Young auto mechanic Dan Brady takes $20 from a cash register at work to go on a date with blonde femme fatale Vera Novak. 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.
Acting
Mickey Rooney's desperate everyman against type.
Direction
Pichel tightens the noose with cruel precision.
Writing
79 minutes of 'how did we get HERE?'
Director
Irving Pichel
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Mickey Rooney produced this himself to escape his MGM Andy Hardy image; it barely broke even but cemented his dramatic pivot.
Jeanne Cagney was James Cagney's sister—her Vera channels something of her brother's ruthless energy, gender-flipped and weaponized.
US
