The Sting

Martin Hamlisch utilized pre-existing music by Scott Joplin for the 1973 film The Sting. While the movie takes place in the 1930s, the ragtime piano music dates back to the 1890s era. Today I think that almost anyone will recognize the music as it has been exploited as a popular cell phone ringtone. The film doesn’t have a lot of music in it and when it is played it is mainly during transitions. At times the music will fade out when transitioning to another scene, but during others the transitions are cut off. Hamlisch also sped up or slow down the tempo of the music to fit during title scenes and to match the drama of a scene. I only found 2 instances of diagetic music: a barely audible tune played while the men were playing poker, and a suggestive tune during the burlesque scene. The music didn’t seem to fit dramatically with the film though it did help to lighten its mood.