Quicksand (1950)

After borrowing twenty dollars 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:

wristwatch | watch | mechanic | bookkeeper | chase | 

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Taglines:

There was this dame...the pretty, tough waitress who wanted the mink coat...All he needed was $20.00...from the cash register.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sables mouvants

Filming Locations:

Ocean Park 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

Fritz Lang was considered for director.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Vera Novak: It's not what you run away to; it's what you run away from.

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Connections

References South of St. Louis (1949)

User Reviews

A Cross Between "Detour" and "The Myth of Sysiphus"

We feel as if we are sinking into the quicksand as one thing after another goes wrong. This is similar to the bleak and (today) more famous "Detour." But it's almost as good.

Mickey Rooney has always been an appealing performer. He's good here but not totally plausible. If Tom Neal had been the star, It'd be a real jewel.

Jeanne Cagney is surprisingly tough as the girl Rooney falls for. It's very easy to hate her character, which is the intent of the plot. Barbara Bates is not interesting as the girl who's loved him all along. When I was a small child I saw her giggling and doing what I remember as an early version of "breaking up" as she announced prizes for contestants on "Queen for a Day." Quite some range, just like her brother! Without giving away any of the plot, just know that no matter where the protagonist turns, he gets a (usually figurative) slap in the face. He sinks deeper and deeper and nothing he does seems to lift him out of the mire.

(It also has great location shots and is a superb look at honky-tonk in the middle of the last century.)