Sadly Over-hyped

Nice effects though.

Excellent, smart action film.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I didn't believe O'Brien for a second as ruthless hood clawing his way to the top--too regular a guy. And how did Mr. Everybody's-Buddy-at- Work get so ruthless? And as an irresistible lover--no way. I get we're supposed to be in awe of the chase scene at Boulder Dam but it was pretty incoherent. And, by the way, how does getting out on the Arizona side solve his problem? And why was Joanne Dru so exhausted in the chase? I mean, they were running for, what, 5 minutes? Okay, so women in those days didn't go to Gold's Gym or do yoga, but seriously . . . ? It's not like they're Dana Wynter and Kevin McCarthy running from the BODY SNATCHERS.Back to O'Brien: better by far is 1954's SHIELD FOR MURDER where all he wants is one of those downmarket new suburban tract houses--that's more O'Brien's aspirational level--not Top of the World. Or of course D.O.A.--"All I did was sign a piece of paper!"Nor does it make sense he dies in a goofy shootout--he wasn't a gunman type. He should've fallen in a gigantic telephone switching station or something--you know, karma.By the way, unless my memory is all wrong (it often is), wasn't the big heist here the same scam in THE STING?

Skirting the periphery of Film-Noir this one probably lands more than not in the Police Film or the Authorities Are Your Friend Category. These Types were Everywhere after the War. This one Preaches about Your "two dollar bet" Financing Organized Crime and Murder. These Movies were not only for Entertainment but for a sort of Public Service.Technology was also a "new" element in Law Enforcement and the Fight against Communism and Films were want to display as much High Tech Stuff as possible. We get quite a bit of that here with Electronic Whiz Kid, Edmond O'Brien strutting His Stuff and landing a Slot with the Local Mob. This is a less Personal Film then most Noir's and tends to paint with a wide brush with its Coast to Coast Crime Syndicate with tangled wires and many Locations.A good tightly wound Thriller, this has an Energy for sure and hardly ever settles down and the Interpersonal is disposed of quite Brutally at times. Interesting and more layered than most, this one has a Bigger Budget and Broader Scope than a typical B-Movie and is a well crafted, if at times Stiff, Expose.

"711 Ocean Drive" is an interesting '50s film noir set in Los Angeles. Edmond O'Brien stars as Mal Granger, a nice telephone repairman who is into a bookie for some gambling debts. 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. The O'Brien character turns out to be pretty ambitious and greedy and starts making his way up the ladder in the syndicate. He does well until some guys from the East coast show up and want some of his action.The O'Brien character really changes from the beginning, when he's a relaxed, friendly guy. Then he becomes ruthless and murderous. O'Brien does a great job in making this change believable. There are also very good performances from Howard St. John as a police officer, Bert Freed as a hit man, and Otto Kruger as a mob boss. Joanne Dru is the object of Mal's affections, although she's married to someone else.Seeing Los Angeles in the '50s is one of the best parts of this film. Recommended for Edmond O'Brien, the scenery, and the noir style.

A lot of complicated stuff about phone lines etc. At one point a horse parlor is suggestive of the set up in the Sting, wherein they rip off some gambling boss. We look for a big climax at Boulder Dam above Vegas, plenty of running around through tunnels etc. I saw this film on the Mystery Channel on premium cable and thought we would get a payoff with O'Brien getting blown off the dam or diving in the dam or whatever. Since he was also in White Heat wherein Jimmy Cagney got blown to kingdom come! (top of the world ma!!). Unfortunately this thing cheated the ending and the guy just gets shot down next to some cars, just in time for a sermony coda about the evils of gambling. It is nice to watch since it is so dated, but not much art in this picture.