Ocean's Eleven (1960) Reviews

• "Ocean's Eleven" could never be made again...

  Nazi_Fighter_David2002-02-19

  The only real pleasure in "Ocean's Eleven" is being let into the Rat Pack circle for a couple of hours... The film stops all too frequently for guest spots and in-jokes, with a slow first hour... Compared to Jules Dassin's 'Rififi,' or to Phil Karlson's 'Five Against the House,' it pales considerably... 'Ocean's Eleven' is a weak heist film with the emphasis firmly on light humor, and few diverting escapades, but nobody cares because the cast includes the biggest stars of the day (Frankie, Dino, Sammy etc...), burning the motion picture into the collective memory of the public as the first to showcase Hollywood's notorious Rat Pack... 'Ocean's Eleven' is a buddy movie made with real buddies, and it's fun... It in't supposed to be very good... It is supposed to be cool... A playground for legendary entertainers, these guys knew how to get the job done, to pause only to knock back innumerable Whisky sodas, wear their tuxedo, hang out in bars, talk the talk, belt out a couple of classy little numbers, and have a great sense of fun together on screen... And this fun filtered off the silver screen and into the audience like a tasty appetizer before the main course... Old Blue Eyes is the mastermind of the heist... He is carrying out a plan originated by racketeer Spyros Acebos where five gambling casinos (Sahara, Riviera, Desert Inn, The Sand and The Flamingo) will be robbed simultaneously at midnight on New Year's celebration... During the week before Christmas, the 'special combat team' (all experts in one thing and another) arrive in Las Vegas, for the job-of-a-lifetime... The scheme of the robbery is ingenious, requiring military precision and perfect timing... An electrical tower will be blown up to black out the whole town... The swag will be deposited in garbage cans outside the casinos, and the cans will be collected by a disposal truck... On New Year's Eve, the hold-up goes off beautifully, exactly as planned... Only one of the men has a heart attack on the street and collapses... The gang cannot get the multi-million loot out of Las Vegas but they manage to hide it in some place, unknown to them, however, that 'someone' was preparing for them all a nice wry outcome... Dean Martin, the eternal essence of cool, is the entertainer who sings "Ain't That a Kick in the Head,' and Sammy Davis Jr. is the perennial icon of cool who sings "EEO-Eleven.' Peter Lawford is the playboy with one objective and one mission: To hit Las Vegas, Nevada! Angie Dickinson is the understanding wife, discreet, feminine and chic... Unfortunately the camera does not especially flatter her looks... Richard Conte is the master electrician dying of cancer, who needs to leave some cash for his kid's college... Cesar Romero is coldly menacing and very amusing: 'They shouldn't have done it while I was in town. It's embarrassing!' George Raft is the mob with the best deal to get the money back... Akim Tamiroff is hilariously neurotic as the master planner... Buddy Lester wants to get his wife out of stripping... Shirley MacLaine is the drunk gal in urge for a little kiss in a critical moment... Red Skelton is the unlucky player, arguing with the casino cashier how to raise his gambling limit... "Ocean's Eleven" could never be made again... The new 'Ocean's Eleven,' 2001 is considerably different in the details.. After all, there was only 'one' Rat Pack, and if the Ocean's Eleven of 1960 is anything, it is certainly a Rat Pack movie... So if you still have a strange fascination with this gang of friends, and like to watch essentially a these guys playing around on screen, and to watch Las Vegas as it looked in 1960, well... check out this nostalgic trip back... You'll never see its like again...

• Ultimate Rat Pack Outing

  BB-151999-11-27

  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.

