''Ocean's 11'' is a 1960 American heist film directed and produced by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay by Harry Brown and Charles Lederer, based on a story by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. The film stars five of the

Rat Pack The Rat Pack was an informal group of entertainers, the second iteration of which ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business frie ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop.'' Variety'' film review; August 10, 1960, page 6. Centered on a series of Las Vegas casino robberies, the film also stars Angie Dickinson, Richard Conte, Cesar Romero,

Patrice Wymore Patrice Wymore Flynn (born Patricia Wymore; December 17, 1926 – March 22, 2014) was an American film, television and stage actress of the 1950s and 1960s, known for her marriage to Errol Flynn. Early life and stage career Born Patricia Wymor ...

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...

, and Henry Silva. It includes cameo appearances by

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

, Red Skelton, and

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

. ''Ocean's 11'' premiered in Las Vegas on August 3, 1960, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 10, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics. It originated the ''Ocean's'' film series.

Plot

World War II veterans Danny Ocean and Jimmy Foster recruit nine comrades from their unit in the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

to simultaneously rob five Las Vegas casinos: the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, the

Riviera ''Riviera'' () is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form ''Riviera ligure'', then shortened in English. The two areas ...

, the

Desert Inn The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was the ...

, the Sands, and the Flamingo. The gang plans the elaborate

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

heist with the precision of a military operation. Josh Howard takes a job as a sanitation worker driving a garbage truck while others get jobs at the various casinos. Sam Harmon entertains in one of the hotel's lounges. Demolition charges are planted on a local

electric power transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...

tower and the backup electrical systems are covertly rewired in each casino. At midnight on New Year's Eve, the tower is blown up and the Las Vegas Strip goes dark, as the men sneak into the money cages, hold up the cashiers, and dump their collection bags into the hotels' garbage bins. A garbage truck driven by Josh picks up the bags and passes through the police blockade. Everything appears to have gone off without a hitch. The gang's electrician, Tony Bergdorf, drops dead of a heart attack in the middle of the Strip. This raises police suspicions, who wonder if there is any connection to the thefts. Reformed mobster Duke Santos offers to recover the casino bosses' money for a percentage. As the robbery was well organized, he assumes that it was a Mafia operation until his underworld connections deny any involvement. Duke is engaged to Foster's mother, who casually mentions that Foster and Ocean, having fought together in the army, are both unexpectedly in Las Vegas. Duke also learns about Bergdorf's military record from the police. By the time that Bergdorf's body arrives at the mortuary, Duke has pieced it all together. Duke confronts the thieves, demanding half of their take. In desperation, they hide the money in Bergdorf's coffin, setting aside $10,000 for his widow. The group plans to take back the rest, making no payoff to Duke, after the coffin is shipped to San Francisco. Their plan backfires when the funeral director talks Bergdorf's widow into having the funeral in Las Vegas. She has the body and coffin

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

along with all of the hidden cash.

Cast

Ocean's 11

The film derives its name from this group of 11: *

as Danny Ocean *

as Sam Harmon * Sammy Davis Jr. as Josh Howard * Peter Lawford as Jimmy Foster * Richard Conte as Tony Bergdorf * Joey Bishop as "Mushy" O'Connors * Henry Silva as Roger Corneal *

Buddy Lester Buddy Lester (born William Goldberg, January 16, 1915 – October 4, 2002) was an American actor and comedian who portrayed dozens of character roles in films and television. Although known for his appearances in Jerry Lewis’ comedy films, he w ...

as Vince Massler *

Richard Benedict Richard "Pepe" Benedict (born Riccardo Benedetto, January 8, 1920 – April 25, 1984) was an Italian-American television and film actor and director. He was born in Palermo, Italy. He appeared in dozens of television programs and movies from t ...

as George "Curly" Steffans * Norman Fell as Peter Rheimer * Clem Harvey as Louis Jackson

Others

* Angie Dickinson as Beatrice Ocean * Cesar Romero as Duke Santos *

as Adele Elkstrom *

as Spyros Acebos * Ilka Chase as Mrs. Restes * Jean Willes as Gracie Bergdorf *

Hank Henry Hank Henry (July 9, 1906 – March 31, 1981) was an American comedian, known for his stage work on the Las Vegas Strip for decades. He was also a film and television actor. Henry got his start in American burlesque and was the comic to straightm ...

