Quicksand (1950): watch the full film free, legally

A mechanic caught by twenty dollars

Quicksand is a 1950 American film noir directed by Irving Pichel. Mickey Rooney plays Dan Brady, a young California auto mechanic whose effort to replace $20 taken from the cash register at work begins a widening chain of crimes. He took the money to pay for a date with Vera Novak, a blonde femme fatale played by Jeanne Cagney, who works at a nearby diner.

Dan tries to restore the missing cash through a jewelry-store arrangement. He makes a one-dollar down payment on a $100 wristwatch, signing a contract for installment payments, then pawns the watch for $30 and uses most of the money to cover the garage shortage. The next day, an investigator explains that pawning the watch violates the contract because Dan does not legally own it. Unless he pays the store the full $100 within 24 hours, he faces a grand-larceny charge and a possible three-year state-prison sentence.

His applications for loans fail, as does an effort to use his car as collateral. With time running out, Dan mugs a drunken bar patron known for carrying large amounts of cash. The robbery gives Nick Dramoshag, owner of a penny arcade on Santa Monica Pier, evidence to use against him. Nick, played by Peter Lorre, has had an intimate history with Vera and demands a car from Dan's garage in exchange for silence. Dan steals a car and trades it to Nick for the evidence.

Vera and Nick close in

Dan's boss, Oren Mackey, played by Art Smith, says he knows about the stolen car and demands its return or $3,000 in cash. Otherwise, Mackey will go to the police. Dan and Vera steal the month-end receipts from Nick's arcade, taking $3,610. Dan intends to use the money to settle with Mackey, but Vera claims half and spends $1,800 on a mink coat.

Barbara Bates plays Helen, Dan's former girlfriend, whose loyalty contrasts with Vera's self-interest. The cast also includes Taylor Holmes as Harvey, Wally Cassell as Chuck, Richard Lane as Lt. Nelson, Patsy O'Connor as Millie, John Gallaudet as Moriarity, Minerva Urecal as the landlady, Sidney Marion as Shorty, Jimmie Dodd as Buzz, Lester Dorr as Baldy, and Kitty O'Neil as Madame Zaronga. Jack Elam has an uncredited speaking role as a bar patron.

Rooney working against type

The film gave Rooney an opportunity to play against type, in a part starkly different from the innocent “nice guy” associated with MGM's Andy Hardy series. Rooney co-financed Quicksand with Lorre, though their shares of the profits were reportedly left unpaid by a third partner.

Most of Quicksand was filmed on location in Santa Monica, California, including exterior scenes at the old Santa Monica Pier. Jazz cornetist Red Nichols appears as himself with His Five Pennies in a nightclub scene, where the group is seen and heard. Lorre's fellow actors were impressed by his work. In a later interview, Cagney said he approached the film as though it were “the 'A' picture of all 'A' pictures.”

Quicksand was Pichel's last film shortly before he was included in the Hollywood blacklist. After Pichel's death in 1954, a friend confirmed that the director had been a member of the American Communist Party. His final films were produced outside the United States.

Mixed notices and later attention

Reviews in 1950 were mixed. The Los Angeles Times called the plot “predictable” but said the film “grips every minute,” praising the supporting cast and Rooney's use of his eyes to convey Dan's emotions and thoughts. The paper found Cagney vivid, called Lorre “duly sinister,” and described Bates as a patient, devoted sweetheart.

Variety's Herm Shoenfeld called the film “an okay meller with a crime-does-not-pay moral.” He found the screenplay fast and straightforward, while criticizing several implausible stretches and judging Rooney competent without a wide range. Mae Tinée of the Chicago Daily Tribune considered the early scenes brisk and believable but found the latter half contrived. The New York Times called the film an “uninspired melodrama,” while the New York Herald Tribune called it a “dreary screen saga.”

Later responses were warmer. In 2013, Bruce Eder of AllMovie wrote that Rooney gave what many consider the best performance of his career and called Quicksand one of the more fascinating social documents of its era. In a 2009 Eye For Film review, Richard Mellor described Dan Brady's fall from grace as enjoyable, though predictably handled, and saw a simple warning in the danger posed by slick operators to a gullible man like Dan.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Quicksand (1950 film)”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.