The Rat Pack (1998)

The public and private lives of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.

Director:

Rob Cohen

Writer:

Kario Salem

Stars:

Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna, Don Cheadle

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Liotta	...	Frank Sinatra
Joe Mantegna	...	Dean Martin
Don Cheadle	...	Sammy Davis, Jr.
Angus Macfadyen	...	Peter Lawford
William Petersen	...	John F. Kennedy
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Bobby Kennedy
Bobby Slayton	...	Joey Bishop
Megan Dodds	...	May Britt
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Ava Gardner
Veronica Cartwright	...	Rocky Cooper
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Joe Kennedy
Robert Miranda	...	Momo Giancana
Barbara Niven	...	Marilyn Monroe
Michelle Grace	...	Judy Campbell
Tyrees Allen	...	George Jacobs

Storyline

In the 1950s and 1960s Frank Sinatra was the head of the infamous "Rat Pack". He, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop worked and played together. This film dramatizes their volatile relationships with each other and the Kennedys, Marilyn Monroe, mobster Sam Giancana, Judith Campbell Exner and the FBI. Sinatra helps John F. Kennedy get elected in 1960 with a little help from Giancana. Lawford, married to a Kennedy, is an unhappy go-between. Davis is fighting racism and insecurity. Campbell is sleeping with both Giancana and JFK who is also sleeping with Monroe.

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Plot Keywords:

rat pack | president | racism | organized crime | fbi | 

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Taglines:

They never let business get in the way of having fun.

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Genres:

Drama | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 August 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Rat Pack

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Original Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chazz Palminteri was considered for the role of Dean Martin.

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Goofs

The Sands hotel tower is seen, yet this was not built until 1966-67, and this film is set in 1960. The Sands Hotel sign which is shown a few times in the film is a mock-up with the new modern Sands logotype that was used before its closure, not the famous script design which actually stood on the Sands property during the 1960s.

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Quotes

Peter Lawford: I'm an actor, Frank! All I want to do is act in movies, and cheat on my wife. Is that too much to ask?

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Don Cheadle/Saoirse Ronan/Iggy Azalea (2016)

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Soundtracks

I'm Gonna Live Till I Die
Written by Walter Kent, Mann Curtis (as Manny Kurtz) and Al Hoffman
Performed by Michael Dees

User Reviews

Good Film, Bad Casting

The story is good and certainly made me think about maybe why and by whom John and Bobby Kennedy as well as Marilyn Monroe were killed! But that's a side point. Not a bad film but the casting director needs to be shot! Don Cheadle, as Sammy Davis is probably the most convincing and I am sure it was no easy task to capture the highly talented Mr Davis Jr, especially the dancing. The racism and the obvious pain of Sammy really came through. Angus MacFadyen's Lawford is not too bad and is second to Don Cheadle's performance. From there the casting goes really off....

Joe Mantegna captures something of Dean Martin's character but is not as handsome or charming enough. William L. Petersen, looks and sounds nothing like JFK and portrays him as a shallow, weak character.

Then we come to the worst casting in the whole film. Ray Liotta looks not even close to Sinatra, he is much too tall, and even worse he fails to carry himself like him and his speaking voice is just awful, he sounds like a squeaky teenager most of the time. this would not be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that he is the main character in this film and at times you even forget that he is supposed to be Sinatra.

So with a better cast this could have been a superb film but it is not.