Editing Ocean's 11

{{short description|1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone}}
{{about|the 1960 film|the 2001 remake|Ocean's Eleven{{!}}''Ocean's Eleven}}
{{use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Ocean's 11
| image          = Ocean's 11 (1960 film poster).jpeg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| alt            = 
| director       = [[Lewis Milestone]]
| producer       = Lewis Milestone
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* [[Harry Brown (writer)|Harry Brown]]
* [[Charles Lederer]]
}}
| story          = {{Plainlist|
* [[George Clayton Johnson]]
* Jack Golden Russell
}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Frank Sinatra]]
* [[Dean Martin]]
* [[Sammy Davis Jr.]]
* [[Peter Lawford]]
* [[Angie Dickinson]]
* [[Richard Conte]]
* [[Cesar Romero]]
* [[Patrice Wymore]]
* [[Joey Bishop]]
* [[Akim Tamiroff]]
* [[Henry Silva]]
}}
| music          = [[Nelson Riddle]]
| cinematography = [[William Daniels (cinematographer)|William H. Daniels]]
| editing        = [[Philip W. Anderson (film editor)|Philip W. Anderson]]
| studio         = Dorchester Productions
| distributor    = [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1960|8|03|Las Vegas premiere|ref1=<ref>{{cite web |url=http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/53237#3 |title=Ocean's Eleven - Details |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |access-date=July 7, 2018 |archive-date=July 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708044909/http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/53237#3 |url-status=live}}</ref>|1960|08|10|United States}}
| country        = United States
| runtime        = 127 minutes
| language       = English
| gross          = $5.5 million<ref name=Finler>{{cite book |last=Finler |first=Joel Waldo |year=2003 |title=The Hollywood Story |publisher=Wallflower Press |isbn=978-1-903364-66-6 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=rvVhEJmbfrsC&pg=PA358 358–359]}}</ref>
}}

'''''Ocean's 11''''' is a 1960 American [[heist film]] directed and produced by [[Lewis Milestone]] from a screenplay by [[Harry Brown (writer)|Harry Brown]] and [[Charles Lederer]], based on a story by [[George Clayton Johnson]] and Jack Golden Russell. The film stars an [[ensemble cast]] and five members of the [[Rat Pack]]: [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Dean Martin]], [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], [[Peter Lawford]], and [[Joey Bishop]].<ref name="WVrev">''[[Variety Film Reviews|Variety]]'' film review; August 10, 1960, page 6.</ref> Centered on a series of [[Las Vegas Strip|Las Vegas]] [[casino]] robberies, the film also stars [[Angie Dickinson]], [[Richard Conte]], [[Cesar Romero]], [[Patrice Wymore]], [[Akim Tamiroff]], and [[Henry Silva]]. It includes cameo appearances by [[Shirley MacLaine]], [[Red Skelton]], and [[George Raft]].

''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]]. The film received mixed reviews from critics. It originated the [[Ocean's (film series)|''Ocean's'' film series]].

==Plot==
[[World War II]] veterans Danny Ocean and Jimmy Foster recruit nine comrades from their unit in the [[82nd Airborne Division]] to simultaneously rob five [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] [[casino]]s: the [[Sahara Las Vegas|Sahara]], the [[Riviera (hotel and casino)|Riviera]], the [[Desert Inn]], the [[Sands Hotel and Casino|Sands]], and the [[Flamingo Las Vegas|Flamingo]].

[[File:Ocean's Eleven1960.jpg|thumb|From left to right: Lester, Bishop, Davis, Sinatra, and Martin|alt=]]
The gang plans the elaborate New Year's Eve 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]] tower and the backup electrical systems are covertly rewired in each casino to open the cashier cages when the automatic generator kicks in. At midnight on New Year's Eve, the tower is blown up and the [[Las Vegas Strip]] 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 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 [[American Mafia|Mafia]] 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. Their plan backfires when the funeral director talks Bergdorf's widow into having the funeral in Las Vegas. She has the body and coffin [[cremation|cremated]] along with all of the hidden cash.

