Directed by:
Edgar G. UlmerCinematography:
Benjamin H. KlineComposer:
Leo ErdodyCast:
Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald, Tim Ryan, Esther Howard, Pat Gleason, Don Brodie, Harry Strang, Eddie HallVOD (2)
Plots(1)
From Poverty Row came a movie that, perhaps more than any other, epitomizes the dark fatalism at the heart of film noir. As he hitchhikes his way from New York to Los Angeles, a down-on-his-luck nightclub pianist (Tom Neal) finds himself with a dead body on his hands and nowhere to run—a waking nightmare that goes from bad to worse when he picks up the most vicious femme fatale in cinema history, Ann Savage’s snarling, monstrously conniving drifter Vera. Working with no-name stars on a bargain-basement budget, B auteur Edgar G. Ulmer turned threadbare production values and seedy, low-rent atmosphere into indelible pulp poetry. Long unavailable in a format in which its hard-boiled beauty could be fully appreciated, Detour haunts anew in its first major restoration. (Criterion)
(more)Reviews (2)
If you feel that better times are just around the corner, Murphy's Law will quickly correct you. The cynical narration by the protagonist well underlines the irony of fate, when a person, despite their best efforts, finds themselves going off in the wrong direction, and from which there is no return. [KVIFF 2019]
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When something goes wrong, it goes completely wrong. An unsuccessful person becomes even more unsuccessful, because that's how chance wants it. That it's a cheap film is noticeable especially when you think about it a little. Otherwise, it's an excellent example of a film noir with great classic elements of this genre. Especially the shadows and the voice-over are excellent.
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