Rat Pack Mythology Overshadows ‘Ocean’s 11’ 1960

 

Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, & Sammy Davis, Jr. are the key players
 in 1960's heist film, "Ocean's 11."

There's much heavyweight Hollywood talent involved in the lightweight 1960 version of Ocean’s 11.

Right at the start—and closing—legendary Saul Bass designed the Vegas-bright opening titles for Ocean’s 11. Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front) directed but really played traffic cop for the Rat Pack. Ocean’s 11 was a cakewalk compared to directing Marlon Brando in the notorious 1962 remake of Mutiny on the Bounty, Milestone's last feature film. William H. Daniels, who photographed nearly all of Garbo’s films, and 10 of Frank Sinatra’s from the late ‘50s through the ‘60s, contributed the stylish cinematography; Sinatra fave Nelson Riddle composed the lively score. 

Saul Bass created the neon bright titles for 1960's "Ocean's 11."

Then there were “The Three Crooners.” Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. were all iconic singers who could act and had a flair for comedy. And Peter Lawford provides the class as their wartime pal. This all helps the high-concept plot immensely. The pitch: WWII soldier pals reunite to knock over five Las Vegas hotels on New Year’s Eve and win big.

These five hotel/casinos are the New Year's Eve targets of the "Ocean's 11," from 1960.

An admirable plus about this movie is that it shows mega star Sinatra's generosity toward other performers. Dean and Sammy get musical numbers, plus a reprise, yet Sinatra doesn't sing a note. Most stars would demand equal time.

Ocean's 11 is unique because it represents a moment in time, much like the previous year's Pillow Talk. Both films were huge hits and a zeitgeist. Pillow Talk caught the wave of sex comedies with its iconic stars and is remembered as the prime example of the genre. And Ocean's 11 snapped the Rat Pack/Las Vegas era at its absolute peak. And yet, by the early '60s, both sex comedies and Rat Pack antics were already becoming passé. Each year of the '60s was like dog years in United States’ society. In the case of the Rat Pack, Marilyn's death, Frank falling out with the Kennedys and dumping Lawford, JFK’s assassination, the Beatles invasion, etc. all made these 40-something guys look increasingly irrelevant. Yes, Rat Pack fans will die on that sword that they were eternally cool cats. But seeing middle-aged men booze, chain smoke, chase broads, and making like frat boys got old really fast. Burt Reynolds did the same thing in the '70s with his hillbilly version of the Rat Pack, with all those car chase comedies and corny cop movies.

Frank Sinatra, far left in his favorite color orange, is Danny Ocean. The other 10 guys 
make up the "Ocean's 11," in this 1960 heist caper.

The surprise of Ocean's 11 is that while it is smoothly made, it's not very snappy, clocking in at a leisurely 2 hour and 8 minute movie. The “humorous” dialogue, supposedly improved by these real life pals, wasn't very funny or witty, even for its time. The lightly sexist, racist dialogue didn't bother me that much, as I know this came from 40-something men in 1960, more of an eye roll.

Laid back Dean Martin, with pal Frank Sinatra, who gives the look of when
he's been crossed, in 1960's "Ocean's 11."

Another drag is that it takes an hour just to introduce all the characters. They are not all that interesting, as written. While the stars are all charismatic, it feels like they are on autopilot. It's been said that the three crooners, plus Bishop and Lawford, performed in Vegas at night and made this movie during the day. If so, it shows. And you can practically smell the second hand smoke just from watching Ocean’s 11. The last half of the movie is setting up the heist and its outcome.

The main stars of 1960's "Ocean's 11" played on stage at night and before the cameras
 during the day, which may explain the laid back performances.

Frank is understated here. Dean offers his deadpan humor. Sammy is energetic and gets a great music number that echoes through Ocean’s 11. Peter as the charming waster has always left me cold, but he does well enough here. 

All the world's a stage for Sammy Davis, Jr. as a singer/trash collector,
in 1960's comedic heist, "Ocean's 11."

