Really Surprised!

Fantastic!

A lot of fun.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

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?

Like Bogie in 'The Harder They Fall', here good egg Edmund O'Brien is seduced by degrees into lowlife violent crime -- main motivation: an honest working man can't make it, so if yer smart enough to work a con you'd best get to getting', especially if invited in by a big player.Barry Kelly repulses as a small-time crime boss bully who fancies himself a legitimate businessman. Otto Kruger as the faux-elegant big-time crime boss nauseates, and Don Porter (Gidget's TV dad) as psycho wife-beater and wife-pimp, puts a bland smiley face on pure evil. As his punching bag, Joanne Dru -- beautiful, smart, dignified -- wins and breaks your heart. Robert Osterloh's reptilian hit-man is on target. Sammy White's simple-loyal 'best friend' exemplifies the powerlessness of all the bookies just in it for a decent living. Dorothy Patrick as the mind-my-own-business employee is glamorous and forceful as she wises up.The climax at Boulder/Hoover Dam can't compare with Hitchcock's thrilling finales at famous colossal landmarks, but is skillfully done, and suits the tone of the film. The script stays real and logical, the suspense earned -- all the more satisfying for being somewhat understated.Edmund O'Brien's nice-guy doughy everyman persona works well here -- he trusts the script to show the villainy and does not gild the lily. Smart actor.Honest script and dialogue respects and entertains the audience. It means to teach us how things function and malfunction in illegal horse- and dog-race betting, and succeeds painlessly. 'Preachy' bits exhorting America not to support illegal gambling are merely tacked on to the front and back -- and don't mar the film one iota. If there's any didactic message here, it's that honest work don't pay in today's (1950's) world.

Unless I have been taken in by some very good set design, there are several scenes filmed in the famed Musso-Frank's Grill on Hollywood Boulevard. It's been about 15 years since I was in there, but remember it very well: it's a time warp! Now that Chasen's is gone, Musso-Frank's remains one of the few fine old dining establishments in Los Angeles from the golden era of Hollywood. The place dates from 1919 and the decor is timeless. Sort of a 1930's feel to it. The bar is a special treat. You can imagine dialogue from a period movie spoken in such a setting.I still remember the wonderful vodka martini (straight up, two olives) that I got there. One (or two) of those and you can almost forget the present, save for the prices, of course!

The address of Edmond O'Brien's posh Malibu digs -- 711 Ocean Drive -- lends the title to this semidocumentary noir about bookmaking. Unfortunately the movie is bookended by sermons instructing viewers on their civic responsibilities: the two bucks you put on a horse go straight to graft and murder! In between, it's not bad. O'Brien, always better supporting than, as here, in the lead, is a money-grubbing telephone technician who brings his electronic expertise to the illegal-betting circuit. The profits his innovations generate oil his swift climb up the syndicate ladder; his ruthlessness greases his slide down. Along the way, the movie casually includes what may be the first Hollywood episode of severe wife-battering, perpetrated on Joanne Dru. At the end, O'Brien's grasping ambitions are dwarfed by the enormity of Boulder Dam, and viewers are left with a sense of his brief notoriety being but a single cog in a vast, unstoppable crime machine. It's a dated message in a time when, increasingly, gambling with the government's blessing has become the new civic responsibility.