711 OCEAN DRIVE (1950)

In this somewhat noir-ish gangster movie, Mal Granger (Edmond O'Brien),a cocky, horse-playing telephone company technician, is introduced to a thug (Barry Kelly) who runs a bookie wire service. He hires Granger to rewire his business, they make plenty of money, then Granger takes over when his boss is killed. The promotion goes to his head; he runs afoul of the Kansas City Syndicate (for once, run by WASPs and headed by Otto Krueger); falls for the wife of one of the Syndicate bigshots (Joanne Dru); has him killed, and then goes on the lam as The Syndicate rats him out to the cops' Gangster Squad. It ends in a well-filmed shootout at Boulder Dam. Crime Doesn't Pay. This isn't a deep movie, and the dialog is pretty simple. O'Brien, never a great actor, is as always, versatile and sturdy. The supporting cast has plenty of colorful characters (like Edward Osterloh) whom you'll recognize from that era. Not bad at all.