Interesting that Sinatra fave Richard Conte ended up in The Godfather. Hope Frank didn’t hold that against him! And that Henry Silva always creeped me out after first seeing him in 1962’s The Manchurian Candidate.

One dud is Joey Bishop, who I always thought was the cliché of the unfunny Vegas comedian, and here he’s just as flat a film performer. A shame the film starts with Joey carrying the ball. His deadpan, hangdog demeanor reminds me of Norman Fell, who’s also in the film!

Joey Bishop, far left, uses his deadpan expression to convey the rest of his gang's
 feelings at the funeral finale of 1960's "Ocean's 11."

The real surprise is that Angie Dickinson is barely in Ocean’s 11. The then-rising starlet appears in the opening as Frank's ex-wife. She has a long scene with Dean Martin, who wants them to reconcile. Angie has a second scene with Sinatra, sporting a nifty chemistry; what a shame they didn't equally co-star in a film. That's it—except for a brief scene on the phone with Sinatra's most recent dame, which could have easily been cut in this overlong movie. The women in this movie are made up and coiffed like mannequins, a Vegas version of The Stepford Wives. 

Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean & Angie Dickinson as Bea, his ex-wife,
in 1960's "Ocean's 11."

There's a great cast of supporting actors who give Ocean’s 11 some oomph, though they’re typecast: Cesar Romero, Richard Conte, George Raft, Ilka Chase, Patrice Wymore, etc. There are a couple of unfunny, unbilled cameos that last nearly as long as Angie Dickinson’s scenes: Red Skelton as himself, futilely trying to get his credit extended. Shirley MacLaine appears as a drunk. Both scenes meander, add nothing to this lengthy film, and could easily have been cut.

Ocean's 11 is the forerunner to the heist movie set at Christmas, like Die Hard. And the film's climax is at New Year's, when they pull off the heist. Of course human frailty and error fouls the perfect crime, with a twist ending.

That final scene, with Danny Ocean's crew walking away, is the Rat Pack so effortlessly cool. The finale is more than a bit bittersweet, when you think of the legends in their ensuing years, walking away here at their zenith. The ending’s morale is literally that you can't take it with you. And Rat Pack leads Sinatra, Martin, Davis, and Lawford all lost a lot in their last years. In 1960’s Ocean’s 11, the stars are captured at their peak, for posterity.

The bittersweet finale of 1960's "Ocean's 11."

Here’s a very entertaining melodrama featuring several of the Rat Pack, 1958’s Some Came Running. My look here:

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2019/04/stellar-cast-helps-some-came-running-go.html

Frank Sinatra & Peter Lawford were the best of friends when they made
1960's "Ocean's 11." 

When ‘Columbo’ Starred with Two Film Divas

 

Peter Falk's "Columbo" investigated two film stars who resorted to murder in
 "Requiem for a Falling Star" & "Forgotten Lady, with Anne Baxter & Janet Leigh.

 

This is a round-up of when the rumpled TV detective starred with two one-time screen goddesses in classic Columbo episodes.

Anne Baxter's Nora Chandler finds Peter Falk's Columbo amusing--to a point!

The episodes: Requiem for a Falling Star, the Columbo episode that first aired January 21, 1973, was directed by Richard Quine, who was good with actors and had a flair for humor. This season two episode showcases Anne Baxter as “fading” leading lady Nora Chandler, who will kill to preserve her career. Mel Ferrer is Baxter's snarky nemesis, with echoes of Addison DeWitt from All About Eve. Pippa Scott is the star’s assistant, about to marry this arch enemy! Costume designer Edith Head, who worked with Baxter many times, most famously in The Ten Commandments, makes an appearance as herself. 

Janet Leigh's Grace Wheeler may be one of Columbo's most gentle suspects!

Forgotten Lady, the other deadly film diva Columbo episode, was directed by TV and film veteran Harvey Hart, also very good with actors. The season five premiere aired September 14, 1975. Janet Leigh guest stars as movie musical star Grace Wheeler, John Payne as one-time partner Ned Diamond, and Sam Jaffe as her older husband, Dr. Henry Willis. Maurice Evans is the butler, Raymond.

