[78-L] Marvin Hamlisch dies

[Cary Ginell]

The interesting thing about "The Sting" for me was how off-base Hamlisch was, timewise, in selecting ragtime for that score. "The Sting" took place in the early 1930s, 20 years after ragtime's heyday ended. Nobody listened to ragtime then, ... 
but somehow, the charm of the music worked perfectly for that film, just as bluegrass worked for "Bonnie & Clyde." Bluegrass wouldn't be established for a decade after that. What is it about the 1930s that filmmakers couldn't get? Would those films have worked just as well if they had used music that was appropriate for the period?
 
Cary Ginell