as Mr. Kelly, the mortician * Lew Gallo as Jealous Young Man *

Robert Foulk Robert C. Foulk (May 5, 1908 – February 25, 1989) was an American television and film character actor who portrayed Sheriff H. Miller in the CBS series '' Lassie'' from 1958 to 1962. Early years Foulk attended the University of Pennsylva ...

as Sheriff Wimmer

Cameos

as Jack Strager (Casino Owner)Everett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 171 * Red Skelton as Himself *

as Inebriated woman (Martin's kisser) * Red Norvo as Himself/Hotel Vibraphonist (Martin's band when he sings "

Ain't That a Kick in the Head? "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" is a pop song written in 1960 with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Sammy Cahn. It was first recorded that year on May 10 by Dean Martin in a swinging big band jazz arrangement conducted by Nelson Riddle. Ma ...

") * Shiva as snake dancer

Production

Peter Lawford was first told of the film's basic premise by director Gilbert Kay, who had heard the idea from a filling station attendant. Lawford bought the rights in 1958, envisioning William Holden in the lead.pp.117–121 Levy, Shawn ''Rat Pack Confidential'' 1998 Fourth Estate Ltd Frank Sinatra became interested in the idea, and a variety of writers worked on the project. When Lawford first told Sinatra of the story, Sinatra joked, "Forget the movie, let's pull the job!" The animated title sequence was designed by Saul Bass. The film's closing shot shows the main cast walking away from the funeral home, with the Sands Hotel marquee behind them, listing their names as headliners.

Filming locations

The Las Vegas portion of the film was shot on location at the Flamingo, Sands,

, and

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hotels. One segment was also filmed at the former Las Vegas Union Pacific station. Two Beverly Hills locations were used: the opening barber shop scene was filmed at 9740 Wilshire Boulevard and the scenes at Spyros Acebos's house were filmed at 230 Ladera Drive, which belonged to Hollywood agent Kurt Frings.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Bosley Crowther of '' The New York Times'' disliked the film because "there is no built-in implication that the boys have done something wrong. There is just an ironic, unexpected and decidedly ghoulish twist whereby they are deprived of their pickings and what seems their just desserts. This is the flaw in the picture — this and the incidental fact that a wholesale holdup of Las Vegas would not be so easy as it is made to look". '' Variety'' wrote that the film was "frequently one resonant wisecrack away from turning into a musical comedy. Laboring under the handicaps of a contrived script, an uncertain approach and personalities in essence playing themselves, the Lewis Milestone production never quite makes its point, but romps along merrily unconcerned that it doesn't". Leo Sullivan of '' The Washington Post'' called the film "nothing more than a whopping sick joke in Technicolor ... It's a completely amoral tale, told for laughs". Philip K. Scheuer of the '' Los Angeles Times'' wrote that the film "has a pretty good surprise twist at the finish and is, of its type, a pretty good comedy-melodrama". A mixed review in '' The Monthly Film Bulletin'' called it "an overlong, intermittently amusing picture full of surface effects and private jokes ... Despite Milestone's efforts, the first third tends to drag, due mainly to desultory characterisation, but when the raid begins both situations and dialogue improve considerably". On Rotten Tomatoes, ''Ocean's 11'' holds a rating of 48%, based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 5.33/10. The critical consensus reads: "Easygoing but lazy, ''Ocean's Eleven'' blithely coasts on the well-established rapport of the Rat Pack royalty".

Home media

''Ocean's 11'' was released on videocassette by Warner Home Video on February 9, 1983, as part of its "A Night At the Movies" series, featuring a Hearst Metrotone Newsreel, a Warner Bros. animated short, and a coming-attractions trailer for films of 1960. The film was released as a 50th-anniversary Blu-ray disc on November 9, 2010. The disc's bonus features include: * Special commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr. and Angie Dickinson * "Vegas Map" — mini-documentaries of the five casinos involved in the film * ''Tonight Show'' clip of Angie Dickinson with Frank Sinatra as host from November 14, 1977 * "Tropicana Museum Vignette"

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean's 11 Ocean's (film series) 1960 films 1960s crime comedy films 1960s heist films American crime comedy films American heist films Fictional portrayals of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Films directed by Lewis Milestone Films scored by Nelson Riddle Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films shot in Chicago Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley Films with screenplays by Charles Lederer Films with screenplays by George Clayton Johnson Films with screenplays by Harry Brown (writer) Gambling films Films set around New Year Rat Pack Warner Bros. films 1960 comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films