Producer: Lewis Milestone
Screenwriter: Harry Brown, Charles Lederer

Stars: Frank Sinatra (Danny Ocean), Dean Martin (Sam Harmon), Sammy Davis Jr.(Josh Howard), Peter Lawford (Jimmy Foster), Angie Dickinson (Beatrice Ocean), Richard Conte, Cesar Romero (Duke Santos), Patrice Wymore, Joey Bishop (Mushy O'Connors), Akim Tamiroff, Henry Silva, Ilka Chase, Buddy Lester, Richard Benedict, Jean Willes, Norman Fell, Clem Harvey, Hank Henry, Lew Gallo, Robert Foulk, Red Skelton, George Raft (Jack Strager)

MPAA Rating: NR
Year of Release: 1960
 

Production Company: Village Roadshow Pictures 
Screenwriters: Stephen W. Carpenter, Ted Griffin

Cast: George Clooney (Danny Ocean), Matt Damon (Linus Zerga), Andy Garcia (Harry Benedict), Brad Pitt (Dusty Ryan), Julia Roberts (Tess Ocean), Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Don Cheadle (Roscoe Means), Elliott Gould (Ruben Tischkoff), Eddie Jemison, Vladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Bernie Mac, Sydney Pollack (Reuben Tishkoff), Carl Reiner (Saul Bloom), Qin Shaobo

MPAA Rating: PG13
Year of Release: December 7, 2001.

Now I wanna thank each and everyone of you for droppin' in, cause my friend Johnny appreciates it. Ya see, Johnny's a workin' stiff and he don't get out much but he's got it upstairs and he's as cool as they come, take it from me. Now Johnny, ya see, wants yous all to know about the first movie I ever made called, "Oceans 11". This movie ain't no ordinary movie, see, in fact it's a classic and it features all my boys and a few other chaps whom I think was cool enough to hang around with us, see. It was never a big movie at the theatres but I understand it's has quite a fan club these days!

Can you believe they're makin' a remake of this film, a film we did in our spare time while we was in Vegas gettin' smashed? Go figure. Anyway, I understand it's 2001 down there and Hollywood is still cashin' in on our success 40 years ago. Don't Hollywood got anything better to do but re-make movies ??? I mean, back in '60 we wasn't makin' remakes that were 40 years old, we improvised. That's just the problem with the worlds these days, nobody' s got any new ideas!

How do I best describe "Ocean's 11"? Well, here's what I said 40 years ago and I'll stand by these words today,

"When we started making movies,  we weren't setting out to make Hamlet or Gone with the Wind. The idea is to hang out together, find fun with the broads, and have a great time. We gotta make pictures that people enjoy. Entertainment, period."

So Stay Hip

.......Frankie

In the 1960 version, the gang were all WWII veterans who were paratroopers together. In this new version, it appears the players are just various shady characters looking for one big heist. The original film took place on New Year's Eve, but the 2001 script has been changed so that the heist takes place during a popular boxing match. The boxers are Lennox Lewis and Vladimir Klitschko.

---Click on Clooney Icon for More Info.

What does Johnny think of the remake? Well let me tell you right now, "NO REMAKE IS EVER AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL". Not to say that the newer version is a bad movie, it's hard to say that with such a star studded cast. But the remake does not resemble the original either in storyline, coolness nor swankiness. However, I will say that I admire George Clooney, both as an actor and for taking on such a role as Danny Ocean which was played by Frank Sinatra in the original. Rat Packers everywhere will likely make comparisons but can anyone "EVER" compare to the likes of Frank Sinatra, the Chairman of the Board??? I think NOT!!!

However, I would like to say that I enjoyed viewing the 2001 version, even it the odds were stacked up against it from the beginning. Andy Garcia tried his best to play the villain, Harry Benedict, and by the end of the movie he somewhat succeeded. George Clooney was a standout next to the supporting cast and did a good job. He may resemble Sinatra in some ways, but he's got a long way to go before he can be seriously compared to Ol' Blue Eyes.

In summary, I will say that my instincts were correct about the remake. It's hard to compare 2 movies that are a generation apart. Forty years ago Ocean's 11 was a manifestation of how swanky life was in Las Vegas. In the 60's Hollywood was just starting to gather some steam and Ocean's 11 was considered great entertainment. Today, the remake dulls when compared to the high tech, special effect movies that are commonplace today. 

But everything else aside, the 1960 version consisted of stars or upcoming stars. Most of who at one point made it in Hollywood or in the entertainment business. In the 2001 version there are maybe 4 or 5 big names, the rest of whom I have to wonder as to how big they'll ever get. And one more thing, the original 1960 version included not only great acting  but also a few songs and a little tap dancing by Sammy. Something you'll never see in a movie from this era.

Johnny's Rating for Ocean's 11 (2001) , 3/5 stars!!!

.......johnny

Bishop who now resides in Newport Beach, Calif.,  let it be known he's not happy with so many people cashing in on movies like "Ocean's Eleven," HBO's "The Rat Pack" and the Las Vegas production "The Rat Pack is Back!"

Bishop was cast in the original "Ocean's Eleven," filmed at the Sands Hotel Hotel in 1960 with fellow Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.

"What made that picture interesting was how well-known everybody was. You were seeing guys you knew not only as actors, but as entertainers. They knew us intimately. If I sound pissed off, it's because I don't understand how this can keep happening."

Bishop played Mushy Callahan, an ex-boxer who wore a cauliflower ear and had a split eyebrow and a busted nose. I had to go to makeup an hour earlier." The Rat Pack spent their days shooting "Ocean's Eleven" and their nights hamming it up as one of the greatest acts of the Strip.

"They would drive the director crazy," recalled longtime lounge singer and running mate of the Rat Packers Sonny King, "because they wouldn't stick to the script. They ad-libbed all the time. They would direct themselves, and Joey was the wit of the group."

When the Rat Pack wasn't filming they were partying. And when they weren't partying they were in the Sands steam room "freshening up," as they called it.

"Frank gave everyone a white terry cloth robe with their name on it," King said. Sinatra's said "The Pope," Martin's said "Valentino," Bishop's was "Sun of a Gun" (his favorite saying), Davis' was "Smoky" and King's was "Lounge Giant."