• The Rat Pack in a pretty amusing heist romp movie

  ma-cortes2005-10-12

  The picture talks about the biggest robbery of all . Spyros Acebos (Akim Tamiroff) pulls off a scheme introducing the plans for a new business venture : simultaneously burgle five casinos in Las Vegas as Sahara , Flamingo , Golden Nugget , Riveira and Desert Inn . He agrees with Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) backed by a motley and eclectic gang to execute it , formed by 11 pals ( Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Richard Conte , Norman Fell, Richard Benedict..). The crew back in action , now veterans , after fighting in Second World War at 82nd Airbone division as paratroopers . We wouldn't call it a special group just Danny Ocean and his buddies , the night they blew up all the light , shutting off the electricity in Las Vegas . Millions dollars are taken from the casinos . But the elaborated plan itself goes wrong . They encounter complications when an investigator (Cesar Romero) discovers the tracks . This adaptation achieves one of the greatest entertainments of the history of motion pictures . We never met a band like Ocean's eleven . From the beginning until the end the comedy and giggles along with moderated action are continuous . Besides , it has got an intelligent script and an extraordinary final surprise . Significant portions of the movie interactions between major characters were ad-libbed . The actors playing the leading roles all knew each other well and improvised dialogue as well as or better than the script . For comic relief in charge of the various relationships among several characters and their numerous jokes . Splendid songs by Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr and sensitive ending song by Frank Sinatra . Appears uncredited Shirley McLayne in an agreeable comic performance , Red Skelton and George Raft as invited actors . Superb and stunning musical score by Nelson Riddle (author of Batman TV music). Enjoyable and glossy cinematography by William H. Daniels (Greta Garbo's usual photographer). Director Lewis Milestone's masterpiece of the amusement and entertainment . The movie was remade by a funny and stylish remake with George Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh and several sequels . Rating : Good and nice . Worthwhile watching.

• fun snapshot of the Rat Pack

  didi-52004-06-18

  This version of 'Ocean's 11' hardly needed a plot, did it? Just an extended ad for the Rat Pack's Vegas shows and the enormous ego of Frank Sinatra, here strutting his stuff as Danny Ocean, leading his war chums in a plan to rob numerous casinos in one night. So we get Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop (did they play characters in this? can anybody remember who?) and a fun romp to the pay off - still getting referenced in films being made today. George Clooney's remake was nowhere near as much fun. There's music in this movie, of course (with that cast you'd be disappointed if not), plus appearances from Angie Dickinson, Shirley MacLaine (uncredited but noticeable), Cesar Romero, and Errol Flynn's widow Patrice Wymore. This really is a lightweight lark if you're in the mood. Is it a good film? Probably not. Is it good entertainment? Absolutely.

• Good old fashioned well humoured heist flick

  discogoth2001-12-09

  I haven't seen the new remake of this movie yet, but they have some pretty big shoes to fill. Technically Ocean's Eleven may not be a great film, but whatever minor plot shortcomings that exist are made up for in spades by immeasurable style. I'm not going to explain the plot, as I'm sure that 50 other people already have. It's been a while since I've watched an older movie, so I found the loose-yet-confident chemistry and acting of the brat pack members to be very refreshing. They seemed so natural around each other, which is no surprise considering that they were buddies in real life. Sammy Davis Jr. was his usual charismatic self (why didn't he take off with the money??), Dean Martin seemed to be playing himself, a bit tipsy and sweaty with a drink in one hand and a smoke in the other, as he does in most of his films, and Frank Sinatra was also good as the understated womanizing organizer. However, I thought that Cesar Romero (known for his manic portayal of the Joker in the 60's Batman tv series) really stole the show right out from under the overly confident brat pack...I found his performance to be very commanding and impressive. A nice surprise to see comedian Red Skelton and Norm Fell (Three's Company's Mr. Roper!) in there as well! A few things hilariously go unexplained, like how they all managed to get casino jobs virtually overnnight, but it hardly seemed to matter. You know this movie is basically just a vehicle for the brat pack, and it's pure entertainment to just watch all these legends hamming it up, especially during the couple of musical interludes where you get to hear Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. croon a few really catchy songs, like E-O Eleven! At the same time it's also a window into another era, a time of larger than life Hollywood stars. Another thing that really jumped out at me was how unabashedly politically incorrect this movie is, showcasing a dramatically different mentality than what we see in movies today. Ocean's Eleven is a pure guy flick, where all the women are no more than window dressing and are treated as such by the male characters. As dated as the macho attitude of the film may seem nowadays (and even already by late 60's standards), I found it to be a fascinating glimpse into the past when guys were guys and women were umm, dames! As ironic as it is, I found seeing this old movie without the typical modern day contrived politically correct preaching to be very refreshing, and somehow strangely rebellious!