QUICKSAND (1950)

[Larry's 66 Diner]

Dan Brady (Mickey Rooney) is an auto mechanic who doesn't have much money to escort Vera (a waitress) out on a big date, so he embezzles twenty dollars from his employer, Mr. Mackey. To make up the shortage, he goes into debt for a hundred, by purchasing a watch on an installment plan, but hocking it and getting $100 from that. From there, it leads to stolen automobiles, etc. His intentions are always good (to return the money, items, etc), but someone else is always catching on to his activities before he has the chance to make good, and he finds himself further and further making the wrong decisions, heading toward a life of crime!

This is an absolute must-see movie, which never lacks in drama! :thumbsup: Also stars Jeanne Cagney and the great Peter Lorre!!!

[filmnoirfanatic]

Hi! Larry,

Right you are Larry!...just to see Rooney in a "panic" state is "noirish" enough for me!...also Lorre (a film noir icon) and actor James "Jimmy" Cagney's sis portraying the "femme fatale" seal this film on IMDB film noir list.

FNF

[harlowbaby]

I just watched this last night. I noticed that it was included in one of the film noir sets that I bought a while back. I really liked it! The way things kept snowballing and snowballing for Mickey Rooney really kept the picture at a quick pace. Peter Lorre was great, as always, and Jeanne Cagney was wonderful as the femme fatale. I have actually never seen her in a film before and it was amazing to me how much she looked like her bro

[Larry's 66 Diner]

The snowball effect it definitely was, Kristy! ;D I almost have the urge to sit and watch this again tonight! ;D Perhaps ....

[diane]

I just love "Quicksand" as well. Rooney's character was not particularly likable but the excitement
never let up. I agree Peter Lorre was great as the seedy pinball palour owner.

[Midge]

Feb 5, 2009 20:46:08 GMT -6 diane said:

I just love "Quicksand" as well. Rooney's character was not particularly likable but the excitement
never let up. I agree Peter Lorre was great as the seedy pinball palour owner.

Peter Lorre is ALWAYS great. He was very much underrated as a character actor because of his identification with horror movies. Also, his physical appearance and accent made him difficult to cast.

[filmnoirfanatic]

Hi! Harlowbaby, Larry, Diane, Midge and Larry 66 Diner Members...

Harlowbaby, have you ever watched Yankee Doodle Dandy? Because she appeared in that film too along with her real life brother actor James Cagney portraying his sister. (Along with actor John Huston as their "father" and actress Rosemary DeCamp portraying their "mother.")....My Father, thank-you! My Mother, thank-you! My sister thank-you! and I thank-you!...

FNF

[diane]

That is one of my all time favourite musicals FNF. I just love James Cagney and his quirky way of
dancing.

[filmnoirfanatic]

Mar 10, 2009 0:11:24 GMT -6 diane said:

That is one of my all time favourite musicals FNF. I just love James Cagney and his quirky way of
dancing.

Hi! Diane,
I also noticed the position of his body "bended forward" and he appeared to be dancing on his "tip toes."...
Diane, Larry, Harlowbaby, Midge and Larry Diner members,

Did you know just like actor George Raft that he wanted to be a song-and-dance man?...ala...Fred Astaire Instead of, portraying
gangsters on the lot of Warner Bros....Just a "little" trivia.

FNF

[harlowbaby]

Hey FNF!

Ya know, I have seen Yankee Doodle Dandy but it was a few years ago. I will have to rewatch it and look for her

[Midge]

Jimmy Cagney's unique Irish-flavored tap dancing style was something that he picked up on the streets of New York City. I don't know if he ever had any formal training, but he was so energetic and charming that it didn't really matter. His first job in show business was in a chorus line -- dressed as a woman. He made his living on the vaudeville stage as a dancer and comedian before breaking into acting.

Here is what Cagney himself said about his dancing in Yankee Doodle Dandy:

"To arrive at the proper dance style, a friend was brought in to help. He was Johnny Boyle, who had worked on Cohan's 1916 Broadway Revue, and also on my 1937 film something to Sing About. He knew the Cohan stiff-leg technique, and was able to teach it to me. All in all, it was a good movie, for not only was it well-written and well-acted, but most of all it had heart. As a matter of fact, I met Cohan once when I was still young. I was trying to get a larger part in a play of his, and he refused to advance me. In fact, he threw me out of the play altogether. But that didn't bother me, for I know that he liked the film we made of his life. I made $ 850,000 doing Yankee Doodle Dandy, and it was the highlight of my career. "

[filmnoirfanatic]

Hi! Midge,
Thanks, for sharing more than a "little trivia" with us...I wonder if there are any books... ( An autobiography, biographies, etc...
(That he (Cagney) approved of, but of course!... about himself and his career
... out there in the "marketplace?" )
Because he seemed to have been such a "private" man.

FNF

[rmichaelpyle]

Mar 16, 2009 5:36:10 GMT -6 filmnoirfanatic said:

Hi! Midge,
Thanks, for sharing more than a "little trivia" with us...I wonder if there are any books... ( An autobiography, biographies, etc...
(That he (Cagney) approved of, but of course!... about himself and his career
... out there in the "marketplace?" )
Because he seemed to be such a "private" man.

FNF

Cagney's own autobiography called Cagney by Cagney is a good and fun read. There are a couple which came later (his was published in 1975) which are decent, too, but his contains a lot of 'personal' info.

[diane]

I have read a biography of George Raft. It was quite sad, I thought, (reading between the lines)
- no-one seemed to have a bad word to say about him. He was very likeable. I think he was very
proud of his dancing ability because he was "self taught" and it was something that came very
naturally to him. In the 20s he was supposedly the fastest charleston dancer in America. He was
always proud of the fact that Fred Astaire held his dancing in such high esteem. Because he knew
gangsters he was always shy of portraying ruthless criminals on screen, he thought the public would
assume that he was like that. He always tried to put a lot of himself into his screen roles. He is one of
my favourite stars. (That's why I was keen to buy "Pickup").

[filmnoirfanatic]

Mar 16, 2009 15:57:55 GMT -6 diane said:

I have read a biography of George Raft. It was quite sad, I thought, (reading between the lines)
- no-one seemed to have a bad word to say about him. He was very likeable. I think he was very
proud of his dancing ability because he was "self taught" and it was something that came very
naturally to him. In the 20s he was supposedly the fastest charleston dancer in America. He was
always proud of the fact that Fred Astaire held his dancing in such high esteem. Because he knew
gangsters he was always shy of portraying ruthless criminals on screen, he thought the public would
assume that he was like that. He always tried to put a lot of himself into his screen roles. He is one of
my favourite stars. (That's why I was keen to buy "Pickup").

Hi! Diane, have you ever read Stone Wallace's book about actor George Raft? entitled
George Raft - The Man Who Would Be Bogart?
Btw, I didn't know that actor (George) Raft was one of your favorite stars?!?
....Because we discussed him over there on Gary's website, but I'am not sure if you mentioned that he was one of your favorites actor.

I most definitely, will seek out a copy of the book "Pickup"....I'am not sure if it's out of print, but if it's I'am quite sure that there is a copy of his autobiography ("Pickup") out there somewhere!

Tks,
FNF