Quicksand - A young mechanic borrows $20 from the till to take a dame out on the town, setting in motion an escalating series of crimes. This is a really enjoyable "out of the frying pan, into the fire" situation as Mickey Rooney digs himself in deeper and deeper. Maybe not as hard-edged as I usually prefer my noir, but the story moves at a rapid clip and never slows down. And I don't mean to imply it's light-hearted, although there is some amusement in how incompetent the protagonist is at committing crimes. It's also kinda funny to see the diminutive Rooney square off against the equally diminutive Peter Lorre (sadly, not a large role, but his presence is welcome). I'm only familiar with the "Andy Hardy" Rooney by reputation, but as a noir actor he's growing on me more and more. There's a simplistic but entertaining good girl/bad girl dichotomy with Barbara Bates (a little too earnest, but cute) and Jeanne Cagney (Jimmy's sister, and a delightful performance). Some beautiful lighting and shot composition as well. Exciting, fun, and memorable... I'm buying a copy of this one for my collection. Rating: Very Good
This marathon is shaking up my top 100 noirs a lot more than I thought it would.