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The Sting poster

Movies that feel likeThe Sting (1973)

A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.

If you loved The Sting, the closest films we have are Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958), A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Mafioso (1962). All three share The Sting's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969).

🍅 93% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. George Roy Hillwittyplayfulgrittycontemplative
9 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium · Criterion Channel

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If The Sting hit the spot, these will too

Big Deal on Madonna Street poster
Big Deal on Madonna Street
1958 · dir. Mario Monicelli
🍅 89%★ 7.9comedy · crime

Both keep coming back to the same thing: heist

The difference: Trades the stillness of The Sting for an angle of its own

Best friends Peppe and Mario are thieves, but they're not very good at it. Still, Peppe thinks that he's finally devised a master heist that will make them rich. With the help of some fellow criminals, he plans to dig a tunnel from a rented apartment to the pawnshop next door, where they can rob the safe. But his plan is far from foolproof, and the fact that no one in the group has any experience digging tunnels proves to be the least of their problems.

A Fish Called Wanda poster
A Fish Called Wanda
1988 · dir. Charles Crichton
🍅 96%★ 7.5comedy · crime

Both are built on the same subject: heist

While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.

Mafioso poster
Mafioso
1962 · dir. Alberto Lattuada
🍅 96%★ 7.6crime · drama · comedy

Both land wit and play at once

When a good-natured factory supervisor living in Milan with his Northern wife returns to his native Sicily, a decades' old oath forces him to fulfill a nightmarish obligation.

The Pink Panther poster
The Pink Panther
1963 · dir. Blake Edwards
🍅 89%★ 7comedy · crime

Comedy built on grit, twice over

The trademark of The Phantom, a renowned jewel thief, is a glove left at the scene of the crime. Inspector Clouseau, an expert on The Phantom's exploits, feels sure that he knows where The Phantom will strike next and leaves Paris for the Tyrolean Alps, where the famous Lugashi jewel 'The Pink Panther' is going to be. However, he does not know who The Phantom really is, or for that matter who anyone else really is...

My Name Is Nobody poster
My Name Is Nobody
1973 · dir. Tonino Valerii
🍅 100%★ 7.3comedy · westernPrime Video

Witty crime, and it commits to that

The difference: Sits closer to western than The Sting does

Jack Beauregard, an aging gunman of the Old West, only wants to retire in peace and move to Europe, but a young gunfighter known as "Nobody" who idolizes Beauregard wants him to go out in a blaze of glory. So, he arranges for Jack to face the 150-man gang known as The Wild Bunch and earn his place in history.

Support Your Local Sheriff! poster
Support Your Local Sheriff!
1969 · dir. Burt Kennedy
🍅 80%★ 7.4comedy · western

Playful drama in both cases

In the old west, a man becomes a Sheriff just for the pay, figuring he can decamp if things get tough.

Police Academy poster
Police Academy
1984 · dir. Hugh Wilson
🍅 58%★ 6.7comedy · crime

Comedy with a pulse of grit, in both cases

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!

Bottle Rocket poster
Bottle Rocket
1996 · dir. Wes Anderson
🍅 86%★ 6.9comedy · crime · drama

Both lean on stillness more than on crime

The difference: 23 years apart, and the 1990s show

Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a harebrained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.

The Lavender Hill Mob poster
The Lavender Hill Mob
1951 · dir. Charles Crichton
🍅 100%★ 7.5comedy · crime

Both lean on wit more than on drama

A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipments of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country.

Hera Pheri poster
Hera Pheri
2000 · dir. Priyadarshan
★ 8.2comedy · crime

Playful comedy, and it commits to that

Two tenants and a landlord, in desperate need of money, chance upon a ransom call via a cross connection. They hatch a plan to claim the ransom for themselves.

The Italian Job poster
The Italian Job
1969 · dir. Peter Collinson
🍅 82%★ 7.2crime · comedy · thriller

Common ground: caper

Charlie's got a 'job' to do. Having just left prison he finds one of his friends has attempted a high-risk job in Torino, Italy, right under the nose of the mafia. Charlie's friend doesn't get very far, so Charlie takes over the 'job'. Using three Mini Coopers, a couple of Jaguars, and a bus, he hopes to bring Torino to a standstill, steal a fortune in gold and escape in the chaos.

Chicago poster
Chicago
2002 · dir. Rob Marshall
🍅 87%★ 7.2comedy · crime · dramaParamount+

A 2000s answer to the same itch

Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Sting’s defining feeling.