays Henry Gondorff?
    Show Answer
    Paul Newman
  5. Who plays Doyle Lonnegan?
    Show Answer
    Robert Shaw
  6. What kind of film is The Sting?
    Show Answer
    A caper film
  7. In what year is the story set?
    Show Answer
    1936
  8. In what city does the movie begin?
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    Joliet, Illinois
  9. Which city does Johnny Hooker go to after Luther is killed?
    Show Answer
    Chicago
  10. What is Johnny Hooker’s job in the film?
    Show Answer
    He is a grifter or con artist
  11. What is the name of Hooker’s older partner at the start of the film?
    Show Answer
    Luther Coleman
  12. What is the name of the big-time crime boss targeted by the con?
    Show Answer
    Doyle Lonnegan
  13. What is the name of Henry Gondorff’s girlfriend?
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    Billie
  14. What famous Scott Joplin piece became closely associated with the movie?
    Show Answer
    “The Entertainer”
  15. Who composed “The Entertainer”?
    Show Answer
    Scott Joplin
  16. Who adapted the film’s ragtime music?
    Show Answer
    Marvin Hamlisch
  17. How many Academy Awards did The Sting win?
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    Seven
  18. Which major Oscar did The Sting win?
    Show Answer
    Best Picture
  19. Who wrote the screenplay for The Sting?
    Show Answer
    David S. Ward
  20. Which actor from The Sting was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars?
    Show Answer
    Robert Redford
  21. What is the runtime of The Sting?
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    129 minutes
  22. What studio distributed The Sting?
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    Universal Pictures
  23. What country produced The Sting?
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    The United States
  24. What language is The Sting in?
    Show Answer
    English
  25. Which two stars reunited in The Sting after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?
    Show Answer
    Paul Newman and Robert Redford

Character and cast trivia

  1. Which actor plays Lieutenant Snyder?
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    Charles Durning
  2. Which actor plays Billie?
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    Eileen Brennan
  3. Which actor plays Kid Twist?
    Show Answer
    Harold Gould
  4. Which actor plays J.J. Singleton?
    Show Answer
    Ray Walston
  5. Which character is the experienced master con artist?
    Show Answer
    Henry Gondorff
  6. Which character is the younger grifter who wants revenge?
    Show Answer
    Johnny Hooker
  7. Which character is the corrupt police officer chasing Hooker?
    Show Answer
    Lieutenant Snyder
  8. Which character becomes the target of the elaborate con?
    Show Answer
    Doyle Lonnegan
  9. Which character helps set up the big betting parlor sting?
    Show Answer
    Kid Twist
  10. Which character first pushes Hooker toward learning the “big con”?
    Show Answer
    Luther Coleman
  11. What is the name of the waitress Hooker spends time with?
    Show Answer
    Loretta
  12. What is the name of Lonnegan’s hired killer?
    Show Answer
    Salino
  13. What is the name of the fake FBI man who pressures Hooker?
    Show Answer
    Polk
  14. Who is Polk really revealed to be?
    Show Answer
    Hickey, a fellow con man
  15. Which character is actually posing as the important wire contact “Les Harmon”?
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    Kid Twist
  16. Who hired the mysterious man in black gloves to protect Hooker?
    Show Answer
    Gondorff
  17. Which character is revealed to be more dangerous than Hooker first realizes after they spend the night together?
    Show Answer
    Loretta
  18. What is Loretta’s true identity?
    Show Answer
    She is Salino
  19. Which character runs the fake betting shop that fools Lonnegan?
    Show Answer
    Gondorff, with the rest of the con team
  20. What surname does the skilled con man Henry use?
    Show Answer
    Gondorff

Plot trivia

  1. How much money do Hooker and his partners steal in the opening con?
    Show Answer
    $11,000
  2. Why does Lonnegan want Hooker dead?
    Show Answer
    Because Hooker and his partners unknowingly stole money from one of his couriers
  3. What does Luther urge Hooker to learn from Gondorff?
    Show Answer
    The big con
  4. Where does Hooker first locate Gondorff in Chicago?
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    At a carousel that serves as a front for a brothel
  5. What kind of fake operation is built to trap Lonnegan?
    Show Answer
    A fake off-track betting parlor
  6. What is the main goal of the con?
    Show Answer
    To trick Lonnegan into betting a huge amount of money he cannot recover
  7. What sporting event is used to fool Lonnegan during the big con?
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    Horse racing
  8. What horse name becomes crucial in the final con?
    Show Answer
    Lucky Dan
  9. How much money does Lonnegan bring for the final bet?
    Show Answer
    $500,000
  10. What single betting word causes Lonnegan to lose everything?
    Show Answer
    “Place”
  11. In racing terms, what does “place” mean?
    Show Answer
    To finish second
  12. What happens when Lonnegan realizes he misunderstood the bet?
    Show Answer
    He rushes to get his money back
  13. What interrupts Lonnegan at the teller window?
    Show Answer
    A fake FBI raid
  14. Why is the fake raid important to the con?
    Show Answer
    It distracts Lonnegan and Snyder so they leave without realizing they were fooled
  15. What appears to happen to Hooker at the end of the raid?
    Show Answer
    He appears to be shot
  16. What appears to happen to Gondorff right after that?
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    He appears to be shot too
  17. What is revealed about both shootings?
    Show Answer
    They were faked as part of the con
  18. What does Hooker put in his mouth before the fake shooting?
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    Fake blood capsules
  19. What does Hooker do with his share of the money at the end?
    Show Answer
    He refuses it and walks away
  20. Who walks away with Hooker at the end?
    Show Answer
    Gondorff
  21. What city is the final big con staged in?
    Show Answer
    Chicago
  22. Which two men are hustled away before they can uncover the trick?
    Show Answer
    Lonnegan and Snyder
  23. What is the emotional reason Hooker joins the con against Lonnegan?
    Show Answer
    To avenge Luther Coleman’s death
  24. What threat does fake Agent Polk use to pressure Hooker?
    Show Answer
    He threatens Luther Coleman’s widow with jail
  25. What is layered on top of Gondorff’s main con to help sell the trick?
    Show Answer
    A second fake con involving Polk and the phony FBI agents