 The Set-Up: Female guest villains Anne Baxter and Janet Leigh are both mature movie stars, with Baxter then 49 in her episode and Leigh 48 in hers. Both stars are somewhat sympathetic villains, compelled to extreme measures to maintain their star status.

Anne Baxter's star sports some major shades, while she & Mel Ferrer's gossip hound
 give each other shade in Columbo's "Requiem for a Falling Star."

Anne Baxter is child star turned leading lady Nora Chandler, who is being blackmailed by gossip writer Jerry Parks, played by Mel Ferrer, who does smarmy so well. Pippa Scott is Jean, Nora’s long-time/long-suffering secretary/assistant. Despite protestations otherwise, Jean has been offering Nora gossip nuggets as pillow talk to Jerry. Nora stalks Jean to Jerry’s birthday party and slashes the tire of her vehicle. Jean borrows Jerry’s vehicle, with Nora waiting at Jerry’s. When the car arrives, Nora has poured gasoline all over the drive way and lights it up. Does Nora actually know who the driver is?

Film star Grace Wheeler contemplates her future, which doesn't include her
 disapproving husband, in Columbo's "Forgotten Lady." Starring Janet Leigh.

Janet Leigh is Grace Wheeler, former song and dance movie star, who leaves a That’s Entertainment!-style movie event, giddy with plans to revive her musical career, but on Broadway. Shades of Debbie Reynolds in Irene! She enlists former co-star and friend Ned Diamond to direct and produce. Grace must know her older, wealthy doctor spouse won’t approve, because she already has a typically convoluted Columbo plot to off him. The star swans upstairs with some extra sleeping medication and her comeback plans get doused, as expected. After her hubby takes his pill, plus one by his wife, Grace steals back upstairs later with a gun. She shoots him and puts the gun in his hand, to make it look like a suicide.

Anne Baxter's Nora Chandler is the gracious star to Peter Falk's fawning Columbo.

Enter Lt. Columbo: In Requiem for a Falling Star, Peter Falk’s wiley Lt. Columbo comes on the scene, feigning surprise and fawns over living legend Nora Chandler. Anne Baxter’s winking grande dame demeanor makes Columbo’s professed shock and awe quite believable. From then on, there is a mutual admiration society between the two worthy adversaries. In Forgotten Lady, the dynamic is quite different. Though Lt. Columbo seems shocked that he’s investigating at the home of one of his and Mrs. Columbo’s favorite stars, Janet Leigh’s Grace Wheeler is more genteel and increasingly fragile. And Falk’s Columbo, while dogged as ever, is more sensitive to the star’s story.

The Leading Ladies: Anne Baxter offers a charismatic star performance whose character Nora Chandler would be right at home with All About Eve’s Margo Channing and Eve Harrington. Nora has Margo’s larger than life persona and Eve’s cunning charm. She does seem genuinely taken with Lt. Columbo and Baxter and Falk play off each other wonderfully. The scene in the finale where Nora is caught by Columbo looks like a nod to Margo Channing, who catches Eve taking imaginary bows in Margo’s costume. Interestingly, Baxter had just performed in Applause, the musical version of All About Eve, as Margo Channing!

Anne Baxter as Nora Chandler, surprised to find Columbo on her tail at the finale!

Anne Baxter in the title role of "All About Eve" is similarly surprised!

Janet Leigh is one of the most empathetic golden era film actresses, so despite being the villain of the piece, it's not hard to sympathize with her desperate actions. Some plot twists along the way make you even more on her side, if you don't think about it too much! While Leigh’s Grace has a safe harbor marriage to the wealthy retired doc, she longs to be back in the spotlight. This seems to have been Leigh’s story off-camera, too. Though she had a loving marriage to a wealthy businessman, Leigh never quite made the top tier in Hollywood, then aged out by the end of the ‘60s, all of which seemed to eat at her. And though Janet was still beautiful, she looks reed thin and pinched, with every line showing on her 50-ish face. Much, much later, daughter Jamie Lee Curtis alluded to her mother having an eating disorder. This gives her performance as desperate Grace even more poignancy. Though I didn’t quite buy the finale’s revelation, it’s still touching.

