Quicksand (1950 Film) - Plot and Cast

Plot and Cast

Young auto mechanic Dan Brady (Mickey Rooney) takes $20 from a cash register at work to go on a date with blonde femme fatale Vera Novak (Jeanne Cagney). Brady intends to put the money back before it is missed, but the garage's bookkeeper shows up earlier than scheduled. As Brady scrambles to cover evidence of his petty theft, he fast finds himself drawn into an ever worsening "quicksand" of crime, each of his misdeeds more serious than the last.

His descent is sped along by his heartless and morally lacking boss Oren Mackay (Art Smith), and the seedy owner of a penny arcade on Santa Monica Pier, Nick Dramoshag (Peter Lorre). Brady and Vera split when Vera purchases a mink coat with money Brady has stolen. Brady's still-loyal but unappreciated former girlfriend Helen (Barbara Bates) then reenters the scene and tries to woo him back. Later fleeing what he believes will be a murder charge, Brady carjacks a sedan which happens to be driven by a sympathetic lawyer (Taylor Holmes).

By movie's end Brady is back with his faithful girlfriend, who promises to wait for him while he spends the next few years of his life in prison. Cast includes Jimmie Dodd and Minerva Urecal. A young Jack Elam, later widely noted as a character actor in Westerns, appears in an uncredited speaking role.