Get Ready for a Mega Cool Event!
The movie is set in Chicago of the 1930s, and many of the outdoor scenes were shot here (including an effective platform shot at Union Station). We see a big, confused, lusty, brawling city where the big guys with the muscle are somehow always losing to the guys with the confidence angles. Robert Shaw never figures out what hit him. Shaw is a high-stakes gambler who first gets hooked during a poker game between New York and Chicago on the 20th Century Limited. Newman and Redford spot him, mark him and begin to manipulate him. He never figures out they even know each other, and that's part of the charm: They have to play a lot of scenes for him as complete strangers, as Redford casually lets drop that he knows the location of the biggest wire room in Chicago.
The idea, Redford explains, is to allow Shaw to win big on a fixed horse race in order to . . . but the scheme is complicated. Paul Newman operates the wire room. Or should we say it appears to be operated by Newman. Or, more accurately, it appears to be a wire room, because the entire operation is simply a theatrical set, and everybody in the room is an actor, and the "broadcasts" from the track actually are being made up by an announcer in the back room.
It's good to get a crime movie more concerned with humor and character than with blood and gore; here's one, as we say, for the whole family.
The Sting: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Marvin Hamlisch
A&M
1973
Who doesn't know “The Entertainer”? If you don't, then you haven't been doing your musical homework. The theme of the great twenties crime caper The Sting is one of the best-known songs in the amazing repertoire of pre-jazz composer Scott Joplin.
Ferris is a street-wise kid who knows all the tricks. Today he decides to take the day off school. When Ferris takes the day off, so must his best friends, Cameron and Sloane. Cameron is reluctantly persuaded to borrow his father's Ferrari, and together they hatch a plan to get Sloane out of class. Suspicious dean of students Ed Rooney knows all about Ferris, but can never catch him. Ferris' sister Jeanie is also frustrated that Ferris always gets away with his tricks and she doesn't. Furthermore, Ferris is an 'angel' in his parents eyes. It's Ferris' day off, he's out to enjoy himself, and he does!. Written by Rob Hartill
Ferris Bueller has played hooky numbers of times, and this time he's got the entire school and more believing he is on the verge of death. On this special day off, Ferris invites his friend Cameron Fry and girlfriend Sloane Peterson to his day of fun, while taking Cameron's father's precious Ferrari for transportation. All the while, the principal Ed Rooney is determined to prove Ferris is faking his illness and Ferris's agitated sister Jeanie also has a goal to catch Ferris off guard. Ferris enjoys his day with his friends, until the mileage of the Ferrari reads one too many miles driven and Cameron has a blow out. Written by commanderblue
Sorry, there was never an "official" soundtrack to the film - John Hughes (the director) was worried about the mix of songs in the movie being too eclectic to sell as an album. But this is the list of what's used in the movie and where you can find most of it.
Track:
1 (opening, after Ferris psychs his parents)
Song:
Love Missile F1-11 (Dance Mix)
Album:
"Love Missile F1-11" 12" (US), edited for the movie
Artist:
Sigue Sigue Sputnick
Writer:
Tony James, Neil Whitmore & Martin Degville
Publisher:
EMI Records Ltd. / Manhattan Records, A Division of Capitol Records, Inc.
Track:
2 (Ferris is trying to get Cameron to come over)
Song:
Jeannie (Theme From I Dream Of Jeannie)
Album:
"Television's Greatest Hits"
Artist:
Writer:
Hugo Montenegro
Publisher:
TeeVee Toons, Inc.
Track:
3 (the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California)
Song:
Oh Yeah
Album:
"Stella" and "One Second" and elsewhere
Artist:
Yello
Writer:
Boris Blank & Dieter Meier
Publisher:
Elektra/Asylum Records by arrangement with Warner Special Products and Phonogram GmbH
Track:
4 (aerial shots entering Chicago)
Song:
Beat City
Album:
"Janice Long Sessions" EP
Artist:
The Flowerpot Men
Writer:
Ben Watkins & Adam Peters
Publisher:
Fireball Records
Track:
5 (leaving the Ferarri with the garage psychos, heard on the radio)
Song:
B.A.D.
Album:
"Big Audio Dynamite"
Artist:
Big Audio Dynamite
Writer:
Mick Jones & Don Letts
Publisher:
CBS Records
Track:
6 (Rooney stalks - he thinks - Ferris)
Song:
Album:
Artist:
Writer:
Publisher:
Track:
7 (the garage psychos in the Ferarri)
Song:
Star Wars (main title)
Album:
"Star Wars soundtrack"
Artist:
Writer:
John Williams
Publisher:
Track:
8 (the art museum)
Song:
Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
Album:
"Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" 12" single (Blanco y Negro NEG 20T, UK 1985)
Artist:
The Dream Academy
Writer:
Steve Morrissey & Johnny Marr
Publisher:
Warner Bros. Records Inc. by arrangement with Warner Special Products
Track:
9 (The parade)
Song:
Danke Shoen
Album:
Artist:
Wayne Newton
Writer:
Bert Kaempfert, Kurt Schwabach & Milt Gabler
Publisher:
Capitol Records, Inc.
Track:
10 (The parade)
Song:
Twist and Shout
Album:
"Please Please Me"
Artist:
The Beatles
Writer:
Bert Russell & Phil Medley
Publisher:
Capitol Records, Inc. / EMI Records Ltd.
Track:
11 (returning from Chicago)
Song:
Radio People
Album:
"The New Zapp IV U"
Artist:
Zapp
Writer:
Larry Troutman & Zapp Troutman
Publisher:
Warner Bros. Records Inc. by arrangement with Warner Special Products
Track:
12 (at the beach)
Song:
I'm Afraid
Album:
Artist:
Blue Room
Writer:
David Joyner & Paul Mansfield
Publisher:
Track:
13 (at the pool)
Song:
Taking the Day Off
Album:
"Too Much or Nothing" single (US) or "Faults and All" single
Artist:
General Public
Writer:
David Wakeling
Publisher:
I.R.S. Records / Virgin Records Ltd.
Track:
14 (Ferris says goodbye to Sloane)
Song:
The Edge of Forever
Album:
"The Dream Academy" LP
Artist:
The Dream Academy
Writer:
Nick Laird-Clowes & Gilbert Gabriel
Publisher:
Warner Bros. Records Inc. by arrangement with Warner Special Products
Track:
15 (Ferris beats feet for home)
Song:
March of the Swivelheads
Album:
"Jeanette" 12" single B-side (UK)
Artist:
The (English) Beat
Writer:
The (English) Beat
Publisher:
Arista Records Ltd. / I.R.S. Records
Track:
16 (closing credits)
Song:
Oh Yeah (Dance Mix)
Album:
"Oh Yeah" 12" (US & UK)
Artist:
Yello
Writer:
Boris Blank & Dieter Meier
Publisher:
Elektra/Asylum Records by arrangement with Warner Special Products and Phonogram GmbH