Movie Music Monday – Ocean’s Eleven

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Happy 100th Birthday to the amazing Sammy Davis Jr.! There was really nothing that he could not do! He could play multiple instruments, he could dance, he could sing, he could act, he was an all around entertainer!

As a member of the Rat Pack, Sammy appeared on stage and in movies with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. One of those movies was Ocean’s 11.

That’s right, the Rat Pack did the original version of Ocean’s 11. It was one of the first Rat Pack movies I ever watched. I loved it.

In the movie, a group of military buddies have a plan to rob the five major casinos in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve. Their plan to do so is reminiscent of an episode of Mission: Impossible. It is one of the best of the Rat Pack films.

The song “Eee O Eleven” is performed three times in the film. It is the film’s theme song. The title is a reference to the craps phrase “Yo-11,” a bet on the dice coming up eleven, used to avoid confusion with a roll of “7”. The song was written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen and performed by Sammy.

You can hear it over the opening and end credits of the film, but Sammy also performs it in the movie itself.

Happy 100th Birthday, Sammy!!

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Published by nostalgicitalian

I'm just a guy who likes the classics. I love Old Time Radio Shows. I love Classic TV. I love Classic Movies. I love songs from the "Great American Songbook". I dig songs from the first decade of Rock and Roll. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to newer things. My musical taste ranges from Classical to Classic Rock and Country to Rap. I love a good book and am always looking for something to read. I tend to lean toward historical fiction, biographies, mysteries, and more. I have always believed that our past (and the things we've experienced in it) make us who we are today. That being said, after reading through some old My Space blogs (yeah, that's about how long it's been since I blogged regularly), I decided that I should once again write. Welcome to my blog. I hope you find it interesting, thought provoking, and entertaining in some way. CONTACT ME AT - nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com

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7 thoughts on “Movie Music Monday – Ocean’s Eleven”

  2. Never watched the original until the remake came out. Man those guys were cool. Love Sammy, what a talent. He had a large fan base in Canada, not sure if you know about this TV special from 1959 from CBC Television.

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  3. I haven’t seen this or the newer version but someday I might, I know it’s supposed to be a classic. The Smithereens, a band I have written about several times, liked this movie so much they called one album ‘Smithereens 11’ as a tribute to it and had similar graphics to the poster with the line of running men etc. Sammy was a bit before my time but was always someone who I recognized. Mostly as a kid I remember him guest starring on ‘All in the Family’. As young as I was, even I could tell the reason that was a ‘special’ episode with racist ARchie hosting this Black man he actually admired.

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