Poker and train trivia

  1. On what train does the poker game take place?
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    The 20th Century Limited
  2. What fake name does Gondorff use during the poker game?
    Show Answer
    Shaw
  3. What fake name does Hooker use while dealing with Lonnegan during the con?
    Show Answer
    Kelly
  4. How much money does Gondorff win from Lonnegan during the poker game?
    Show Answer
    $15,000
  5. What crude excuse does Gondorff give for arriving late to the poker game?
    Show Answer
    He says he was taking a crap
  6. What item is Gondorff missing when he shows up for the poker game?
    Show Answer
    A tie
  7. What card does Gondorff keep pulling while showing off?
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    The Ace of Spades
  8. What does the poker scene mainly accomplish in the story?
    Show Answer
    It humiliates Lonnegan and makes him want revenge and a bigger payoff
  9. Why is the poker game so important to the larger con?
    Show Answer
    It gives the con men a way to bait Lonnegan into trusting their later betting setup
  10. What tone does the train poker scene help establish for the film?
    Show Answer
    Confident, funny, and deceptive

Music and style trivia

  1. What musical style is most associated with The Sting?
    Show Answer
    Ragtime
  2. Which composer’s work helped spark a revival because of the film?
    Show Answer
    Scott Joplin
  3. Who won the Oscar for adapting the film’s score?
    Show Answer
    Marvin Hamlisch
  4. What visual device divides the movie into sections?
    Show Answer
    Old-fashioned illustrated title cards
  5. Which artist created the section title cards?
    Show Answer
    Jaroslav “Jerry” Gebr
  6. The title cards were designed in a style reminiscent of what classic American magazine?
    Show Answer
    The Saturday Evening Post
  7. What general era did director George Roy Hill want the movie to resemble visually?
    Show Answer
    Films of the 1930s
  8. What kind of color palette did Hill and his team aim for?
    Show Answer
    Muted browns and maroons
  9. Who designed the period costumes for The Sting?
    Show Answer
    Edith Head
  10. Which Oscar did Edith Head win for The Sting?
    Show Answer
    Best Costume Design

Awards and acclaim trivia

  1. How many Oscar nominations did The Sting receive?
    Show Answer
    Ten
  2. Which Oscar did George Roy Hill win for The Sting?
    Show Answer
    Best Director
  3. Which Oscar did David S. Ward win for The Sting?
    Show Answer
    Best Original Screenplay
  4. Which Oscar did William Reynolds win for The Sting?
    Show Answer
    Best Film Editing
  5. Which Oscar category did the film win for Henry Bumstead and James W. Payne?
    Show Answer
    Best Art Direction
  6. In what year was The Sting added to the National Film Registry?
    Show Answer
    2005
  7. Which organization called The Sting one of the best screenplays ever written?
    Show Answer
    The Writers Guild of America
  8. Roughly how much did The Sting gross worldwide, according to the source summary?
    Show Answer
    About $257 million
  9. What happened to interest in Scott Joplin’s music after the film became a hit?
    Show Answer
    It surged in popularity again
  10. What major reputation does The Sting still hold among classic crime films?
    Show Answer
    It is widely regarded as one of the standout caper films of its era

Behind-the-scenes The Sting trivia

  1. What 1940 nonfiction book helped inspire the screenplay?
    Show Answer
    The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man
  2. Which real-life brothers helped inspire the film’s con artistry?
    Show Answer
    Fred and Charley Gondorff
  3. Which famous actor was offered the lead role but turned it down?
    Show Answer
    Jack Nicholson
  4. What injury of Robert Shaw’s was written into his performance?
    Show Answer
    His limp
  5. Which producer reportedly helped gather period cars for the film?
    Show Answer
    Tony Bill
  6. What model of car served as Lonnegan’s private car?
    Show Answer
    A 1935 Pierce-Arrow limousine
  7. Name one real-world location used in filming besides the Universal backlot.
    Show Answer
    Wheeling, West Virginia, Santa Monica Pier, Union Station in Chicago, or LaSalle Street Station
  8. What kind of street-scene choice did George Roy Hill make to echo old gangster films?
    Show Answer
    He deliberately avoided using many extras
  9. When was The Sting selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry?
    Show Answer
    2005
  10. Did The Sting get a sequel?
    Show Answer
    Yes. A sequel was released in 1983

If you enjoyed this trivia, there is a good chance The Sting is due for another rewatch.

Mira
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