Feel like going for a ride? Why not take a trip to 711 Ocean Drive and visit Edmond O'Brien? It may not be the toniest address around, but for noir enthusiasts, it is sure to be an exciting destination. Columbia Pictures has offered a compelling drama about gangsters and bookies. While the story has a few far-fetched moments, it certainly provides more than its share of thrills. It allows the multi-talented Mr. O'Brien an opportunity to deliver a dynamic and somewhat sympathetic performance. In fact, O'Brien plays his villainous part so carefully and so smoothly that we almost cannot be sure he won't be redeemed by the time it all ends.Of course, the story has been written and filmed to denounce organized crime, so the outcome for O'Brien's character may seem obvious to viewers-- but it is to his credit that O'Brien gives us a few points to stop along the way, to hit the brakes and turn off the road at a junction where we can think and say 'what if--.'Fans of the actor may also want to check out D.O.A. and SHIELD FOR MURDER.

Enjoyed this great 1950 film starring Edmond O'Brien, ( Mal Granger) who plays the role of a telephone repair man with great skills in communications and all kinds of ability to set up telephone lines anywhere he so desires. Mal gets tired of his old routine job and meets up with his bookie who places his bets on the race track and offers him a very profitable job with the big time gambling bosses. Mal gets very powerful with all the bookies and begins to disturb the big shot bosses from other states and that is when Carl Stephens, (Otto Kruger) decides he is going to cut in on Mal Granger's business. 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. There is many twists and turns in this film and you have some fantastic scenes all around Hoover Dam with non stop entertainment right to the very end. Enjoy.

Edmond O'Brien (as Mal Granger) is an ordinary telephone repairman who must supplement his measly salary by betting on a few horse races; he decides to use his electronics skills to help racetrack "bookies" illegally wire results to Bad Barry Kelley (as Vince Waters). Later, Badder Otto Kruger (as Carl Stephans) takes over as head villain. Joanne Dru (as Gail) and Dorothy Patrick (as Trudy) add femininity to the film. "711 Ocean Drive" addresses, interestingly, an unsolved socio-economic problem: You can make more money in criminal activities than in most average paying jobs. Mr. O'Brien does not feel he financially able to start a home / family with his income, so he opts for the higher pay offered by his "bookie". The first "job" he takes is difficulty to accept as illegal (obviously, they had no cell phones back then); but, later on, O'Brien gets in deeper. Boulder Dam and some Los Angeles-area locations are highlights. This is a "flashback" film, describing the rise and fall of O'Brien's character Granger, accompanied by a dreadfully gooey sermon. O'Brien and the performers are enjoyable in a disappointing premise. **** 711 Ocean Drive (1950) Joseph M. Newman ~ Edmond O'Brien, Joanne Dru, Otto Kruger

711 Ocean Drive was indeed preachy, as attested to and confirmed by the blurbs at both beginning and end. Still, I found the film interesting and entertaining (although D.O.A. remains my all-time favorite O'Brien, and one of my top favorites, overall). The character of Mal Granger really presented a sharp and unexpected contrast to that of Frank Bigelow in D.O.A. The real surprise in this film came early on when the personality of Granger, itself, did a 180-degree turnaround, from the benign, carefree and kindly telephone repairman (who insisted his co-worker accept a few bucks that he was in need of), to the ruthless, unscrupulous, and murderous "operator" for whom even a little power is seen to surely corrupt. Although the early-on character of Granger is seen for only the first 15 or 20 minutes of the film, the contrast remained with me throughout. An excellent characterization by O'Brien, as usual.