Janet Leigh's star with a fear of fading away was not too far from her own life.
With Peter Falk as Columbo, in "Forgotten Lady."

Star Style: Anne Baxter sports a fun ‘70s style wardrobe—not by Edith Head—and in one scene sports a slinky magenta top that shows off her trim figure. All that is capped with a Lauren Bacall-style mane of hair! As the veteran star, Anne plays with her typical intensity, but also with great humor.

Anne Baxter has a wow moment, before putting on her jacket,
as the star on the run! In the Columbo episode, "Requiem for a Falling Star."

Janet Leigh also looks stylish, though undercut by her wraith-like figure. Leigh had aged drastically in just six years after sporting a trim but curvy figure in the sexy House on Green Apple Road. Janet would age much like fellow MGM star Lana Turner: bleached helmet hair, tan, and very thin. Still, Janet wore some glam gowns and retained her warm appeal. As the troubled star, Forgotten Lady is one of Janet’s best latter day performances.

As film star Grace Wheeler, Janet Leigh looks lovely, but much older than 48,
in the Columbo episode "Forgotten Lady."

Janet Leigh facing 50 reminded me of 60-ish Lana Turner.

 

Falk as Columbo: Peter Falk is in fine form in these classic Columbo episodes. Falk, along with Carroll O' Connor, were both two middle-aged character actors who hit it big in the '70s by creating their iconic characters Lt. Columbo and Archie Bunker. Both actors enjoyed their belated superstardom and have been remembered for these roles over 50 years now. While I admire Falk’s acting, I often feel the same toward his character as Kevin McCarthy’s studio head does in Requiem for a Falling Star, who resents Columbo’s dogging Nora: “Lieutenant, you have an obtuse manner which some people find ingratiating. I do not. Do you follow me?”

Columbo meets legendary designer Edith Head, courtesy of Anne Baxter's
Nora Chandler, in "Requiem for a Falling Star."

Edith Head's cameo is fun, as she was then Universal's head film costume designer. Peter Falk would hand Head her 8th Oscar for The Sting in 1974. 

Falk would borrow a few elements from Requiem for a Falling Star in a much later Columbo episode he directed, It's All in the Game. Faye Dunaway starred as an even more charming and throaty-voiced femme fatale, who also tries to get him to wear a new tie!

It’s so fun to revisit these '70s Mystery Movies, as they hold up quite well with strong writing, emphasis on characterizations, and terrific acting by star Peter Falk and his mix of young and veteran guest stars.

Peter Falk's Columbo, this time wowed by the presence of Janet Leigh's
Grace Wheeler, in the episode "Forgotten Lady."

Here’s my look at Anne Baxter in the title role of All About Eve: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/04/mankiewicz-masterpiece-all-about-eve.html

And here’s Janet Leigh in another close to the bone performance as an unhappy housewife, in 1970’s House on Greenapple Road: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2022/10/janet-leigh-haunting-in-house-on.html

 

Anne Baxter's larger than life Nora Chandler was giving me a serious Charles Busch
 vibe from "Die, Mommie, Die!" 

 

 

 

Joan VS Jack Death Match in Nifty Noir “Sudden Fear” 1952

Jack Palance lights Joan Crawford's fire in 1952's "woman in jeopardy" film noir,
 "Sudden Fear."

I watched Sudden Fear starring Joan Crawford for the first time in years, with renewed interest. The film has grown in reputation in recent decades, what with several high profile film critics championing the film noir flick as a classic. 

