711 Ocean Drive (Joseph M. Newman, 1950)

A humble telephone repairman finds himself at the head of a mafia gambling operation that needed his skills.  This unusual critique of the American success story was based on real events.  Starring is the genial Edmond O’Brien, who had just appeared in Raoul Walsh’s White Heat (1949).  The film has superb black and white lighting by Max Ophüls’ favourite cameraman, Franz Planer.  A must-see introduced by Film Noir Foundation president Eddie Muller in person and Philippe Garnier.

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Screening

Wednesday 14 October (10:30) at the Institut Lumière  

711 Ocean Drive © DR / Coll Institut Lumière

Poster for 711 Ocean Drive © DR / Coll Institut Lumière

711 Ocean Drive

Los Angeles. Mal Granger is a humble telephone repairman who uses his technical skills to take over a West Coast gambling empire.  But gangsters from the East Coast decide to take over his territory.

A unusual tale based on real events, with a spectacular ending in the best noir tradition. The black and white camera-work is by Franz Planer, Max Ophüls’ favourite, who filmed his Letter from an Unknown Woman (Lettre d’une Inconnue) and also William Wyler’s Roman Holiday.

01/10/09