Film Review
When Mickey Rooney ventured into his first film noir,
Quicksand, in 1950, it must have
seemed as improbable as Doris Day doing an erotic slasher movie.
The actor who, as a child star, had become a national treasure as Andy
Hardy, was not the obvious choice for the role of a hapless loser whose
penchant for leggy blondes turns him into a compulsive criminal.
And yet, as it turned out, Rooney was the perfect choice for the role -
a likeable goon who gets in so far over his head that he resembles
a slowly drowning meerkat. This is Andy Hardy's dark alter ego, a
man who isn't so much evil as just ever-so-slightly lacking in any
moral awareness and common sense. Rooney's performance here is
one of his most believable and it's not too hard to fall for his goofy
character as he stumbles carelessly from one disaster to another,
performing the film noir equivalent of a favourite children's nursery
rhyme involving an old woman with some very strange gastronomic
habits. Rooney's subsequent film noir outings -
The Strip (1951),
Drive a Crooked Road (1954) and
Baby Face Nelson (1957) - are
respectable but nowhere near as enjoyable as this.
Irving Pichel directs the film with as much skill and élan as
his earlier - far superior - noir offering
They Won't Believe Me (1947),
skilfully ratcheting up the tension in a way that cleverly distracts us
from the mushrooming absurdity of the plot. Peter Lorre (who
co-financed the film with Rooney) is at his villainous best, every bit
as sinister as he was in that Fritz Lang film which made him a star,
and with none of the comic 'side' that various misguided Hollywood
directors tended to inflict on him. Here, Lorre is just as we
love him - pure, unbridled nastiness. Jeanne Cagney (the younger
sister of James Cagney) has great presence as the film's obligatory
femme fatale, although, similar to Rooney's character, hers is more a
delinquent with a gaping moral deficit than the usual evil vamp.
Barbara Bates is saddled with the least interesting character, the sweet
little thing who sticks to Rooney like a self-sacrificing limpet and
saves him from himself.
Quicksand
is by no means the best film noir you are likely to see but, thanks to
its taut screenplay and Pichel's canny direction it is an easily
digestible variation on a familiar theme. There is one thing,
though. I still can't work out whether it was meant to be a
serious thriller or a merciless parody...
© James Travers 2014
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Dan Brady is a young car mechanic with an eye for the ladies.
When he runs into Vera Novak, a blonde looker, he can hardly wait to
take her out on a date. Unfortunately, Dan is flat broke and has
to raid his employer's till to pay for the date. Before he can
pay back the twenty dollars he "borrowed" his boss's book-keeper shows
up and starts checking the tills. To avoid being caught out, Dan
has to raise some cash fast, so he hits on the idea of pawning a watch
that he can buy on a monthly instalment plan. It's a nice idea,
but Dan omitted to read the small print in the plan's contract, so he
must pay for the watch in full or else he will be indicted for
larceny. To get the money to pay for the watch he mugs a stranger
that night. Unfortunately, Vera's former boss, penny arcade owner
Nick Dramoshag, threatens to report this crime to the police unless Dan
steals a new car for him from his boss. Dan duly delivers the car
but is then confronted by his boss, who demands that he returns the
stolen vehicle or pay three thousand dollars for it. Vera comes
to Dan's aid, suggesting they should steal the money from Nick.
Before Dan can pay back his employer Vera spends her half of the money
on a mink coat. Just when things couldn't possibly get any worse
Dan ends up strangling his boss...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.