Ocean's Eleven (1960)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

George Clayton Johnson (story) &
Jack Golden Russell (story) ...

Release Date:

10 August 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

You wouldn't call it a gang. Just Danny Ocean and his 11 pals - the night they blew all the lights in Las Vegas!...

Plot:

Eleven friends who know each other from World War II service plan to rob five of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas in one night...

Plot Keywords:

Casino | New Year's Eve | Heart Attack | Robbery | Ostracism

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 27

5:35 AM

MAX

Cast

Frank Sinatra	...	Danny Ocean
Dean Martin	...	Sam Harmon
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Josh Howard
Peter Lawford	...	Jimmy Foster
Angie Dickinson	...	Beatrice Ocean
Richard Conte	...	Anthony Raymond 'Tony' Bergdorf
Cesar Romero	...	Duke Santos
Patrice Wymore	...	Adele Ekstrom
Joey Bishop	...	'Mushy' O'Connors
Akim Tamiroff	...	Spyros Acebos
Henry Silva	...	Roger Corneal
Ilka Chase	...	Mrs. Restes
Buddy Lester	...	Vince Massler
Richard Benedict	...	'Curly' Steffens
Jean Willes	...	Mrs. Gracie Bergdorf

Also Known As:

Ocean's 11 (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #19613) | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Bob Hope Airport - 2627 Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Dorchester

Trivia:

Sammy Davis Jr., required wooden blocks attached to the pedals on the garbage truck he drove in the film so that he could reach them.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Danny gives his mistress his room key, in the background a so-called professional roulette dealer tries to spin the ball and fails. He snatches the ball out again and fails again. In a third attempt, he somehow makes the ball go around the rim as it should. The actor playing the dealer has obviously never thrown a roulette ball in his life.

Quotes:

Vince Massler: I can't do it. I've got my wife to think of.
Danny Ocean: Think of her rich.
Vince Massler: Think of me dead.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema & the Myth of Cool (2001)

Soundtrack:

EE-O-LEVEN

Ultimate Rat Pack Outing

Ocean's 11 never tries to be brilliant and is only sometimes good. The thin plot is a set up for the "boys" to look sharp (and they sometimes do), sing songs (which they do well) and to show off 1960 Las Vegas (which by today's standards looks pretty shabby).

This is a second rate heist story with a few gangsters thrown in. But after all, we have Sinatra and company. You can see that the excellent film, The Rat Pack, was very right on. Sinatra is his arrogant self. Martin is relaxed, Lawford is suave and the singing by Sammy Davis Jr. is great.

Ocean's 11 is a snap shot of what was "cool" in the ultimate era of coolness. It's all here, the clubs, the Marilyn Monroe look a likes, the flashy clothes and lots of money. It's better than imitations such as Swingers since Ocean's 11 is the source. Of course it includes the legendary bad treatment of women and African Americans. The actresses are either add-ons or pathetic martyrs (Angie Dickinson). As for Sammy, he puts up with the garbage man part, a racial slur (all in good fun of course!) and the self centeredness of these guys. I just admire him because he had to do it, so he could perform.

Back to the "fun". The boys get to be clever, then there's a surprise ending and finally we see them shuffle hung over in front of a casino. Every few years I check out Ocean's 11 not just to watch this silly movie but also to see the rats (or brats?) and chuckle (and wince) at an amazing time in the USA, baby.