At the time of its release, this fine crime thriller was both an expose of the involvement of organised crime syndicates in the gambling rackets and an account of the rise and fall of a top mobster. Why not take a trip to 711 Ocean Drive and visit Edmond O'Brien? That fall is preordained, because this man doesn't understand that in a corporate structure -- even a mob ruled one -- an outsider has to make a place for himself within the structure rather than try to co-opt it altogether. It all sounds bogus to me; if I were a publicity flack promoting a gangland show, I might phone my own studio's switchboard to plant such a threat, just to get something into the news. With the evolution of O'Brien's character from a telephone repairman into a major crime so well reflected in the improvements in his dress, along with the sartorial variety among the leads, one gets a nice sense of personal style in this period. Coming Soon. In other words, a classic noir set-up in which fatalism and nihilism are implicit, even as the protagonist struggles against it. I bought the book after seeing the movie adaptation with the same title. When the gangster is shot to death by a poor schlub he's been squeezing for gambling debts, O'Brien takes over the operation. Video: Excellent In search of a short cut to the easy life, telephone technician Mal Granger (Edmond O'Brien) squanders his pay betting on the races. This film is quick, has good dialogue, and location shooting. Edmond O'Brien stars as Mal Granger, a nice telephone repairman who is into a bookie for some gambling debts. Taking bets in a book definitely is, so I wonder what the distinction is. The racetrack cops can spot and arrest "signallers" like Trudy, but Mal rigs a transmitter onto an old guy with a cane (the antenna! Of particular interest are the wonderful filming locations in the L.A. area -- rich streetscapes--full of marvelous period detail, "Modern" architecture as seen in circular drive-ins, open plan houses, groovy bars ands nightclubs, and some flavor of Palm Springs weekending. In this film he is a telephone communications expert who gets hired to create a wire network for race track bookies, but he takes it over and develops a serious case of ego inflation and goes mad with power and greed. Howard St. John, better known later for comedy roles, is the colorless cop. 711 Ocean Drive is a Sony Pictures manufactured-on-demand DVD, correctly presented in full-frame format in its original black-and-white. These Movies were not only for Entertainment but for a sort of Public Service. The bookie makes a deal with him and, since he's a technician, has him do some modernization on the illegal gambling in the area that uses the wire service. Despite the 1950 charm of Los Angeles, a couple of ominous characters and the rapid changes in O'Brien's fortunes, "711 Ocean Drive" (possibly a reference to O'Brien's Malibu digs) never seems to work up a good head of steam until the very end. Mal joins up with Carl Stephens and then gets himself involved with a married woman named Gail Mason, (Joanne Dru) and they fall madly in love with each other. Larry's murder is staged similarly to Siegel's, with a rifleman firing from just a few feet away. Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2017. Even its poster art prominently bears a silhouette graphic of a policeman, insisting that the film promotes law and order. Probably untrue, but it sounds impressive. Coming Soon. You're almost there! | The profits his innovations generate oil his swift climb up the syndicate ladder; his ruthlessness greases his slide down. Lots of 1950's action, good story and superb acting. The contemporary artwork (reproduced on the cover of the DVD) bears the motto, shown also in the credits: 'Filmed under police protection'. Actually the result seems closer to the Cagney films of the thirties than to the noirs of the forties. It is well written and clever, but perhaps a bit too clever for its own good, as the opening narration indicates, having survived attempts to have the filming shut down by actual rackets who didn't want their secrets exposed. A must to see. That is, unless you happen to be working in some business related to the film and entertainment industry. "711 Ocean Drive" is an interesting '50s film noir set in Los Angeles. But what makes 711 so much fun isn't this theme but the plot, the characters, the dialogue and the way all are handled by director Joseph Newman and his creative team. They won't be able to see your review if you only submit your rating. Fandango FANALERT® ... Movie Reviews Presented by Rotten Tomatoes. While Oscar winner, Edmond O'Brien, was never much of a leading man, he does a very good acting job in this 1950 film. Please enter your email address and we will email you a new password. Worth a look. This is a fairly decent picture but it was largely of interest to me for the backdrops. The only other woman in sight is a forlorn date that Mal dumps as soon as we meet her -- played by grim little Cleo Moore of all those Hugo Haas melodramas. |, August 16, 2012 The film's trailer has Edmond O'Brien delivering this same message directly to the camera, in the style of Lawrence Woolsey in Matinee. O'Brien's reach extends his grasp when he sets up the murder of one of his new partners (Don Porter), because the hit man decides that he should also be getting a cut of the action.

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