With Las Vegas and Beverly Hills their unofficial hangouts, the Rat Pack were an unofficial club of actors and performers whose swingin' lifestyle made them the darlings of the gossip columns and a curious phenomenon in late '50s culture. Frank Sinatra alone was the kind of unstoppable force who could meet any person, crash any party, take over any room, and leave someone else to pay the bill; together with his upscale star pals and their lesser hanger-ons, they influenced a lot of movie-making in Hollywood and literally took over Las Vegas whenever they felt like indulging a spree. Always preferring to have plenty of squares as witnesses to their hijinks, they reportedly carried on parties that never stopped, womanizing and drinking. If any of their group were performing (and even if they weren't) they took over stages and dazzled audiences with their hipster cool. Whatever hotel they showed up at was the hottest place in Vegas, and they revelled in their ability to requisition shows, dance floors, nightclubs, hotel suites and any woman they saw at a moment's whim.

Sammy Davis Jr. had been in movies as a child performer since the early 30s and had come into his own as a socko Vegas performer and major chisel man on the race barrier. At this point in his career he was kind of the token black for the group, but only with his own self-affacing cooperation. The minor indignities of the film, such as playing a garbageman, or standing by while jokes are made about slavery, indicates the style of the Rat Pack: no rules, nothing gets in the way of our cool.

Among the rest of the cast, there were official Rat Pack members like comedian Joey Bishop, and deadpan actor Norman Fell, whose careers benefitted greatly by association with Frankie & co.. Henry Silva had a ball at the parties that never stopped; hordes of women at these things would have sex with anyone remotely associated with the top swingers. Silva was a lesser Western actor, but soon found himself an official Rat Packer, and starring in the cheapo gangster epic Johnny Cool, as a hit man backed up with his own theme sung by Sammy Davis Jr.

That's the basic background to Ocean's Eleven: the movie isn't remembered really for itself, but for the ambience of these pre-flab playboys, and the aura of their wild lifestyles. Reportedly filming by day and partying all night, these guys still look snappy in their loafer shoes and fuzzy sweaters (Sinatra wears one that's day-glo orange), hardly hung-over at all. The ability to drink and **** and push people around all night, was the height of 'masculine' glamour.

The picture is stacked with women, most of whom have very limited filmographies. They're written into the show as disposable objects for Frank and Dean to bully about, insult, and lord it over. There's a gesture of romantic responsibility in the presence of Angie Dickinson as Frank's estranged wife, but the lax screenplay uses up a lot of running time on side-trips like this and then lets them drop. The unbroken string here is Misogyny with a capital M; the Rat Packers dismiss and abuse beautiful playthings as if carrying out some kind of revenge against the female sex on the behalf of square losers everywhere.

The movie is lavish and slick, accurately imparting the feel of Vegas at the time with its still fairly-stylish hotels and casinos. Large but not gargantuan as they are now, they seem like movie sets and were probably simple to recreate on sound stages. There's nothing cheap about the production, much of which was filmed in the real hotels (a coup of cooperation only the Rat Pack could achieve) and the big New Years' party scenes make the 2001 remake look chintzy in comparison.

As a caper film, Ocean's Eleven makes casual use of the ex-army buddy motif, the professional-planning aspect of which is swiped from Sam Fuller's House of Bamboo. More noir nostalgia comes with the presence of ace actor Richard Conte ( The Big Combo, The Brothers Rico, The Godfather), who holds up what's left of the serious original screenplay by playing his desperate ex-con character as a tortured soul right out of Cry of the City. He doesn't share many scenes with the other actors, and always seems to be in a different film than the rest of them, providing some needed relief from the casual hipsters around him. The twist ending is well handled, and at the time wowed audiences who thought the twists on the Alfred Hitchcock TV show were the height of sophistication; the emotional payoff makes good use of the 'pass the news down the line' gag ripped off from White Heat, ten years earlier.

Dean Martin warbles a couple of tunes at a piano (could he really play?) but Sammy Davis Jr. gets the singing honors here, belting out a nice showstopper with the title theme, and reprising it for the truly-cool kissoff end credits. The eleven thieves stroll down the Vegas strip in the harsh light of the morning-after ... the kind of morning after that the actors involved made sure they never had to face.

Warner's DVD of Ocean's Eleven is a great improvement on their 1990 laserdisc in both color and image quality, although it must be said that the picture never looked anything less than good on television. Fans of the Rat Pack with large monitors will enjoy the relaxed Panavision compositions and the frequent guest cameos from the likes of George Raft, Red Skelton (whose schtick seems to be a concession to the image requirements of the Vegas chamber of commerce) and Shirley MacLaine.

There's a feature length commentary from Frank Sinatra, Jr., and Angie Dickinson that, sorry, Savant had no desire to sample (this ain't the place for comprehensive extras analysis or audiophile opinions). A nice clip from The Tonight Show has Frank Sr. hosting with Angie as a guest, reminiscing about the experience. Besides the usual trailers, there's a very welcome extra that comes in the form of a map of the Vegas hotels: clicking on each in turn brings up an interesting mini docu on the hotel and an aspect of the Vegas lifestyle of the time, with ex showgirls, croupiers, and other non-celebrities providing testimonials. It's a very creative extra that works because it adds to the movie experience instead of promoting something. Warners can be stingy with its Special Editions but regularly turns out great stuff like this on 'normal' releases. Savant is tired of 'special' editions that are mostly studio advertising.

The Rat Pack only made two or three movies as a team (ever see Soldier's Three? Sheesh.), with various members continuing to meet up in twos or threes on the Johnny Carson show, at industry get-togethers, or for more-subdued Vegas jaunts. Dean Martin got his television show and the Matt Helm movies; Sinatra continued as a star film attraction in roles both light and serious, and his singing career got even bigger with middle age. Ocean's Eleven is still fun because it represents the height of their decadent appeal.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
Ocean's Eleven rates:
Movie: Good
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: commentary, The Tonight Show clip, Vegas life mini-docus, trailers
Packaging: Snapper case
Reviewed: January 19, 2002