By the end of the 1950s, the group of entertainers known as "The Rat Pack" were at the top of their game and universally recognised for their considerable talents, charisma and ability to attract large audiences. The obvious next step for them was to make a movie and the wisdom of that decision was proven when "Ocean's 11" not only became the first of a series of "Rat Pack" movies but also proved to be the most commercially successful film they ever made together. Its story about a former army sergeant who reunites a group of old wartime buddies to carry out an ambitious heist must have seemed the ideal choice to give Frank Sinatra and his real-life buddies every opportunity to strut their stuff on the silver screen and that's exactly what they proceeded to do.
Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra), who'd been the leader of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War 11, is a man with an addiction to danger and readily takes responsibility for the detailed planning and execution of a robbery that had been masterminded by Beverly Hills "ideas man" Spyros Acebos (Akim Tamiroff). Acebos offers to finance the project but cannot take any direct part in it because he's so well known that his involvement would seriously damage the gang's chances of success.
During the Christmas holiday, Danny assembles the men from his old Division in Las Vegas to discuss their plan to rob five of the city's casinos simultaneously, immediately after midnight on New Year's Eve. With some of the gang taking jobs in the casinos, they make various preparations for the big night and gang-member Josh Howard (Sammy Davis Jr.) is a garbage collector whose responsibility is to collect the loot that will be deposited in the trash cans outside each of the casinos on the night of the heist. Even more vital to the plan however, is the involvement of electrical expert Tony Bergdorf (Richard Conte) who has just been released from San Quentin where he served time for his involvement in an insurance fraud. Initially, he has no appetite for being involved in any caper that could possibly put him back in prison but changes his mind when he discovers that he has a serious medical condition and not long to live. This information makes him see the robbery as an opportunity to leave his share of the proceeds to his estranged wife and son.
The robbery goes ahead without a hitch and despite roadblocks being set up all around the city immediately after, Josh is simply waved through as he makes his way to the local dumpsite. A problem does arise a little while later, however, when Jimmy Foster's (Peter Lawford) stepfather-to-be figures out who might be responsible and embarks on a corrupt scheme to make himself rich by, amongst other things, blackmailing the gang. What follows doesn't play out in a way that anyone planned and eventually provides the story with its nicely twisted conclusion which is accompanied by the words "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away".
"Ocean's 11" has a routine plot that's made more interesting by the complications that follow the crime but overall, it's main purpose is to provide its stars with a platform from which they can deliver the kind of entertainment for which they were best known. As "The Rat Pack", they were known for their sharp suits, their music and indulgences such as smoking, drinking and partying which all played into their image as a group of easygoing playboys who were also ultra-cool. By acting throughout as themselves they certainly achieved what they were trying to do but this also left the movie devoid of any tension especially during the complicated heist which is depicted as nothing more than a walk in the park. Similarly, their consistent coolness is incompatible with the kind of pace, intensity and sense of danger that's so fundamental to heist movies and so "Ocean's 11" only really works as a vehicle for "The Rat Pack" to amuse and entertain their fans.
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop all deliver exactly what their audience would have wanted; Richard Conte provides the best acting performance and the presence of George Raft, Angie Dickinson and Shirley MacLaine in cameo roles all adds to the fun in this movie which because it only works on one level, can't really be regarded as anything more than a qualified success.
Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra), who'd been the leader of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War 11, is a man with an addiction to danger and readily takes responsibility for the detailed planning and execution of a robbery that had been masterminded by Beverly Hills "ideas man" Spyros Acebos (Akim Tamiroff). Acebos offers to finance the project but cannot take any direct part in it because he's so well known that his involvement would seriously damage the gang's chances of success.
During the Christmas holiday, Danny assembles the men from his old Division in Las Vegas to discuss their plan to rob five of the city's casinos simultaneously, immediately after midnight on New Year's Eve. With some of the gang taking jobs in the casinos, they make various preparations for the big night and gang-member Josh Howard (Sammy Davis Jr.) is a garbage collector whose responsibility is to collect the loot that will be deposited in the trash cans outside each of the casinos on the night of the heist. Even more vital to the plan however, is the involvement of electrical expert Tony Bergdorf (Richard Conte) who has just been released from San Quentin where he served time for his involvement in an insurance fraud. Initially, he has no appetite for being involved in any caper that could possibly put him back in prison but changes his mind when he discovers that he has a serious medical condition and not long to live. This information makes him see the robbery as an opportunity to leave his share of the proceeds to his estranged wife and son.
The robbery goes ahead without a hitch and despite roadblocks being set up all around the city immediately after, Josh is simply waved through as he makes his way to the local dumpsite. A problem does arise a little while later, however, when Jimmy Foster's (Peter Lawford) stepfather-to-be figures out who might be responsible and embarks on a corrupt scheme to make himself rich by, amongst other things, blackmailing the gang. What follows doesn't play out in a way that anyone planned and eventually provides the story with its nicely twisted conclusion which is accompanied by the words "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away".
"Ocean's 11" has a routine plot that's made more interesting by the complications that follow the crime but overall, it's main purpose is to provide its stars with a platform from which they can deliver the kind of entertainment for which they were best known. As "The Rat Pack", they were known for their sharp suits, their music and indulgences such as smoking, drinking and partying which all played into their image as a group of easygoing playboys who were also ultra-cool. By acting throughout as themselves they certainly achieved what they were trying to do but this also left the movie devoid of any tension especially during the complicated heist which is depicted as nothing more than a walk in the park. Similarly, their consistent coolness is incompatible with the kind of pace, intensity and sense of danger that's so fundamental to heist movies and so "Ocean's 11" only really works as a vehicle for "The Rat Pack" to amuse and entertain their fans.
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop all deliver exactly what their audience would have wanted; Richard Conte provides the best acting performance and the presence of George Raft, Angie Dickinson and Shirley MacLaine in cameo roles all adds to the fun in this movie which because it only works on one level, can't really be regarded as anything more than a qualified success.