Quicksand and Suddenly were the other two movies on the 3-film DVD we got in the mail, ostensibly titled "Film Noir Classics" (see previous post on "Scarlet Street" for the first). None of these was what one associates with film noir, especially since they are over-exposed white from poor quality transfers, faint and burnt out in the middle.
Quicksand's most notable feature was Mickey Rooney as Dan Brady, a none-too-bright mechanic who borrows $20 from the till at work, only to find himself spiralling down deeper and deeper into crime. The story spins out as a morality tale, except that Dan's every decision seems so not-bright that you almost think he deserves what happens to him. Mix that with wild chance misfortunes that keep happening, and Danny is in trouble indeed. It was a bit much. Peter Lorre makes a small but welcome appearance as a sleazy game arcade owner.
Suddenly's raison-être is Frank Sinatra in a really nasty and amazing role as a former soldier and current soldier of fortune who has been hired to assassinate the President. He's mean, cold, and charismatic, in contrast with the hostages that he takes, including a smart-alecky kid who doesn't know when to shut up, an annoying pro-arms sheriff, a sickeningly right-wing patriotic grandfather, and, just for contrast, a pacifist mother. Eerie foreshadowings of Kennedy and the current state of American politics, as well as capturing the McCarthy paranoia of the time. But without Sinatra, this film would have sucked. Sinatra makes it suspenseful, and gives it dimension.
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