Found this snoozefest while scrolling Netflix. I hadn’t seen it before so I thought it would be cool to see the inspiration for the Clooney/Pitt remake. Wow. The star power of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Peter Lawford can’t save this tanker. Angie Dickinson is billed on the poster but this role is so insignificant, probably doesn’t need to be there. The movie runs for 2 hours and 7 minutes. I didn’t fall asleep but mostly because I put toothpicks in my eyes to keep them open. I exaggerate. Directed by Lewis Milestone, this movie must have been a contract fulfillment requirement because, while the premise is solid, the dialogue is boring and filled with nonsense scenes. The plot, for those who don’t know, is a casino heist scheme thought up by Danny Ocean, the leader of a WW2 crew. He gets his old pals together for the heist which they manage to pull off only to get screwed at the end.
I realize it’s set in the 60’s before cameras were in casinos and all that. But how many times do you have to hear Dean Martin sing “Ain’t That a Kick In The Head” as a distraction? I have his greatest hits CD, I know he knows more songs than one. We also get to see Sammy Davis, Jr singing and dancing one of his hits “Eee-O-11”. These are the only good moments in the movie, sorry Frank. Only watch this if you have insomnia…