==Cast==
===Ocean's 11===
Danny Ocean, the titular character, collects a heist crew, consisting of these eleven members:
* [[Frank Sinatra]] as Danny Ocean
* [[Dean Martin]] as Sam Harmon
* [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] as Josh Howard
* [[Peter Lawford]] as Jimmy Foster
* [[Richard Conte]] as Tony Bergdorf
* [[Joey Bishop]] as "Mushy" O'Connors
* [[Henry Silva]] as Roger Corneal
* [[Buddy Lester]] as Vince Massler
* [[Richard Benedict]] as George "Curly" Steffans
* [[Norman Fell]] as Peter Rheimer
* [[Clem Harvey]] as Louis Jackson

===Others===
* [[Angie Dickinson]] as Beatrice Ocean
* [[Cesar Romero]] as Duke Santos
* [[Patrice Wymore]] as Adele Elkstrom
* [[Akim Tamiroff]] as Spyros Acebos
* [[Ilka Chase]] as Mrs. Restes
* [[Jean Willes]] as Gracie Bergdorf
* [[Hank Henry]] as Mr. Kelly, the mortician
* [[Lew Gallo]] as Jealous Young Man
* [[Robert Foulk]] as Sheriff Wimmer

===Cameos===
* [[George Raft]] as Jack Strager (Casino Owner)<ref name="raft">Everett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 171</ref>
* [[Red Skelton]] as Himself
* [[Shirley MacLaine]] as Inebriated woman<ref name=AFICatalog>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/53237-OCEANS-ELEVEN?sid=35f3ccae-cd9c-422d-b0c8-f73e52ba046d&sr=0.06255604&cp=1&pos=8 |title=OCEAN'S ELEVEN (1960) |work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |access-date=May 7, 2021}}</ref> (Martin's kisser)
* [[Red Norvo]] as Himself/Hotel [[Vibraphone|Vibraphonist]] (Martin's band when he sings "[[Ain't That a Kick in the Head?]]")<ref name=AFICatalog/>
* 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]] attendant. Lawford bought the rights in 1958, envisioning [[William Holden]] in the lead.<ref name="ratpack">pp.117–121 Levy, Shawn ''Rat Pack Confidential'' 1998 Fourth Estate Ltd</ref> 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!"<ref name="ratpack"/>

The animated title sequence was designed by [[Saul Bass]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/oceans-eleven/|title=Ocean's Eleven|website=www.artofthetitle.com|language=en|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-date=December 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222104840/http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/oceans-eleven/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.

The Las Vegas portion of the film was shot on location at the [[Flamingo Las Vegas|Flamingo]], [[Sands Hotel and Casino|Sands]], [[Desert Inn]], [[Riviera (hotel and casino)|Riviera]], and [[Sahara Las Vegas|Sahara]] hotels. One segment was also filmed at the former [[Las Vegas station (Nevada)|Las Vegas Union Pacific station]]. According to Frank Sinatra, Jr., the Rat Pack members were performing shows at 8pm and midnight during the production, so by the time the cast and crew were ready after the shows, much of the footage on location was shot between 3am and dawn.<ref>Ocean's 11, Warner Home Video DVD Commentary, 2001.</ref>

Two [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]] locations were used: the opening barber shop scene was filmed at 9740 [[Wilshire Boulevard]] and the scenes at Spyros Acebos's house were filmed at 230 Ladera Drive, which belonged to Hollywood agent Kurt Frings.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

==Reception==
The film received mixed reviews from critics. [[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' 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&nbsp;— this and the incidental fact that a wholesale holdup of Las Vegas would not be so easy as it is made to look".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=August 11, 1960 |title=The Screen: 'Ocean's 11' |journal=[[The New York Times]] |page=19}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' 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".<ref>{{cite journal |date=August 10, 1960 |title=Ocean's Eleven |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |page=6}}</ref> Leo Sullivan of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called the film "nothing more than a whopping sick joke in Technicolor ... It's a completely amoral tale, told for laughs".<ref>{{cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Leo |date=August 13, 1960 |title='The Clan' Pulls A Slick Sick One |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=D8}}</ref>

