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?

711 OCEAN DRIVE 1950This Columbia Pictures production from 1950 is about an ordinary Joe being taken by the "dark side". The film stars Edmond O'Brien, Joanne Dru, Otto Kruger, Barry Kelly, Sammy White, Dorothy Patrick, Howard St John, Don Porter and Robert Osterloh. O'Brien is an employee for the phone company at the bottom of the salary ladder. This is not the greatest thing as O'Brien has a fondness for playing long shots at the ponies. His bookie, Sammy White, says he can hook O'Brien up with his boss, Barry Kelly. Kelly runs a string of bookies that use a wire service for horse results. White is sure a guy with O'Brien's smarts with phones etc could be useful. Sure enough, O'Brien has Kelly's wire service up and running at top speed in no time. Kelly hires the man on the spot at a hefty raise over his phone company pay. He moves up in the organization rapidly as he helps Kelly improve his cash inflow. O'Brien decides he wants a bigger cut of the take and forces Kelly to cut him in for it. Kelly agrees because he needs O'Brien to run the new electronic set up. O'Brien is soon flush with a new ocean front pad, a fancy car and wads of cash. Things get better when his partner, Kelly, is killed by a disgruntled bookie. Now O'Brien is running the show. This happy series of events (for O'Brien) soon hits a speed bump. O'Brien's racket has gotten big enough for the eastern mob boys to take an interest. They decide to invite themselves in as partners for a 50 percent cut.The mob boss, Otto Kruger, sends out his man, Don Porter to talk with O'Brien about the deal. Porter takes his wife, Joanne Dru along to see the coast. O'Brien does not like the mob move, but knows he should play along. He also takes to Porter's wife, Dru. The two are soon stepping out behind Porter's back. Needless to say this is going to lead to a spot of trouble. Dru is on the receiving end of a beating from Porter, which is also a warning to O'Brien to lay off Dru. O'Brien has fallen hard for Dru and wants Porter out of the way. He hires a hit-man, Robert Osterloh to take care of the problem. 10 large to Osterloh, soon has Mister Porter acquiring several large holes in the middle of his back. The mob is not pleased with the hit and question O'Brien, Dru etc. They intend to even the score if they can discover who did the deed. O'Brien swears he had nothing to do with Porter's death. The mob keeps looking for the killer. They do not like loose ends. By this time, the Police have become interested in O'Brien and the operation. The Detective in charge, Howard St. John roots around looking for a reason to bust up O'Brien and the mob's racket.Now a further fly lands in the old ointment, Osterloh. He has decided that O'Brien is ripe for a spot of blackmail. He puts pressure on O'Brien to cough up a healthy bundle of cash, or the mob will find out about O'Briens's part in Porter's death. O'Brien agrees to the deal and meets Osterloh late that night. O'Brien however bumps off Osterloh ending the man's ploy. Of course matters now start to go to pieces for O'Brien and Dru. The mob has tumbled on their own to O'Brien's involvement with their man Porter's killing. They call up the Police and tell them about the killing. Mob boss Kruger thinks it will be funny to let the Police take care of the matter. O'Brien, Dru and his man, Sammy White, are soon on the road to Vegas. There, they use some of O'Brien's knowledge of the wire service to beat the mob out of 250 large. This is their get out of the country loot. Needless to say this idea goes south in a hurry. The mob grabs up White for a trip to out to the desert to fill in a hole. O'Brien and Dru are chased down by the Police at Boulder Dam. Dru is captured while O'Brien is given a less than healthy dose of lead poisoning. This is meat and potatoes mid-range noir that gets the job done. The cast is all first rate, with O'Brien in particular doing excellent work. One can see him change as the lure of cash and power overcome him. The director, Joseph M Newman was a two time Oscar nominated 2nd unit helmsman who moved up the ladder to director. While never an A list director, he did pump out some decent films in various genres. These include, ABANDONED, PONY SOLDIER, THIS ISLAND EARTH, DANGEROUS CROSSING, THE GEORGE RAFT STORY and GUNFIGHT AT DODGE CITY. The look of the film is quite sharp with the talented Franz Planer handling the cinematography duties. The 5 time Oscar nominated Planer's films include the film noir, THE CHASE, THE SCARF, THE LONG WAIT, 99 RIVER STREET and the classics, CHAMPION and CRISS CROSS. ROMAN HOLIDAY, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S and THE BIG COUNTRY are some of his other film work.A much better film than this humble review would suggest.

711 Ocean Drive finds Edmond O'Brien as just a working stiff, toiling away at a job for the telephone company and getting a bit behind in with his bookie. Fortunately the bookie, Sammy White, is an understanding guy and recognizes talent when he sees it. He takes him to wire service operator Barry Kelley who controls the illegal gambling in Southern California and Kelley puts O'Brien to work, modernizing the business.That's the beginning of O'Brien's rise in the gambling rackets. He's talented, but his reach exceeded his grasp, especially when he started reaching for Joanne Dru while she was still married to racketeer Don Porter.There's a lot of similarity between O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart in High Sierra. They're both talented, at the top of their respective trades. We only see Bogart at the downfall of his career. Still that climax which takes place at Hoover Dam was definitely inspired by High Sierra.Besides those already mentioned look for good performances by Howard St. John as the honest cop on O'Brien's trail, Bert Freed as the syndicate's number one hit man, and Otto Kruger the very smooth syndicate boss who never gets his hands dirty with the details.711 Ocean Drive is a very nice noir film, made at the height of Edmond O'Brien's career as a B picture leading man.

Along with DOA, The Killers, White Heat, Shield for Murder, the Hitchhiker, this entry attests to the style of O'Brien, who may be the worlds best sweater. This film is quick, has good dialogue, and location shooting. The best moments are really not the climactic finale, but rather those where O'Brien banters with Otto Kruger (who is perfect) and Don Porter. I agree however that the preachy ending might best be ignored.