Quicksand (1950)

After borrowing $20 from his employer's cash register, an auto mechanic is plunged into a series of increasingly disastrous circumstances which rapidly spiral out of his control.

Director:

Irving Pichel

Writer:

Robert Smith (original screenplay)

Stars:

Mickey Rooney, Jeanne Cagney, Barbara Bates

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mickey Rooney	...	Dan
Jeanne Cagney	...	Vera
Barbara Bates	...	Helen
Peter Lorre	...	Nick
Taylor Holmes	...	Harvey
Art Smith	...	Mackey
Wally Cassell	...	Chuck
Richard Lane	...	Lt. Nelson
Patsy O'Connor	...	Millie
John Gallaudet	...	Moriarity
Minerva Urecal	...	Landlady
Sidney Marion	...	Shorty
Jimmie Dodd	...	Buzz (as Jimmy Dodd)
Lester Dorr	...	Baldy
Kitty O'Neil	...	Madame Zaronga

Storyline

Motor mechanic Dan Brady lacks funds for a heavy date with new waitress Vera, the type whose life's ambition is a fur coat; so he embezzles twenty dollars from his employer. To make up the shortage, he goes in debt for a hundred. Thereafter, every means he tries to get out of trouble only gets him deeper into crime, while everyone he meets is out for what they can get.

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Plot Keywords:

auto mechanic | waitress | embezzlement | garage | stolen car | 

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Taglines:

A guy who yields to temptation just once...... ....and finds it's once too often!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sables mouvants

Filming Locations:

Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel H. Stiefel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Also, at about 24 minutes, in the bar scene, there are cases of Pepsi in the background. The ditty Shorty sings on the way to his car is the Pepsi jingle of the era with different lyrics.

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Quotes

Bar customer: Hey how does he rate all that dough?

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth (2008)

User Reviews

Andy Hardy goes rotten

One of the lesser-known treasures of classic film noir, this tough little chronicle of a hapless boy taken on a criminal joy ride by his own uncontrollable lusts succeeds partly because of the brick-house design of Cornell Woolrich's original story, partly because of its ingeniously chosen cast. Pairing the still fresh-faced Mickey Rooney with the creepily worn-looking Jeanne Cagney instantly suggests corruption; the subtext that the boy is just a pawn in a weird game being played between this nasty dame and her lover (Peter Lorre, looking one drink over the line) makes the spine crawl.