My first ever “Rat Pack” movie. There’s a first time for everything. Also, as some of you are correctly assuming, this is the beginning of a review series. Although, it’s funny to hear how many people don’t know that this series started as a “Rat Pack” movie. Mostly because, in all honesty, this movie is my personal favorite of the Ocean’s series.

While I still enjoy the 2001 George Clooney remake, I feel like the original 1960 film had more depth. That, and heists are one of those movie tropes I can’t resist. Don’t get me started on how many times I watched National Treasure or even Ocean’s Eleven (2001) as a kid. The reason I believe the first is the best is because it was never intended to start off a series. It had a clear message it set out to convey, did just that, and left it there.

Ocean’s Eleven (2001) had a similar thought process when it was released which is why I still enjoy it. Although, since it was popular, the production companies wanted to milk it for all it was worth. That’s when the series truly lost its way in my opinion. When it became a series. But, why talk about it now? Is there any particular reason I wanted to discuss it? Not really. They don’t have much of a personal meaning to me, but are still fun and engaging.

Have any of these movies left that big of an impact on cinema? Not particularly, but they are certainly identifiable and iconic. Sure he’s not as well-known as characters like James Bond, Batman, or Indiana Jones, but Danny Ocean is still recognizable. He’s a mastermind of criminality with complex motivations that makes you question what makes crime “crime.” Ocean makes us ask the question, “is crime sometimes okay?”

Like a modern-day Robin Hood, he’s not always easy to root for, but you understand why he does these things. Unlike a modern-day Robin Hood, he’s more of a morally gray character. Yet we still watch him. I’m here to find out why we do that today.

Let’s E-O-Eleven our way back into the casinos of Vegas with Frank Sinatra’s original Ocean’s 11 (1960).

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While I did say this is my favorite Ocean film, I will admit it takes a while to get going. It takes nearly 50 minutes before they even plan the heist this movie centers around. The thing that takes up the majority of the first third is gathering everyone up.

To some degree I can understand this. Like an Indiana Jones movie, they take time to establish the story, adventure, and stakes involved. It’s a lot of talking and build-up, but it adds up to an interesting adventure later. However, unlike an Indiana Jones film, there isn’t as much character here. The largest amount of character we get is naturally from Danny Ocean himself (played by Frank Sinatra).

Like I said for Malcolm X and Harriet, if a character’s name is in the title they should have the most personality. Danny Ocean does have the most character, but considering everyone else, that’s a low bar. He’s in love with danger, longs to recapture the glory days, and has a habit of making off-color jokes.

Outside of this, there isn’t much else to him or anyone else for that matter. There’s Sam Harmon (played by Dean Martin) who loves playing lounge music-

– Jimmy Foster (played by Peter Lawford) who has a rich mother –

– and, my personal favorite, Josh Howard (played by Sammy Davis Jr.). Even though Josh ultimately doesn’t have much personality, he looks like he’s having a great time.

Since there are so many characters in the film, it’s hard to give them enough time to make an impact. If you have so many, the best option you have is to follow Seven Samurai‘s example. Sure there’s a lot of characters, but with a bulky running time you’re able to flesh them out better. Unfortunately, we don’t have 3 and a half hours. We barely have 2. While these folks don’t have much character, they at least have motivation which is all you need.

Even after watching this movie several times this week, it’s difficult to pin down specific motivations for everyone. Although, if taking Danny’s example from earlier, we could apply that to the rest of the team. They were all in the military together. So, let’s infer that they all want to relive the glory days. They’ve been out for 15 years after WWII and want to have a “last hurrah” so to speak. How does it go? When the heist gets going, it’s pretty fun.

Heck, even just seeing them in the war room planning things out is engaging –

– they have some pretty neat gadgets like infra-red paint –

– and the entire plan goes off without a hitch.

Or, does it? Well, there’s one final character crucial to the plot I haven’t mentioned. That’s Tony Bergdorf (played by Richard Conte). While he plays his part in the heist well, he doesn’t make it out alive. He has a heart-attack in the street.

Yeah, this heist movie just went there. While this isn’t unheard of, movies like this will usually introduce complications to the plan to keep things tense. Usually they won’t go so far as to kill off one of the main characters. Not only does Tony’s death put a damper on the team’s spirit, it in part leads to the plan’s unraveling.

This along with Jimmy’s big-mouthed mother (I told you that’d be important) results in a private party uncovering the team’s secrets. Who’s this private party? Duke Santos, Jimmy’s mom’s boyfriend (played by Cesar Romero [yes, that Cesar Romero]).

When The Jok- I mean, Duke finds out who robbed the casinos, the team gets an idea. This leads me to my favorite part of the movie: the ending. That probably sounds weird, especially considering how I mentioned heists in movies are a favorite of mine. Although, let me set the stage for you.

To hide the money from Duke, Danny decides to put it in Tony’s coffin.

They think Tony’s wife will ship his body back home to San Francisco, but instead, this happens:

They don’t get the money.

While this may be anticlimactic to some, I really enjoy it. Not only is this another deviation from what most other heist movies would do, but it seems symbolically deliberate. This is the point where it feels like the movie was trying to say something this whole time. After this information is learned, the 10 men leave the funeral home in this impactful final image.

They walk down the street while a slower version of “E-O-Eleven” is sung again by Sammy Davis Jr. So, let’s try to answer that question for our depressed leads: “What was it all for?” Let’s dive in at the conclusion.

If we assume that each of the men were trying to make lightning strike twice, the message is much clearer. Much like Sam pointed out at their board meeting:

This entire movie, these men are hell-bent on reliving their glory days. So much so that they endanger the lives of several other people to do it. Not only is this summed up in Tony’s character after he’s diagnosed with heart disease:

and again when he dies in the street, but in the song “E-O-Eleven.” It’s constantly circling the film. It’s in the opening credits, is the secret whistle the men use to identify themselves, is constantly in the background of crucial scenes, and Josh sings it to his junkyard buddies. When you break down the lyrics of the song, it basically serves as the “thesis” for this movie. It’s about constantly wanting more and disregarding morality in the process.

In essence, that’s what each of these characters do. They never seem to be satisfied with their lives which leads them to commit the acts they do. Unfortunately for them, old times are only good when they had them. You can’t keep living in the past, you have to move on. That’s the most powerful part of this movie for me, and also why it’s my favorite Ocean’s film.

Is it perfect? Not at all. Despite how much I love the message, there’s still far too much talking and slow-moving tedium here. For those such as myself who love heists, you’ll likely be pleased with Danny’s work of art. To that same end, there isn’t much else in the movie in terms of intrigue. In their emphasis on plot and morals, they lost character and investment in the process.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the filmmakers were hoping the star power of the “Rat Pack” would carry this movie. At the time, it probably did. However, I’m sure people remembered it because of the writing. Because of that, that’s why we felt the need to revisit this setup 41 years later.

So, if you’re interested in a somewhat different yet still classic heist adventure this week, give Ocean’s 11 (1960) a look. Hopefully it’ll leave you more satisfied than Danny’s gang by the end.

To be as objective as possible, I feel like this movie is a solid 3.5/5 Sammy Davis Jr.’s. What helps it stand out is its great blend of both classic heist tropes and unique story threads. Although, I’m not gonna act like the boring stuff isn’t boring. If there was more emphasis on character it would help those scenes stand out more, but you get what you get. And if you want to see an Ocean movie with more emphasis on character, just wait until next week. 😉

(I make no claim of ownership for any of the images used in this post)

(Each of them are owned entirely by their respective copyright holders, which are not me)

(I’m just a humble blogger who talks about movies, I do not make them)

(Yet)