Sudden Fear was the first film Crawford made as an independent after leaving her second long term studio contract, this time with Warner Brothers. Like the post-MGM Mildred Pierce, Sudden Fear gave Crawford’s career a shot in the arm. Fear was not in the same league as her biggest comeback with Mildred, but was enough to keep her career going in its 4th decade, especially in 1950s Hollywood, when the studio system was swiftly beginning to wane.

Joan Crawford gets to be glam and serious in the 1952 suspense noir, "Sudden Fear."

What I remembered as a solid star vehicle, is currently called one of Crawford's finest films. Well, I still think Sudden Fear is a solid star vehicle, not a classic, yet admirable in its own right. The nifty noir is not Mildred Pierce, Humoresque, or Possessed by any means, but closer to Crawford's slick star vehicles like Flamingo Road and The Damned Don't Cry. And Sudden Fear is certainly more substantial than camp classics that followed, such as Queen Bee and Female on the Beach. 

Though "Sudden Fear" was filmed on a moderate budget,
these essentials were provided for Miss Crawford's wealthy character.

An expert collection of artists were rounded up for Sudden Fear, a “woman in jeopardy” thriller: director David Miller, skilled with star actors; screenwriter Lenore Coffee, who had worked at Metro with Joan; Sheila O'Brien, Joan's favored designer, for the costumes; cinematographer Charles Lang; and composer Elmer Bernstein for the ominous, booming score. Newcomer Jack Palance was cast as the younger husband, and noir queen Gloria Grahame as the other woman. Bruce Bennett, who had played Mildred Pierce’s first husband Bert, was a good luck charm, as the family lawyer, and Flamingo Road co-star Virginia Huston played Joan’s secretary.

Joan Crawford with Bruce Bennett, Virginia Huston, and Jack Palance in 1952's "Sudden Fear." Huston reminds me of Carole Lombard here.

Many veteran film divas have done a "woman in jeopardy" movie, so it's only fitting that superstar Joan starred in several of this genre. Throughout her film stardom, Crawford’s movies often cast her as adversarial characters toward her leading men, which intensified at WB. And with Sudden Fear, the adversarial became antagonistic, with Joan often fighting for her film life.

While Joan often played working girls and women, which played off her well-known backstory, Crawford loved to play "great ladies" on-screen and labored to be thought of as one off-screen. As Myra Hudson (no relation to Blanche or Jane!), she's an heiress who has found further wealth and prestige as a playwright. The heiress/playwright is so loaded that she plans on leaving her inherited wealth to charity. 

Joan Crawford's heiress/playwright revises her will in hubby's favor, with her
 recorder. And will soon hear back a message from him! 1952's "Sudden Fear."

Crawford is great fun to watch as the playwright planning her life and dictating missives to her recorder in the most dignified of tones, as if she’s giving a sermon. Yet, there's a genuine warmth to her character as the lonely career woman who lets love come later into her life. Just a few years later, Joan herself would find the same, after being single a decade, when she married Pepsi’s Alfred Steele.

Joan Crawford as Myra Hudson, heiress and playwright, in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

When Crawford's Myra has to let the leading contender go from her latest play, the actor leaves in an angry huff. But a "chance" meeting on a train trip from NYC's Broadway back to California's San Fran, they meet again and fall in love. Myra is in seventh heaven, but Jack Palance as Lester Blaine is steadily revealed to be the schemer from hell. 

Stranger on a train, indeed! Jack Palance as Lester Blaine, in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

While Crawford gets to emote up a storm as Myra Hudson, David Miller was an adept studio/star director. He lets Joan give a diva performance without going totally over the top in this taut thriller. Crawford's expressions of loneliness as well as happiness as the betrayed bride are most believable. Joan’s solo scenes in Myra’s study and hiding out in Irene's apartment in climatic scenes are played big, but not to the total point of ridiculousness. Joan uses all her accumulated acting skills and tricks to put this character and story across and got a well-deserved Oscar nomination. Only a few times are there camp moments: Myra's imagining the different ways hubby Lester could kill her while bug-eyed with fear or Joan hiding in terror at Irene's before the finale, sweating like she’s in a sauna, instead of closet. 

