Quicksand (1950) Andy Hardy Breaks Bad

"I can take care of everything."

Directed by Irving Pichel (They Won't Believe Me). Written by Robert Smith (99 River Street, The Second Woman). Cinematography by Lionel Lindon (The Blue Dahlia, Alias Nick Beal, The Turning Point, Hell's Island, I Want To Live, All Fall Down, The Manchurian Candidate). Music by Louis Gruenberg. 

Starring Mickey Rooney (The Strip, Baby Face Nelson, Drive a Crooked Road) as Dan, Jeanne Cagney (Don't Bother To knock) as Vera, Barbara Bates as Helen, Peter Lorre ( a Seven Classic Noir Vet) as Nick, Taylor Holmes as Harvey, Art Smith (a Six Classic Noir Vet) as Mackey, Red Nichols as himself, Wally Cassell as Chuck, Richard Lane as Lt. Nelson, Patsy O'Connor as Millie, John Gallaudet as Moriarity, Minerva Urecal as Landlady, Sidney Marion as Shorty a operator of a bingo parlor, Jimmie Dodd as Buzz (as Jimmy Dodd), Lester Dorr as Baldy, Kitty O'Neil as fortune teller Madame Zaronga, Jack Elam as a bar patron, and some nice archival footage of the old Santa Monica Pier.

Story

Dan Brady an ex Navy Vet works with his buddy Chuck at Mackey's, a service garage. 

Mickey Rooney as Dan Brady

Right, Wally Cassell as Chuck

They are both at  a lunch counter called Gus's Place, having a bite with their buddy Buzz, a fishing guide. 

They are shooting the shit with each other. Dan is tell them that Helen is pressuring him to tie the knot. He's trying to give her the brush. He's not ready, yet. Then Dan and Chuck are bitchin' about having to work over a hot carburetor, after Buzz tells them about his extended weekend fishing gig down in Baja. Buzz asks Dan if he wants to tag along. 

Dan tells him that there is no way Mackey will give him Monday off. 

At this time the boys main attraction arrives its the new blonde waitress named Vera. She comes with  the Hollywood  "sexy" leitmotif music. All three guys turn on their stools in unison and follow as she passes. 

Jeanne Cagney as Vera

After she gets to the cash register, Dan grabs his bill and goes to pay. He makes some small talk and asks Vera for a date to go see Red Nichols and his Five Pennies playing at the Music Bar. She likes what she sees. She accepts, everything's gonna be cool until Dan remembers that he's broke until payday.  

 She accepts, everything's gonna be cool until Dan remembers that he's broke until payday.  

Back at Mackey's he puts the touch on Chuck, no dice. The when he's running the parts counter he calls Buzz who owes him money, but he won't have it till tomorrow. Everyone has all got the same problem, no money until payday. Sheeeeit.

Later when Chuck brings Dan some money for a part. Dan makes change and just as he's about to close the register he spots the $20 slot and here we get the first voice over. Dan tells us in V.O. that I'll just hook a double sawbuck until payday, then put it back. Hell, Buzz will pay me tomorrow. No problem because he'll slip the twenty back in before the accountant goes through the receipts on Thursday, everything's jake.  

Closing time he's out in the parking lot and gets intercepted by Helen. Helen asks Dan if he's gone dancing or gone hiking, things that they used to have fun doing she reminds him. Dand tells her that he's got to go, but that he'll give her a call. He hops in his jalopy and drives away. 

Barbara Bates as Helen

Later Dan is waiting for Vera when she leaves Gus' Place. He tells her to hop in and asks where she wants to go? She tells him downtown. She tells him that if he does what she wants to do, she'll what he wants to do.

Dan driving his 1933 Chevy

She takes Dan to a furrier and there she is enthralled by the full length mink she sees in the window. She tells Dan she's gonna have it no matter what it takes. Dan believes her. 

When they get down to the Music Bar they find out that it's closed on Monday's. She at first asks Dan if he knew that the Music Bar was closed on Monday's, thinking he might be pulling a fast one. So Dan tells her he'll take her any place she wants to go. 

Vera takes Dan down to the Santa Monica pier to Nicks Joyland, where she used to "work." It looks a bit from hints and subtext between Vera and Nick that there might have been some extracurricular benefits between Nick and Vera. 

