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Eleven
05 September
2005
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Gambling In The
Movies
Ocean's Eleven
(1960)
Robbing one
casino in Las
Vegas,
with its tables full of gamblers playing roulette
and blackjack while you do it, right under the nose
of the casino's boss, is a heist that requires
precise planning and nerves of steel. Taking down
several on the same night is an act of bravura that
only the most highly trained, fearless and
exceptionally confident bunch of villains would
even consider.
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Lewis
Milestone's cult classic is the story of just such a bunch
of hoods and just such a heist, played by arguably the
coolest clique in Hollywood's history, Sinatra's Rat
Pack.
So What's The Plot In a
Nutshell?
Danny Ocean, played by
Sinatra at his elegant and cock-sure best, is a World War II
veteran surrounded by a group of wartime buddies. Played by
Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford, Joey Lewis and
friends - all achingly cool members of Sinatra's real Rat
Pack - Danny and his mates are rather a handy bunch to know,
if you've got a super-heist in mind.
After years drifting
around post-war, Danny has decided to get rich quick. So he
hatches a plan to rob all the major casinos in Vegas in one
fell swoop, and he's got ten friends in mind to help him do
it. That makes 11 - Ocean's Eleven.
With military precision,
Ocean lays his plans and sets out to carry out the perfect
heist - all without a shot being fired. And that's about as
far as the plot goes, bar the odd poignant moment that
punctuates the otherwise light-hearted, highly enjoyable
nonsense.
The banter between the
Eleven is what makes the film so rich and, while it seems
like much of the quick-fire patter is part of an in-joke
among Hollywood's unofficial royal family, it's an in-joke
you'll want to be part of, even if it's just as a
spectator.
In summary: it's short on
plot but rich in style and glamour, which makes Ocean's
Eleven compelling viewing, even today.
So It's A Bit
Like...
George Clooney's 2001
remake of the same name. Clooney's effort also has an
impressive cast list, who did their best to create a new Rat
Pack vibe off screen. And it moves along nicely, quietly
telegraphing an obvious denouement all the way through, at
the same stop-start, frenetically laid-back pace.
But that, sadly, is where
the comparison ends. Only once you've seen the original can
you appreciate what a limp, unimaginative and starchy remake
this is. Sure, both are enjoyable, light and undemanding fun
- it's just that the original is simply a league classier in
every department.
So Who Are The
Stand-Out Stars?
The real star is Las
Vegas, which looks sensational and impossibly glamorous.
Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey look pretty sharp too. Each
one puts in a top performance, all clearly enjoying each
other's company, with perhaps Martin shining brightest of
all.
The shooting of the film
probably marked the height of the Rat Pack's incredible
mystique too. Here they were, the world's most glamorous
men, effortlessly making movies by day, performing some of
the most sought-after concerts of the 20th century by night,
and partying with the world's most beautiful women until
dawn. It all made for a swinging scene that has been a
byword for style and sophistication ever since.
Look out, too, for an
excellent, unaccredited cameo from Shirley McLain, who
reportedly took the job - while she was filming
The
Apartment - as an
excuse to hang out with the Rat Pack. And frankly, who
wouldn't?
Most Memorable
Line
"Why waste those cute
little tricks that the army taught us, just because it's
sort of peaceful now?" (Danny Ocean)
About The Director -
Lewis Milestone
As far as style and
subject matter goes, Milestone's Oscar-winning tour de
force, All
Quiet on the Western Front
(1930), couldn't be further from that of Ocean's Eleven. His
anti-war classic is as sombre, bleak and downright upsetting
as Ocean's Eleven is light, airy and uplifting.
Mutiny on the Bounty
(1962), shot two years after Ocean's Eleven, boasted an
equally stellar cast - including Richard Harris, Trevor
Howard and a mercurial Marlon Brando - and illustrated
Milestone's versatility still further. It, too, was an
Oscar-winner.
Alas, if only there had
been an Oscar for Coolest Cast, Ocean's Eleven would have
won hands-down in 1960 too.
Want to buy Ocean's 11 on
DVD? Click Here
To Get It from Amazon.co.uk
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