Joan Crawford strikes one of her go-to movie poses in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

What I found interesting is that Myra's career as a playwright is a stellar success, but has no romantic life. She is great at creating characters, but not a great judge of character, and is fooled by this actor—and a “charm boy,” at that! Also interesting is that Lester Blaine's shady past is not spelled out. What really did happen at that house on Fire Island, for instance? Lester is a hot head, yet amazingly keeps his cool as he jumps through hoops in Myra's world.

Once the facade is dropped and Myra finds her life in jeopardy, Sudden Fear goes into overdrive as the newlyweds plot to kill each other. How fascinating that the genteel playwright's gut reaction is to fight back with her own plan of murder. Yes, she drops and shatters the recording of Lester's murderous intentions. But I think the authorities would easily believe old money Myra over no-name actor Lester. Hey, film noirs aren't renowned for their believable plotting. So, game on!

Who's zoomin' who? Myra and Lester let the death match begin in "Sudden Fear."

I won't give away the endless twists except to say that when it comes to the finale, Lester and Myra make such a racket in their death match that it's amazing the entire neighborhood isn't awakened by their Tom and Jerry-style chase!

How intriguing that a number of the plot twists hinge on accessories of the day that are now a thing of the past: monogrammed kerchiefs, stationary, and head scarves. In this film noir, everyone smokes like chimneys, have guns tucked in their furs and overcoats, and notes hidden in gloves!

There are also some nods to living legend Crawford's way of life: her overly coordinated wardrobe, ankle strap shoes, and even an extremely organized list of a revenge timeline against her hubby and his girlfriend.

Like Joan Crawford herself, Myra Hudson is very organized, right down to her murder timeline, in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

Jack Palance got his big break with Sudden Fear. As the beginning actor who becomes the husband to older, wealthy playwright, Palance goes from charming suitor to doting husband to brutish opportunist skillfully. Palance is intense, made even more so with his severe facial features. Jack got a Best Supporting Actor nomination, though he was actually the film’s leading man.

Jack Palance, with his intensity and severe looks, was perfect as the villain husband,
in 1952's "Sudden Fear."

As with Myra, Lester Blaine has a dualistic personality. The one he shows to Joan's Myra is sensitive and cultured as the struggling young actor. Quoting Shakespeare, reading to her, and solicitous to her needs, plus letting her monogram everything he owns! Then when scheming with Gloria's Irene, Lester's animalistic, even when he is showing affection.

Irene Neves, Lester’s partner in crime, is played by Gloria Grahame. It just happens that Irene has also changed coasts, from New York City to San Francisco. And with no visible means of support, Irene has started dating a friend of Myra’s family, "Junior," played by a young Mike Connors, here billed as “Touch.”

Gloria Grahame as the vixen of "Sudden Fear" has some of the best lines! Here she is with a very young Mike Connors as her suitor.

Gloria's performance as the sexy, poisonous little Kewpie doll is delicious. Gloria’s a bit of droll comic relief from the glowering intensity of Crawford and Palance. Grahame won a supporting Oscar that year, not for Sudden Fear, but for The Bad and the Beautiful.

The ex-couple re-team for a more drastic plan. Unfortunately, one of their debriefings takes place in Myra's study, which has a state of the art recording system that was left on. The revelation in Myra's library is skillfully done, as is the murder as it's supposed to happen, as opposed to how it really goes down. It's all a bit far-fetched for my taste, but is still great fun to watch. The final scene has Joan walking off into the wee hours alone, as was often the case!

A striking moment by Joan Crawford in 1952's "Sudden Fear," when Myra Hudson sees what she has become. 

A look at Joan Crawford sparring with Jeff Chandler, Female on the Beach:

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2023/01/love-is-beach-for-lana-joan.html

One of the many absurdities of FX's "Feud: Bette and Joan" was 70ish
Jessica Lange recreating snippets of Crawford's greatest hits.
For "Sudden Fear," Jessica looks more like Kaitlyn Jenner than Joan!