Ocean’s 11
1960  NR  COMEDY-DRAMA  2h 7min
CAST— Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, Angie Dickinson
MUSIC— Nelson Riddle  DIRECTOR— Lewis Milestone

     Bottoms up! Join the Rat Pack; you know, Dino, Sammy, Peter and Joey, rounded out by Ol’ Blue Eyes himself. Speaking of Frank Sinatra, he’s decided to relive the good old days by reuniting his fellow 82nd Airborne paratroopers, eleven in all. But they’re not gonna reenact their favorite WWII battles; they have in the works a massive heist where each member of the troop can shine in his respective field (recon, electrical, demolitions, etc.). They plan to hit five major casinos at once, on a busily confused Las Vegas New Year’s, hopefully taking home millions. Hopefully. But their timing must be spot on; one miscalculation could spell disaster. But there may be a slight hiccup when Peter Lawford’s soon-to-be stepfather (no stranger to the ways of the gangster) slithers into the equation. What will the Pack do? The first half of the film suffers from tedious exposition, despite the impeccable (though quite sexist) writing. Fortunately when the heist is underway there’s little to complain about. Add to that a nearly perfect ending and there you have it, shaken, stirred, what have you. A must for film buffs. Final note: massive amounts of alcohol and tobacco were consumed before, during and after filming so, once again, bottoms up!
OUR RATING— ***
REMADE AS— Ocean’s Eleven (2001)