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JimBell Blog

Ocean's Eleven

Under discussion:

Ocean's Eleven  (1960)
Ocean’s Eleven (1960) is not a very good movie, but it sure is interesting as a glimpse of “Rat Pack” life in the late 1950s. As Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr. hung out at Las Vegas hotels, Frank said they should make a movie, a real movie, together. Peter came up with the book Ocean’s Eleven. Then it became sort of a Hollywood-gets-together-and-plays-Hollywood movie. This movie is also of interest to movie buffs because it is the original of the recent remake Ocean’s Eleven and the follow up, Ocean’s Twelve (and then  . . . ). Although some folks like the Rat Pack dialogue, it is not usually very witty except for some of the race jokes regarding Sammy Davis Jr., jokes we could not make today. Many people object to the movie because it is sexist. But I think there are better reasons to find the movie lacking. Eleven guys, not to mention their women, is simply too much to keep track of, and no character gets developed. The mastermind behind the Las Vegas heists (Akim Tamiroff) overacts terribly: He thinks he is on stage rather than in a movie close-up. Although the DVD quality is excellent, the original studio sets (which Jack Warner insisted on) are phony and the lighting and photography is artificially harsh. A lot of the movement on these stages is reminiscent of amatuer theatre: Because nothing much is happening, actors get up, walk around, and sit down for no apparent reason. While all this is going on, there are tidbits of good acting: Sinatra is solid, Angie Dickinson (in two scenes) adds some depth to the movie, and Cesar Romero is perfect as the veteran crook who threatens to spoil the plans. Probably the highlight, though, is the music score by Nelson Riddle and the two songs contributed by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, “(Ain’t Love a) Kick in the Head” (Dean Martin) and the theme “Ee-O-leven” (Sammy Davis, Jr.). Trivia: Angie Dickinson has only one major and one minor scene in the whole movie, yet, when she went to Italy, people would point to her and say the name of the movie in Italian. Maybe this is a testiment to what some good acting and substance can do in a movie. She got the miniscule part for two reasons. First, she was sold by Howard Hawkes to Warner Brothers studio and became a contract player for the studio making the picture. Second, Sammy Davis Jr. said to Frank Sinatra, “You know who’d be good as your wife? Angie.” Although a hit in Italy, Angie, according to her, was neither helped nor hindered by the movie: It was work and pay, and it kept her hand in the game.

posted on Saturday, May 05, 2007 1:41 AM by JimBell


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