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Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that the whole movie amounts to a glorification of thievery. Not one character questions whether it's morally right to pull off the big casino robbery, just whether they can get away with it. In accord with the studio censorship codes of yesteryear, though, crime does not pay in the end (except a modest handout to an innocent, struggling widow). The Las Vegas "fun city" ambiance of gambling and high times is robustly present, with much drinking, smoking, and other grownup pursuits idealized. Note that the casinos are shown behaving legally and ethically, even forbidding a prominent celebrity (comic Red Skelton, portraying himself) from exceeding his betting limit. That little vignette is as close as it comes to a Gamblers Anonymous PSA. Households who disapprove of gambling altogether still won't be happy. Neither will those sensitive to the male characters' occasional denigration of women and a few racial gags made at Sammy Davis Jr.'s expense.

Families can talk about the popularity of Ocean's Eleven in its time. Do kids today find the actor-entertainers all that charming? Are their swaggering ways and attitudes toward women still "cool," or backwards and embarrassing? You can also discuss the enduring appeal of caper movies. Consider the ironic twist ending and Hollywood's old studio-censorship rule that dictated outlaws could never be allowed to succeed in the end (the George ClooneyOcean's Eleven remake and sequels didn't have this problem). Why do you think clever lawbreaking and heists became especially popular on movie screens in the rebellious 1960s?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Charles Cassady, Jr.

"What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas," goes a slogan about the gambling-and-entertainment capital in the Nevada desert. With an immortal ensemble cast of some of America's biggest stars and recording artists, the 1960 OCEAN'S ELEVEN did a lot to push Las Vegas forward into the national consciousness as a playground for grownups. Seen today, though, it's a dialogue-heavy escapade that will probably give younger viewers a guess-you-had-to-be-there feeling. While the performers are charming, the real fun all happened in Las Vegas in 1960. And that's where a lot of it seems to have stayed.

Frank Sinatra plays Danny Ocean, a WWII hero who's also a lifelong rogue, gambler, and thrill seeker, traits that have wrecked his marriage (not that he minds too much). He rounds up ten old friends from his Allied paratrooper battalion to use their wartime skills and nerve in the biggest gamble of all: a heist on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. With several of the men deployed at casinos on the Strip, the idea is to simultaneously rob every major gambling house during a midnight blackout caused by sabotage.

One of the pals, Sam, played by Dean Martin, doesn't think it will work, but he joins out of loyalty -- and to give vocalist Martin an excuse to croon a classic Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen tune. Others in the gang are desperate for the money. One who isn't is Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford), born into immense wealth. He helped hatch the scheme to prove he could earn a fortune on his own initiative (robbery might not strike some viewers as "earning," but there you are). His widowed socialite mother is about to marry a gangster (Cesar Romero), and after the heist comes off, it's this formidable stepfather-to-be who turns up the heat, looking for the missing millions as a favor to the gambling syndicates.

The already-lengthy plot seems poised for a couple more twists, but an unexpected complication suddenly and sharply wraps it up.

If Ocean's Eleven gave Las Vegas great publicity, the city returned the favor for Hollywood. Performers Sinatra, Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and others would shoot their scenes between a famous three-week booking at the Sands Hotel, creating an enduring mystique of "the Rat Pack" as a way-cool bunch of showbiz dudes (actually the name came from a collection of friends of Humphrey Bogart who hung out together), making glamorous but undemanding movies and then partying it up in front of audiences.

You can see how that affected Ocean's Eleven. There's lots of easygoing banter, the heist itself generates little tension, and Ol' Blue Eyes, Dino, and Sammy are off-screen a lot while the supporting cast fills in. Ocean's 11 isn't sloppy or slapdash -- it just feels like watching the legendary group of good buddies share a joke you aren't quite in on yourself.

Nonetheless, it was a box-office success, and Rat Pack members, in various combinations, reunited for casual comedies, Westerns, and capers throughout the 1960s. Maybe their best effort for kids -- because it includes an orphanage full of children and has a sense of mischief -- is Robin and the Seven Hoods, a musical gangster spoof. Even that one is pretty talky.

In 2001 George Clooney starred in an Ocean's Eleven remake that was a little more about suspense and high-tech heist mechanics. Ocean's 12 and Ocean's 13 followed. With the success of the new Danny Ocean romps, various documentaries have appeared on video putting the 1960 film into perspective and give much background about its popularity and influence.

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