This is a good crime thriller, with something of a noir atmosphere. The contemporary artwork (reproduced on the cover of the DVD) bears the motto, shown also in the credits: 'Filmed under police protection'. Great PR! Probably untrue, but it sounds impressive. (I suppose if the producer hired an off-duty policeman to stand guard for an hour, the film was made 'under police protection'.) The film stars Edmond O'Brien, who was in impressive form here as a bad guy, though it would not be until Ida Lupino chose him for the lead three years later in her remarkable film THE BIGAMIST (1953, see my review) that it would become clear to all what a truly fine and versatile actor he really was. 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. He gets into conflict with 'the Mob' from back East, as they say, and has to make a deal to accept them as partners because otherwise they will kill him. Aren't gangsters nice people? One does get a bit tired of them. The boring title of this film was not exactly calculated to drag people into the box office, as postal addresses lack sex appeal, did no one tell them that?
Review of 711 Ocean Drive
