Louisville, KY has served as inspiration for a lot of books and movies over the years. There was a professor who taught at the University of Louisville named Dr. David Maurer, he was an author and linguistics professor. He was an expert on the subject of the underworld criminal language. His book, The Big Con, served as a major source for the film, The Sting. The Sting earned 7 Oscars and starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Professor Maurer was intrigued by criminals and subcultures of our society. One of the subcultures he studied and wrote about were moonshiners and how they used language to infiltrate “dry” counties throughout Kentucky, very interesting. Below is the trailer from the movie “The Sting.”
Interesting fact…The source material for The Sting came from Maurer corresponding, interviewing, and informally chatting with hundreds of underworld denizens during the 1930s.
