- Irving Pichel's Quicksand stars a cocky mechanic named Dan Brady (Mickey Rooney) who gets himself stuck in debt and tries to claw his way out through crime. At first, he just needs a little extra cash to take a flashy cashier named Vera Novak (Jeanne Cagney) out on the town. After failing to collect a few debts, he opts to borrow $20 from the auto shop register. To replace that before the inevitable audit, he buys a watch on installments and immediately hocks it, which gets him in trouble with the law. His next move is to rob an inebriate, followed by grand theft auto, burglary, and eventually attempted murder. The more he struggles, the faster he sinks.
- Expediting Brady's descent into trouble are his aforementioned enabler Vera and her former "associate" Nick (Peter Lorre), who runs a sketchy penny arcade. Vera has had her eyes on that fur coat in a display window for quite some time, so it's no wonder that she encourages Brady to keep taking risks to get his hands on more money. Nick is an even worse sort, blackmailing Brady into some of his more advanced crimes. Brady's inexplicably devoted former girlfriend (Barbara Bates), his best pal (Wally Cassell), and a sympathetic lawyer (Taylor Holmes) all try to help, but Brady is the sort of dope who never elects to swim when he can sink instead. The film does a good job ratcheting up the tension, although I found myself chuckling when 5'2" tall Rooney picks a fight with 5'3" tall Lorre, with the average-sized Cagney towering over both.
