Saul Bloom: Carl Reiner's Ocean's Eleven Crew Member

Saul Bloom is a member of Danny Ocean's crew in the Soderbergh Ocean's trilogy, played by Carl Reiner in Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen. The credit reads "Saul Bloom" in each of the three films, so there is no second name or nickname on screen.

He first appears in Ocean's Eleven (2001), directed by Steven Soderbergh, where Reiner is billed 13th in a cast led by George Clooney as Danny Ocean and Brad Pitt as Rusty Ryan. He returns in Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007), both also directed by Soderbergh. That makes him a constant presence across a trilogy where the ensemble is the real lead.

In each film he is part of the returning crew Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan lead. If you are new to the series, the easiest way to place him is by that group, and the cast and crew page gives the full line up.

Saul Bloom appears in all three Soderbergh Ocean's films as part of the crew, with no individual storyline in the published plot summaries: the Las Vegas vault robbery in Ocean's Eleven, the debt to Terry Benedict in Ocean's Twelve and the revenge on Willy Bank in Ocean's Thirteen.

In Ocean's Eleven, Danny walks out of a New Jersey prison and plans to rob a vault shared by three Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict, who is dating Danny's ex-wife Tess. The crew rehearses on a replica of the vault, then pulls the job on the night of a boxing match, using an electromagnetic pulse to black out the city while men disguised as a SWAT team carry out the cash. Carl Reiner is billed 13th in that film.

In Ocean's Twelve, Benedict tracks down all eleven members of the old crew and demands his money back with interest within two weeks. The group scatters to Europe, a first job in Amsterdam goes wrong, and a rival thief called the Night Fox pushes them toward a bet over a Fabergé egg. Reiner is billed 13th again here.

In Ocean's Thirteen, the target changes from Benedict to the hotel developer Willy Bank, who cheated Reuben Tishkoff out of his share of a new casino. The crew plans to rig Bank's opening night so the players win and the house loses, and Reiner moves up to 10th in the billing.

The published plot summaries describe the jobs at the level of the whole crew, so the specific task given to Saul Bloom in each one is not spelled out in them.

Saul Bloom works within Danny Ocean's crew alongside Rusty Ryan, Reuben Tishkoff and Linus Caldwell, and opposes Terry Benedict in Ocean's Eleven and Ocean's Twelve. Danny and Rusty are the two who build each team, so every other member answers to that partnership. Reuben Tishkoff, the retired casino owner who backs the Las Vegas job in Ocean's Eleven, is played by Elliott Gould in all three films alongside Reiner.

The setup of Ocean's Eleven describes a team of specialists that includes a pickpocket, a demolitions expert, a card dealer and an acrobat, and Linus Caldwell is the pickpocket. The rest of the roster includes Basher Tarr, Livingston Dell, Frank Catton, Yen, Virgil Malloy and Turk Malloy. Saul Bloom sits among them, and the published plot summaries do not single out a specialty for him.

On the other side stands Terry Benedict, played by Andy Garcia. Benedict is the target in Eleven and the man demanding repayment in Twelve, and in Thirteen the crew turns to him for money after their drilling equipment fails.

Saul Bloom survives the trilogy and is still part of Danny Ocean's crew at the end of Ocean's Thirteen (2007), his last credited appearance. None of the published plot summaries records him dying, being arrested for good or leaving the crew. Ocean's Eleven closes with the crew free and the money safe. Ocean's Twelve ends with the debt to Benedict settled and the crew out of custody. Ocean's Thirteen ends with Bank's opening ruined and Reuben given a casino of his own.

Ocean's Eight (2018), directed by Gary Ross and centered on Debbie Ocean, does not list Saul Bloom among its top billed cast. The 1960 Ocean's 11, with Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean, has no such character in its credited roles.

Saul Bloom's best moments are the crew set pieces he shares, because the films never give him a solo showcase scene: the Ocean's Eleven blackout, the Fabergé egg bet in Ocean's Twelve and the rigged opening night in Ocean's Thirteen.

In my opinion, the cleanest of the three is the Ocean's Eleven blackout. The electromagnetic pulse kills the city's power, the fake SWAT team walks into the vault, and a looped recording keeps Benedict's security staff convinced nothing has changed. Every part of that job depends on the other parts running at the same time, which is exactly how an ensemble heist should feel.

My second pick is the Fabergé egg bet in Ocean's Twelve. The film is looser than the first, but the reveal that the crew had already swapped the real egg is a proper retroactive heist, the kind that rewards a second viewing.

My third is the rigged opening night in Ocean's Thirteen, where players win big and Bank's casino cannot stop it. It is the most direct payoff of the trilogy, and Reiner's rise in billing from 13th to 10th suits a film that leans hardest on the whole team.

If you want a practical starting point, begin with Ocean's Eleven and then follow the Ocean's Eleven movies in order.