OCEAN’S ELEVEN
By Mahnuel Muñoz
In August 1960, “Ocean’s Eleven” was released, a film that its protagonists made while they were drinking in Las Vegas…and that today is a cult title.
The poster takes your breath away: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Angie Dickinson and Richard Conte; directed by Lewis Milestone (“All Quiet In The Western Front” (1930), “The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers” (1946), “Mutiny On The Bounty” (1962); the costumes are adjusted on the ineffable stitches of Sy Devore and The music is written by Nelson Riddle and James Van Heusen.
FRANK SINATRA RADIO
The idea for the film can be found in 1955, when Peter Lawford heard the story from a modest Hollywood director.
The story is simple, fast and effective: Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) brings together a group of friends and colleagues from his days in the war to rob five casinos in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve.
If you stay hooked on the screen, it is not because of the script or the performances, but because of the constant flow of glamor and mischievous fun that its protagonists radiate.
Critics were harsh with the film, but the public responded with enthusiasm, filling the box office with five million dollars and placing Frank Sinatra in sixth place in the Hollywood Top Ten published by “Fame” magazine; only Rock Hudson, Cary Grant and James Stewart surpassed him in the men’s ranking.
In 2002, a remake was presented with a much larger budget and ambition, directed by Steven Soderberg and starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. The success of this new version was so great that it justified two sequels.
Perhaps “Ocean’s Eleven” is not a great movie for the most dedicated movie buffs. Its script may be flimsy and childish; It is possible that the characters are mere reinterpretations of the people who embody them; is, without a doubt, a Las Vegas infomercial rather than a serious attempt to tell an interesting story, but if we are talking about it and its iconic status is pristine sixty-three years after its premiere, it is because beyond all protocol or “Ocean’s Eleven” convention was the presentation to the world of an unrepeatable and irresistible group of talented and politically incorrect scoundrels, shining as blindingly as the city that welcomed them and which they took over. It is a joyful story for adults with no other intentions than to tear us away from the gray routine and take us to a world of luxury and excess, an escape that seems healthier and more necessary than ever.
OCEAN’S ELEVEN
The Rat Pack, its world and its philosophy of life were rediscovered at the dawn of the 21st century and have remained with us as standard bearers of a time that we imagine to be more fun and simple – although reality and history are not so simple – and can than as inspiration to unravel our complexes and inhibitions.
Access the Complete Filmography of Frank Sinatra in the following link of Sinatra Radio 24h https://sinatraradio24h.com/category/filmography
