''Ocean's 11'' is a 1960 American

heist film The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime film focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery. One of the early defining heist films was '' The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), which ''Film Genre 2000'' wrote "alm ...

directed and produced by

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was a Moldovan-American film director. He is known for directing '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and ''All Quiet on the Weste ...

from a screenplay by Harry Brown and

Charles Lederer Charles Davies Lederer (December 31, 1910 – March 5, 1976) was an American screenwriter and film director. He was born into a theatrical family in New York, and after his parents divorced, was raised in California by his aunt, Marion Davies, ...

, 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 " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

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 Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary '' Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and se ...

, and

Joey Bishop Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk ...

.''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' film review; August 10, 1960, page 6. Centered on a series of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

robberies, the film also stars

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

Richard Conte Nicholas Peter Conte (March 24, 1910 – April 15, 1975), known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from the 1940s through 1970s, including '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'', ''Ocean's 11'', and ''Th ...

Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...

, Patrice Wymore,

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 ac ...

, 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 Richard Red Skelton (July 18, 1913September 17, 1997) was an American entertainer best known for his national radio and television shows between 1937 and 1971, especially as host of the television program ''The Red Skelton Show''. He has stars ...

, 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 Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of li ...

. The film received mixed reviews from critics. It originated the ''Ocean's'' film series.

Plot

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...

to simultaneously rob five

s: 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 area ...

, 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 th ...

, the Sands, and the

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

. 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 d ...

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 The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas cit ...

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 A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

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 "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

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 San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

. 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 ...

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 *

as Jimmy Foster *

as Tony Bergdorf *

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 as George "Curly" Steffans *

Norman Fell Norman Fell (born Norman Noah Feld; March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off, ''The Ropers'', and his fi ...

as Peter Rheimer *

Clem Harvey Harold Jerry Swarts known as “Clem Harvey” (born 1919) was a 20th-century film actor. He played one of the Eleven in the original version of ''Ocean's 11 ''Ocean's 11'' is a 1960 American heist film directed and produced by Lewis Milestone f ...

as Louis Jackson

Others

as Beatrice Ocean *

as Duke Santos * Patrice Wymore as Adele Elkstrom *

as Spyros Acebos *

Ilka Chase Ilka Chase (April 8, 1905 – February 15, 1978) was an American actress, radio host, and novelist. Biography Born in New York City and educated at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and France, Chase was the only child ...

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 straight ...

as Mr. Kelly, the mortician *

Lew Gallo Lewis D. Gallo (June 12, 1928 – June 11, 2000) was an American character actor and producer, best known for his role as Maj. Joseph Cobb on the 1960s ABC World War II series '' Twelve O'Clock High''. Gallo was born in Mount Kisco, New York, ...

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 Pennsylvan ...

as Sheriff Wimmer

Cameos

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

as Himself *

as Inebriated woman (Martin's kisser) *

Red Norvo Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His reco ...

as Himself/Hotel

Vibraphonist The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

(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. ...

") * 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 A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Ga ...

attendant. Lawford bought the rights in 1958, envisioning

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

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 Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, Bass wor ...

. 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

, Sands,

, and

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

hotels. One segment was also filmed at the former Las Vegas Union Pacific station. Two

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

locations were used: the opening barber shop scene was filmed at 9740

Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...

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 Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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". ''

'' 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 ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' 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 The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' 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 ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' 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 Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, ''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 Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

on February 9, 1983, as part of its "A Night At the Movies" series, featuring a

Hearst Metrotone News ''Hearst Metrotone News'' (renamed ''News of the Day'' in 1936) was a newsreel series (1914–1967) produced by the Hearst Corporation, founded by William Randolph Hearst. History Hearst produced silent newsreels under the titles of ''He ...

reel, a Warner Bros. animated short, and a coming-attractions trailer for films of 1960. The film was released as a 50th-anniversary

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

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

Plot

Cast

Ocean's 11

Others

Cameos

Production

Filming locations

Reception

Home media

See also

References

External links