Review of Ocean's 11

About a month ago, I re-watched the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven with their amazing cast and had a great time, so I thought it would be a good idea to see the original just to fill in my movie gaps here and there.
Yes, this is a heist film, but it's a slow burn. It is fun to flesh out the back story a bit, and we learn a fair amount of the connections between all of these men and what makes them tick. Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) and Jimmy Foster (Peter Lawford) were in leadership roles of a group of 82nd Airborne paratroopers in WWII. They reunite 15 years later and plan out a way to relieve FIVE casinos in Las Vegas of their piles of cash on New Year's Eve. Coming along is Sam Harmon (Dean Martin) and Josh Howard (Sammy Davis, Jr.) and "Mushy" (Joey Bishop), which rounds out the Rat Pack roster. Other notable members of the crew are Roger Corneal (Henry Silva, who was with Sinatra in Manchurian Candidate), Peter Rheimer (Norman Fell), and Tony Bergdorf (Richard Conte, who is known to many as "The Wolf" Barzini from The Godfather.
Danny's wife Beatrice (Angie Dickenson), an honorary member of the Rat Pack, provides a stabilizing force to Danny and knows full well what is at stake. While I understand that this wasn’t fully about their marriage and backstory, it would have interesting to spend just a little time peeking into their lives. Was she in on the heists at one point and got spooked and had to give it up? I’d like to think so.
I just finished listening to Shirley MacLaine's "The Wall of Life: Pictures and Stories From This Marvelous Lifetime" e-audiobook and an episode of Only Murders in the Building both of which were wonderful. There are some fantastic stories from behind the scenes of her time in Hollywood, and speaks very highly of "The Clan" (which is what the Rat Pack called themselves). She describes Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr., and how they took care of her - like a "mascot.” Knowing some of that background made her brief cameo as the “drunk girl” that much more fun.
To be sure, I enjoyed the 2001 remake quite a bit more than this movie, but there is a ton to love, especially the musical performances by Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. You could also get a sense that this was a fun shoot, and I had read somewhere that some of the interactions between the characters were improvised, which made things feel loose and fun. Ocean’s 11 was entertaining and does provide a little time capsule for a Vegas that no longer exists. For that, I’m thankful for this movie