Mjeteconer
Just perfect...
Jenni Devyn
Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
SimonJack
This is a very good movie in which one small dishonest deed leads an everyday Joe down the slippery slope of crime. "Quicksand" is unusual in that the male lead narrates the story at intervals; and we see him presented with opportunities to jump off his downward slide. Finally, he gets his chance for redemption at the end. Mickey Roonie stars in this crime drama that borders on film noir. He plays a 26-year old automobile mechanic, named Dan. At age 30, he was beyond his high school and college-age performances, but he still had his boyish looks. His co-star was Jeanne Cagney, younger sister of actor James Cagney, who plays Vera. Peter Lorre gives a good performance as Nick. Art Smith is very good as Mackey and Barbara Bates does fine as Helen, the decent girlfriend. Bates was a promising actress who suffered with emotional ups and downs through her short-lived career. Her career ended in the mid-1950s, and in 1963, she committed suicide at age 43. At the time of my writing these comments – March, 2014, Mickey Rooney was still alive and having fun at Oscar parties in Hollywood at age 93. As long as there are movie reruns on TV, Rooney will probably be remembered most for two early career movie strings. The first was the Andy Hardy series – a run of 15 films from 1937 to 1946. The second was a string of films with co-star Judy Garland, especially the song and dance series from 1939 to 1943. The two were paired in 10 movies, half of which overlapped with the Hardy films. But in the musicals, Rooney got to show his considerable entertainment talent. He could sing, dance, play the piano and drums, and do great comedy. Most likely, because of his short stature (5 feet, 2 inches) and boyish looks well into middle age, Rooney wasn't cut out for romantic leads. But he was an excellent actor who could play a diverse range of roles. He could do drama, mystery, war, comedy and musicals equally well. And, yes, he did the lighter side of romance in his comedies and some dramas. He never won an Oscar, but he was nominated for four roles that range across film genres. He did win two Golden Globes and one Emmy. Rooney was born Ninian Joseph Yule Jr., in Brooklyn, NY. He may have the all-time record of film appearances. IMDb lists him with 340 credits as of March, 2014, and he's still doing parts in movies. As with many other movie stars with very heavy early productions, Rooney had a difficult personal life. He was married eight times by age 58 – all troubled marriages and one ending with a homicide-suicide scandal in 1966.
wes-connors
Garage mechanic Mickey Rooney (as Dan Brady) wants to date blonde cashier Jeanne Cagney (as Vera Novak) after seeing her arrive for work in a sexy black dress. Since one of his friends owes him $20, Mr. Rooney decides to "borrow" it from the cash register at work. No one will know. After brushing off former girlfriend Barbara Bates (as Helen), Rooney takes Ms. Cagney out on borrowed money. Today, taking a date to the Santa Monica Pier is not that costly... Of course, Rooney's plan to replace the money fails, and he gets deeper and deeper in "Quicksand". The appearance of Peter Lorre (as Nick) means more trouble for Rooney. This is a fair to middling story, depending on how far you can stretch your suspension of disbelief. It moralizes about "robbing Peter to pay Paul." Funny, if you're in the mood.**** Quicksand (3/24/50) Irving Pichel ~ Mickey Rooney, Jeanne Cagney, Barbara Bates, Peter Lorre
Spikeopath
Quicksand is directed by Irving Pichel (The Most Dangerous Game/ Destination Moon) and written by Robert Smith. It stars Mickey Rooney, Jeanne Cagney, Barbara Bates & Peter Lorre. Lionel Lindon photographs it around Santa Monica, California, and Louis Gruenberg scores the music.Auto mechanic Dan Brady (Rooney) fancies himself as a ladies man, so when he sets eyes on sultry looking blonde Vera Novak (Cagney), he just has to date her. Intending to put it back tomorrow, Dan borrows $20 from the till of the garage where he works, the money to be used for the date with Vera. However, with Vera comes baggage, not only in what she wants out of Dan, but in the form of her ex-boss Nick Dramoshag (Lorre), who has designs on Vera too. Pretty soon Dan finds that his life is getting out of control as he gets in deep with robbery and maybe even murder?.Quicksand was received coldly back on its release, a generation of film goers had grown accustomed to Rooney lighting up the screen as Andy Hardy and turning in frothy performances in musicals. Here he goes against type, and the public wasn't ready for it, even tho he arguably gives one of his best career performances. As a film it's a very tight piece. The plot is in the classic noir tradition of having a male protagonist trapped in a downward spiral, no matter what he does, each decision he makes is a wrong one and only worsens his situation. That there's a blonde femme fatale (Cagney is sexy in a powerful way, with shifty glances telling so much) sat at his side as his life goes belly up; still further fuels the darker edges of the film noir feel. There's a devilishly bitter irony hanging over proceedings, too, that Dan could have escaped all this if he had not spurned the attentions of the more homely, but loyal, Helen (an adorable Bates). The film, and tone, is also boosted by Lorre turning in one of his sleazy sloth like performances, while a mention is warranted for Art Smith as Dan's boss, Oren Mackay, the kind of boss you could easily punch for fun.We possibly could have done with some more noirish artistry from Lindon for his photography, but he does OK, with a parking lot/back alley pursuit well shot. While Gruenberg's score is right in tone, especially the theme tune piece, which has a distinctly Cape Fear edge to it. It would come as no surprise to me to find that Bernard Herrmann had watched and listened to Quicksand prior to scoring the Mitchum & Peck classic. Look out too for Red Nichols and His Five Pennies band during a club scene, it's a nice touch that adds a bit of period detail. Clocking in at nearly 80 minutes, Quicksand doesn't hang around, it's briskly paced and suspenseful into the bargain. Certainly it's minor film noir, but all things considered, it's one of the better B's from this most wonderful of genres. 7.5/10
edwagreen
Something very different for Mickey Rooney in this 1950 film. For just like in quicksand, once you enter, you go deeper and deeper. The surprise here was the ending since you would think it was all downhill for Rooney.Jeanne Cagney is the femme fatale here. She is quite a temptress who further drags Rooney down to near-murder. In the same year that she had a brief part in the Oscar winning "All About Eve," as Anne Baxter's pursuer from Erasmus Hall High School, Barbara Bates has a pretty meaty part here as the decent girl caught up in Rooney's downhill slide.The film is a perfect example of how doing one thing wrong just seems to spiral out of control.