Vera shows Dan how easy it is to win at a particular pinball machine. She then takes him over to the Photomatic photo booth to make out. She gets in and tells Dan to get in too, and draws the curtain closed for some hanky panky. 

Eventually Nick comes over and opens the curtain telling them the he doesn't allow that in his establishment.  He demads that Vera and Dan get out.

We don't allow that stuff in here

The next day it all starts going Noirsville when Dan calls on the phone for Buzz and finds out that he took a fishing trip out early that morning. Well, no worry, the accountant doesn't come till Thursday. Only he shows up very "noir"-ly two days early because he also has some new tax work to do for Mackey. 

So now Dan panics. The film starts going into overdrive. He goes to the  Easy Money Co. a salary loans outfit, thinking he'll get some quick cash, but they are gonna need to see some references. He then sees a sign in a jewelers window that acclaims, any watch in the window can be bought for a dollar down. He goes in puts his dollar down and signs a contract and walks out with a new $100 watch. 

This he takes to a pawn shop and gets thirty dollars for it. With the thirty he goes back to Mackey's and slips a twenty into the cash bag. The accountant tells Dan his draw is short $20. Dan tells him to check thes cash bag because sometimes some cash gets stuck in a seam. Of course the auditor sees the missing twenty fall out of the bag when Dan rechecks the cash bag. 

Whew!

The next day an investigator shows up at the shop asking for Dan Brady, when you sign a conditional sales time payment contract in the small print it states the that watch didn't belong to the guyer until the last payment is made. Hocking a $100 dollar watch is grand larceny and worth 3 year in the penitentiary. 

This happens only in a Film Noir "nightmare." What's the odds of this happening or happening so fast. So Danny boy's got to come up with $100 within 24 hours. So the pressure is ratcheted up immediately. 

He tries to sell his jalopy but he can only get $300 for it and he owes $350. 

Shorty and Dan in Phil's Bar

Dan ends up in Phil's Bar sitting next to a drunk who is wearing a boater. It's Shorty, he runs the bingo game on the pier. He is stinking drunk and is flashing a lot of cash around. It's like bait in front of hungry d fish. Dan follows him to a parking lot. Dan ties a  handkerchief over his face uses a discarded pop bottle that he stuck in his pocket as a fake gun. He sticks the bottle against Shorties back and robs him of his wallet. A lady Evelyn, sees the robbery and screams.

Evelyn the movie ticket seller

The thing is Shorty is well known for carrying around fifty dollar bills and the wad of cash that Dan stole is all $50 bills. Both Nick and Vera wise up fast and put two and two together. 

Nick with a $50 bill and a handkerchief tied in a knot

So with the dough he stole from Shorty, Dan takes Vera out to see Red Nichols and the next day he  pays the fraud investigator the $100 for the watch. So everything seems jake until Dan gets a call from Nick who tells him that he better come see him. 

Nick tells him basically that Evelyn the teller from the picture show box office saw the robbery and can identify the culprit. Nick shows Dan his handkerchief and the fifty dollar bill that he gave him. Dan says if he's so sure he did it call the cops. Nick tells him no because he's a businessman and the deal for him to keep quiet is for Dan to seal a new car for him. Dan keeps getting in deeper and deeper, and  Vera tells him not to worry because "I can take care of everything."

Noirsville

A Packard Super Eight

Jack Elam (uncredited speaking role as bar patron)

This is a great film for purging from your system all of the 16 films (1937 to 1946) in which Mickey Rooney played Andy Hardy from age 16 to 25. They are entertaining enough but also a bit saccharine and too idealistic maybe for true Aficio-Noir-Dos and Noir-istas. We know that in everybody's life the shit is going to hit the fan occasionally with probably better odds than that of hitting the Powerball.

"All of the films were sentimental comedies celebrating ordinary American life. The people in Carvel (the fictitious Midwest town where the Hardy's lived) were generally pious, patriotic, generous, and tolerant. The town represented MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer's idealized vision of his adopted country."

" A typical plot involved Andy getting into minor trouble with money or girls, usually because of youthful selfishness and a willingness to fudge the truth." (Wiki).

The principals all put in pretty good performances. Rooney is a blast to watch making continuously bad decisions getting himself deeper and deeper into it. Lorre is great as the sleazy crooked arcade proprietor. Cagney is good as the soiled dove who "knows how to handle men" and really wants that mink coat. She gives the impression that there's nothing she wouldn't do to get it. 7/10