Philip K. Scheuer of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that the film "has a pretty good surprise twist at the finish and is, of its type, a pretty good comedy-melodrama".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Scheuer |first=Philip K. |date=August 5, 1960 |title=Sinatra Premieres 'Ocean's Eleven' |journal=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=Part II, p. 7}}</ref> A mixed review in ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' called it "an overlong, intermittently amusing picture full of surface effects and private jokes&nbsp;... 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".<ref>{{cite journal |date=October 1960 |title=Ocean's 11 |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=27 |issue=321 |page=139}}</ref>

On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''Ocean's 11'' holds a "rotten" rating of 47%, based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The critical consensus reads: "Easygoing but lazy, ''Ocean's Eleven'' blithely coasts on the well-established rapport of the Rat Pack royalty".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1015373-oceans_eleven|title=Ocean's Eleven (1960) review|website=Rottentomatoes.com|access-date=March 6, 2025|archive-date=October 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011050139/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1015373-oceans_eleven|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], it has a score of 57 out of 100 based on 6 critics reviews, indicating "Mixed or average reviews."<ref>{{Citation |title=Ocean's 11 |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/oceans-11 |access-date=January 28, 2023}}</ref>

==Music==
''Ocean's 11'' is not a musical, but still has a few songs in it. "EEE-O-11" is the centerpoint song of the movie, being sung by [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] midway through and again at the end, as the end credits play. All songs were written by [[Sammy Cahn]] and [[Jimmy Van Heusen]].

===Songs===
* "Ocean's 11 (Overture)" - Orchestra Conducted by Nelson Riddle
* "EEE-O-11" - Sammy Davis Jr.
* "[[Ain't That a Kick in the Head?]]" - Dean Martin
* "I'm Gonna Live 'Till I Die" - Casino Singers
* "EEE-O-11 (Finale)" - Sammy Davis Jr.

==Home media==
''Ocean's 11'' was released on videocassette by [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment|Warner Home Video]] on February 9, 1983, as part of its "A Night At the Movies" series, featuring a [[Hearst Metrotone News]]reel, a Warner Bros. animated short, and a coming-attractions trailer for [[1960 in film|films of 1960]].<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Daily Variety]]|date=December 28, 1982|page=2|title=Warner Home Vid Adds New Titles}}</ref> The film was released as a 50th-anniversary [[Blu-ray]] disc on November 9, 2010. The disc's bonus features include:<ref>{{Citation|title=Ocean's 11 Blu-ray|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Oceans-11-Blu-ray/12284/#Review|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-date=December 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052543/http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Oceans-11-Blu-ray/12284/#Review|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Special commentary by [[Frank Sinatra Jr.]] and Angie Dickinson
* "Vegas Map"&nbsp;— mini-documentaries of the five casinos involved in the film
* ''Tonight Show'' clip of Angie Dickinson with Frank Sinatra as host from [[List of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson episodes (1977)#November|November 14, 1977]]
* "Tropicana Museum Vignette"

==See also==
* [[List of films set in Las Vegas]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ocean's 11}}
* {{AFI film|53237|Ocean's Eleven}}
* {{IMDb title|0054135|Ocean's Eleven}}
* {{TCMDb title|18360|Ocean's Eleven}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/oceans-eleven-am6397 ''Ocean's 11'' at AllMovie]

{{Lewis Milestone}}
{{Charles Lederer}}
{{Ocean's (film series)}}
{{Rat Pack}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocean's 11}}
[[Category:1960 comedy films]]
[[Category:1960 films]]
[[Category:1960s American films]]
[[Category:1960s crime comedy films]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s heist films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
[[Category:American films about gambling]]
[[Category:American heist films]]
[[Category:English-language crime comedy films]]
[[Category:Fictional portrayals of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department]]
[[Category:Films directed by Lewis Milestone]]
[[Category:Films scored by Nelson Riddle]]
[[Category:Films set around New Year]]
[[Category:Films set in casinos]]
[[Category:Films set in the Las Vegas Valley]]
[[Category:Films shot in Chicago]]
[[Category:Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Charles Lederer]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by George Clayton Johnson]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Harry Brown (writer)]]
[[Category:Ocean's|Eleven]]
[[Category:Rat Pack]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]