Mickey Rooney gives one of his greatest performances as mechanic Dan Brady, a desperate young man out to impress Vera, a sexy bottle blond who dreams of diamonds and furs. Feeling too light in the pocket to show her a good time, Dan embarks on a series of petty crimes to raise money. Dan finds himself in more trouble than he'd bargained for, and gradually sinking into the very quicksand of the film's title. Add Peter Lorre as one of Dan's seedy connections, and a dazzling Jeanne Cagney as the femme fatale, and you have the ingredients for a suspenseful baby noir, well-worth it's cult following.