Ocean's 11
Year: 1960
Film Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Length: 127 Min.
DirectorLewis Milestone (1895)
WritingGeorge Clayton Johnson (1929)...Story
Jack Golden Russell...Story
Harry Brown (1917)...Screenplay
Charles Lederer (1911)...Screenplay
ProducerLewis Milestone (1895)
CinematographerWilliam H. Daniels (1901)
MusicNelson Riddle (1921)...Composer
StarsFrank Sinatra (1915) as Danny Ocean
Dean Martin (1917) as Sam Harmon
Sammy Davis Jr. (1925) as Josh Howard
Peter Lawford (1923) as Jimmy Foster
Angie Dickinson (1931) as Beatrice Ocean
Richard Conte (1910) as Anthony Raymond 'Tony' Bergdorf
Cesar Romero (1907) as Duke Santos
Patrice Wymore (1926) as Adele Ekstrom
Review WARNING: Citizen Kane this is not! When Frank Sinatra sang the famous line,
I want wake up in a city that doesn’t sleep from his last great hit,
New York, New York, he may have been singing about the Big Apple, but I think in his heart he was lamenting his love for Las Vegas. It was here in the modern day offspring of Sodom and Gomorrah that Sinatra cemented his reputation as the ultra cool and free-spirited man about town, foregoing society’s moral ambiguities in his pursuit of endless wine, women & song. Along with Dean Martin, Sammie Davis Jr. and a host of boozing brethren christened the
‘Rat Pack’, they transformed the dusty and distant gambling spot into the world’s hottest destination. By the end of the late fifties, their sold-out shows at the Sands were the hottest ticket in town, and as a diversion from the booze and the broads, they decided to make a film together.
The result was
Ocean’s 11, a jazzy crime caper set amongst the nightlife, gambling and sin of the neon city. Never for a moment does this film try to be anything other than what it was intended to be; a cool and diversionary Rat Pack romp showcasing the wonder and glamour of Las Vegas, and as a by-product, luring new visitors to the cash guzzling metropolis. Overly clichéd and campy, it never takes itself too seriously and you get a sense that Frankie and the gang are having fun making this picture. This is what gives
Ocean’s 11 its enduring appeal; it makes us wish that we were a part of Sinatra’s inner circle and lucky enough to live such a hedonistic lifestyle.
Danny Ocean (Sinatra) is an ex-paratrooper from WWII who cooks up a caper involving his old army buddies to rob the five largest casinos on the strip at midnight of New Years Eve. Each of his ten mates is a specialist in some form and he recruits them systematically to insure the job’s success. Sam Harmon (Martin) is a singer working at one of the casinos, and thus the
‘inside man’, yet his true purpose is to belt out a couple of ballads to set the atmosphere and sell the soundtrack. Josh Howard (Davis Jr.) is a garbage truck driver, who also gets a song to sing, but whose true purpose is to get by the police roadblocks with the money after the heist. Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford) is Danny’s playboy best friend, but a bit of a mama’s boy and it’s this character flaw which will throw a monkey wrench to their plan. His mother is engaged to Duke Santos (Cesar Romero), a big time gambler and purported gangster who finally deduces what Danny and the boys have done after Jimmy’s mother tells him about her son’s glory days in the war.
If you have never seen this film and go into it looking for the inspiration for Steven Soderbergh’s re-imagining of the story, you will be sadly let down.
Ocean’s 11 is a product of its time and that means women are
‘broads’ and are meant to serve one general purpose, to serve the booze and to be eye candy for their male counterparts. And it is in this sense that the film has its charm, it’s a time capsule to an era before AIDS, political correctness and moral conservatism. I’m not ashamed to say that I like this film and would recommend it to anyone that likes campy, fun flicks. And hell, Angie Dickinson was one
smokin’ dame in her time.
Ratings Criterion5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.
4 ½ Stars - Not quite an immortal film, yet a masterpiece in its own right.
4 Stars - Historically important film, considered a classic.
3 ½ Stars - An entertaining film that’s fun or engaging to watch.3 Stars – A good film that’s worth a Netflix venture.
2 ½ Stars - Borderline viewable.
2 Stars – A bad film that may have a moment of interest.
1 ½ Stars – Insipid, trite and sophomoric, and that's its good points.
1 Star – A film so vacuous, it will suck 2 hours from the remainder of your life.
½ Star - A gangrenous and festering pustule in the chronicles of celluloid.
